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Dictionaries.

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George

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Dictionaries.
« on: March 18, 2009, 11:27:42 PM »
I've been pushing my classes to equip themselves with dictionaries. It's a hard slog, but they're getting the message. One of my loveliest little boys..Max.. turned up today with a brand new, very comprehensive dictionary. Good Baby, Maxie! Been teaching compound words..1+1=1 and giving little competitions to re-inforce. So today, I have on the blackboard -----house, ---house, etc. All into their dictionaries! Max is waving frantically in the corner. OK Maxie, go! He comes up with...whorehouse! Little bugger translated the meaning to the rest of the class, and we were all falling on the floor laughing. Told the dictionary-less people that having one leads to a fascinating world of words. Sometimes I love my job!
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Stil

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 11:33:06 PM »
Ha ha ha that's great.

And here I am banning the use of dictionaries in my classes.
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George

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2009, 11:37:21 PM »
Quote
And here I am banning the use of dictionaries in my classes.
Reverse the ban! It occupies the tiny little minds and keeps then (relatively) quiet!
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Stil

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2009, 11:45:05 PM »
I'm in college, They depend on them too much and it hurts them in my opinion.
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dragonsaver

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2009, 12:33:19 AM »
Paper dictionaries good  bfbfbfbfbf  Electronic dictionaries bad  aoaoaoaoao
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Riz

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2009, 01:19:20 AM »
In my experience, Oxford Advanced Learners' and Longman Dictionary of contemporary English (English to English translation) are recommendable. They explain every word in a context and that's the right way to learn new words. I loathe electronic dictionaries because they make the students to think in Chinese.
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adamsmith

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2009, 02:18:31 AM »
I am with the paper dictionary crowd. Throw out those electronic things. Paper dictionaries at least make them work and we all know how much these uni students enjoy working. Looking up words - too hard "guess i will turn on brain now" they think and it helps them realize they don't need them as much. bibibibibi
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Monkey King

Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2009, 07:40:14 PM »
I don't think it's necessarily up to teachers to dicate what resources students should be using in their language study.  Does it matter if it is electronic or paper?  It should be whatever suits the learner, surely?  I myself use an electronic dictionary for studying Chinese.

However, I definitely think it's possible (necessary) to be 'trained' in good dictionary use (there is some great stuff around for this too, BTW). Any dictionary can be an incredibly powerful tool in language learning, or it can become a crutch and a hindrance - depends on how the learner uses it. 


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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2009, 09:03:04 PM »
I'm fine with dictionaries, but always fought to try and get them to use the dictionary between their ears first, and turn to the crutch as a last resort.

Of course, none of them paid even the slightest attention to this. llllllllll
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Lotus Eater

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2009, 12:41:13 AM »
Quote from: MK on March 19, 2009, 07:40:14 PM
I don't think it's necessarily up to teachers to dicate what resources students should be using in their language study.  Does it matter if it is electronic or paper?  It should be whatever suits the learner, surely?  I myself use an electronic dictionary for studying Chinese.

However, I definitely think it's possible (necessary) to be 'trained' in good dictionary use (there is some great stuff around for this too, BTW). Any dictionary can be an incredibly powerful tool in language learning, or it can become a crutch and a hindrance - depends on how the learner uses it. 




I agree MK.  I love dictionaries. I have half-a-dozen paper ones (even brought my favourite from OZ with me), about 10 Chinese-English dictionaries and my e-dictionary.  I don't mind what the students use, and I will tell them to look up words.  I will ask them compare various definitions found in the variety of dictionaries they have.

What frustrates me now (even though I use it myself, when I don't have an alternative kkkkkkkkkk) is that most of the mobile phones now have a dictionary and when I go to pounce on a  student for using his mobile in class, he is using the dictionary function.   llllllllll llllllllll
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adamsmith

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2009, 10:10:26 PM »
they love to use that excuse LE when you catch them with their phone, but then again by not allowing e-dictionaries it gets rid of that problem. The biggest problem i have with them using those electronic contraptions is that they spend the whole class looking up every word instead of trying to actually learn the words they need.
but I also am not teaching english but business subjects so things are different as i am giving more lectures and i hate it when the students are ignoring what i am talking about to find some word from 3 slides ago.
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The Local Dialect

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2009, 01:08:58 AM »
One of my students had a great electronic dictionary with English-English translations for just about every word imaginable. We were doing AP English Language and Comp. and the dictionary was essential because AP English requires some incredibly high level vocabulary. While I could spend all day explaining words to them, we didn't really have the time for it. My students are mostly going to be going to the States for college so having a good dictionary (I usually advise my students to get a stand alone dictionary rather than a cell-phone dictionary, because I do allow dictionaries in class, but not phones) will be essential.
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Lotus Eater

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2009, 01:59:09 AM »
Quote from: adamsmith on March 20, 2009, 10:10:26 PM
they love to use that excuse LE when you catch them with their phone

I check!!   ahahahahah ahahahahah
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latefordinner

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2009, 04:40:39 AM »
Nicely put, MK. It seems, however, that good dictionary use is just one more remedial class to teach on top of all the others.  Or rather, that they've endured so much mis-teaching for so long that this is just another bad set of habits to be trained out of.
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dragonsaver

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Re: Dictionaries.
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2009, 02:03:51 PM »
Quote from: latefordinner on March 21, 2009, 04:40:39 AM
Nicely put, MK. It seems, however, that good dictionary use is just one more remedial class to teach on top of all the others.  Or rather, that they've endured so much mis-teaching for so long that this is just another bad set of habits to be trained out of.

I have an opportunity to make some course improvements at my school.  I would assume that a course in correct dictionary use would only take 2 or 3 hours?  That is making them use the dictionary correctly, having them look up specific words correctly, looking for specific information in a dictionary.

Could you give me some ideas of what to teach and I can force a remedial class in this.
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