Can dictionary skills be taught? The effectiveness of lexicographic training for primary-school-level Polish learners of English
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Date
2008
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Universitat Pompeu Fabra
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Abstract
In the present paper we examine the question of whether dictionary reference skills can be
taught effectively in the classroom. To this end, we test the reference skills of a group of
Polish primary-school students attending English classes twice: prior to and following a
12-session specially-designed training program. Despite the subjects high confidence in
their reference skills reported in the accompanying questionnaire, they performed rather
poorly on the pre-test. Following a training program, the performance improves
substantially and significantly more than in a matched control group. We conclude that a
dictionary skills training program may be effective in teaching language learners at this
level to use dictionaries more effectively, though different skills benefit to different degrees.
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Keywords
Lexicography, Dictionary skills
Citation
Proceedings of the XIII EURALEX International Congress, Bernal, Elisenda, and Janet DeCesaris (eds.), 1273-1285.