How to use a bilingual dictionary...?

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strider
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2003 7:52 am
Location: France

How to use a bilingual dictionary...?

Post by strider » Fri Jan 17, 2003 8:07 am

First, congratulations on the new format!

Into the 21st century and beyond! :D

I'm teaching 18-22 year olds in France. They need to be able to use a bilingual dictionary in their exams (it's not as easy as it sounds!) so I'm looking for exercises, ideas, lessons on this subject.

Any ideas? (The excercises don't have to be French/English)

LarryLatham
Posts: 1195
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:33 pm
Location: Aguanga, California (near San Diego)

Learning to use a dictionary

Post by LarryLatham » Fri Jan 17, 2003 7:27 pm

Hi,

Your idea to give students exercises in which they have to use dictionaries is excellent. Many students do not know how to use one efficiently or even have much of an idea on the range of information that is available in a good dictionary.

Notice my term "good dictionary." Many (especially bilingual) dictionaries are not so great; some merely give approximate word for word translations. These are of some use, of course, but there is so much more a good dictionary will do.

Assuming they have a good one, you might think about trying something like this for starters: Give them a short (perhaps 15 items) list of new vocabulary. Ask them questions like, "How many of the words in this list are adverbs?", or "Write the plural form of all the nouns in this list.", or "Write the past form, present participle, and past participle of all the verbs in this list." I'm sure you can think of other ways to do similar things with them. If it were me, I'd pair them up and let them work together on doing this. What do you think? :)

Roger
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 1:58 am

Use of dictionary

Post by Roger » Sat Jan 18, 2003 2:12 pm

Hello,

I am missing one relevant tidbit of info - the English level of your students. Having said this, I gather they must be of sufficiently high level (being students under an expat, that is, native English teqacher), so they can safely be expected to use a MONOLINGUAL dictionary.
The most widely used ones would be OXFORD.

Now, what is the use of a dictionary?
- Concise definition of entries. Avoid dictionaries that use circular definiktions ("murder is a crime"). If students have to check on the meaning of the words used in a definition too, they might be better off with a bilingual dictionary.
- A dictionary should have antonyms (words with the opposite meanings) and synonyms (words with the same meaning), and they should list figurative meanings.
- Entries should be separated (highlighted) into their different categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives).
- Make sure it also lists nonstandard usages and gives their home turfs. "To cool" has a very prosaic meaning, but as an American slang expression, it can mean "to kill, murder".
- Make sure your dictionary has phonetic transliteration.

Hey, Larry, I see you have finally found out how the new forums work! I liked your post!
Roger

strider
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2003 7:52 am
Location: France

Post by strider » Mon Jan 20, 2003 12:46 pm

Thanks for the feedback, I will try the ideas suggested so far.

Roger, I agree with you in principle. For students who are really endevouring to master English, a monolingual dictionary (especially a good learner's dictionary) is better than a bilingual one.

However, I think the majority of my students are not in this category, English is just one component of a mixed subject qualification. In addition, they are only allowed to use bilingual dictionnaries in their exams.

Larry, I certainly agree that you have to find a 'good' dictionary. I used to tell my students to use a dictionary that is less than 5 years old (otherwise the vocabulary won't be as up to date as the exam texts). However, I've had to change my advice as some publishers sell dictionnaires which are just revisions of older editions. This means that the print date may well be 2002 but the dictionnary was initially released in 1995. There are either no revisions or simply a page or two of 'new' words shoved in at the back.

LarryLatham
Posts: 1195
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:33 pm
Location: Aguanga, California (near San Diego)

Dictionaries

Post by LarryLatham » Mon Jan 20, 2003 6:17 pm

Right!

They'll have to actually look through the dictionaries on the shelves at the bookstore to find a good one.

Roger suggests the Oxford, which is OK, but my favorite is the Collins COBUILD series. The New Students Dictionary is highly simplified for, I would say, lower intermediate students (assessing the "level" of students is a major topic that deserves considerable discussion of itself, isn't it!) and above. COBUILD is so good because it is simple to understand, and because so much information is provided to the user. Even as a native speaker, I am amazed how often I find new info for me even in the basic New Students book. I haven't found an American dictionary I like as well as the COBUILD books, so there is a slight disadvantage (in my present situation anyway) of having British English dominate, but COBUILD is always careful to point out the American differences. :)

Roger
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 1:58 am

Post by Roger » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:27 pm

Good to know that COLLINS is still on the market, and apparently, producing outstanding dictionaries! Come to think of it - I lived in Lyon, France, too, and my then French wife and I owned a COLLINS bilingual English/French dictionary.
I don't know where I can purchase any of these dictionaries in the Far East though!

LarryLatham
Posts: 1195
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:33 pm
Location: Aguanga, California (near San Diego)

Collins COBUILD Dictionaries in the Far East.

Post by LarryLatham » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:52 pm

Yeah Roger,

You can indeed get them in the Far East. I just purchased a COBUILD New Students Dictionary in Bejing two weeks ago at the Foreign Language Bookstore on Wangfujing DaLu. I saw them in Shanghai too, along with the more advanced user versions in both locations.

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