Silverweed.
How to use a dictionary
effectively
Reasons for using
a dictionary
A dictionary is a very important tool for anyone who is
learning a new language.
With a good dictionary you can do the following:
look up the meaning of an English word you see or hear
find the English translation of a word in your language
check the spelling of a word
check the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb
find out other grammatical information about a word
find the synonym or antonym of a word
look up the collocations of a word
check the part of speech of a word
find out how to say a word
find out about the register of a word
find examples of the use of a word in natural language
To be a good dictionary user, however, it is not enough
to know what to use the dictionary for.
You must also decide which is the best dictionary for any
of the purposes listed above.
As well as this, you need to be able to find what you are
looking for quickly;
you need to be
sure that you have found what you were looking for;
and, most importantly, you need to know when to use your dictionary.
Knowing which
dictionary to use
Electronic dictionaries are the best choice for ESL
students.
Most of them contain native-language equivalents and
explanations, as well as definitions
and example sentences in English. They can speak the
English word to you, and they are easy
to carry around. However, they are expensive and easy to
lose, so put your name on yours!
A cheaper possibility, if you are going to work at the
computer, is to use an online dictionary.
A very good one for ESL students is the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.
Alternatively, if you open Google and type, for example, define:
superstitious,
you will get a long list of different definitions of superstitious.
A good monolingual dictionary is recommended for students
who already have a high standard of English and want to
learn about word use.
Finding words
quickly
This is a skill that you need to practise. Ask someone to
write down 5 words
and see how long it takes you to find them. Of course,
you will need to know the English alphabet perfectly, so practise this too. Use
the guide words at the top of each dictionary page;
and keep practising until you can find any word within 10
seconds. You should also practise
finding words in your own language in your bilingual
dictionary. If you use an electronic dictionary, take some time at home to
learn how it works and, again, practise finding words quickly.
Finding the right
meaning of an English word
Very often when you look up a new English word, you find
that it has more than one meaning.
If you are not sure which one is correct, here’s what you
can do:
First, check
through all the meanings and find the one that makes most sense in the context
where you found the word. (Very often, many of the
different meanings are similar
and this should be enough to give you a good idea what
the word means.)
Second, if you
really want to make sure, think what the word is in your own language
and look it up in a bilingual dictionary. If one of the
English translations is the original word
you looked up, then you can be satisfied that you have
found the right meaning.
Finding the right
spelling
Another problem you may have is when you want to check
your spelling
but you can’t find the word you’re looking for. What can
you do?
If you are sure of the first few letters, just look down
the page until you find the right spelling.
This person obviously isn’t
dyslexic!
Try all the different ways of
making that sound. Er, ir, ur, make the same sound as can au and o.
When I finally find the word
I want I write it at the top of the page where I think it should appear.
(Again, it is helpful to check the meaning is the one you
expect.)
If you are not sure of the first few letters, try some
other possibilities.
You know for example that some words that start with an -n sound have k as their first letter; e.g. knife, knight. So if you
can't find the word under N, try looking in the K pages.
If you still can’t find the word, think what it is in
your language
and look it up in your bilingual dictionary.
Finding the right English translation of a word in your
language
When you look up a word in your own language in a
bilingual dictionary,
you will probably find that there is more than one
English translation.
If you are not
sure which to use, you could try a back translation.
This means that you look up the English translations one
by one in a monolingual dictionary.
If a word has a definition that matches the word in your
language, you are safe to use it.
Knowing when to
use the dictionary
If you look up every new word you see or hear,
you will spend your whole day with the dictionary in your
hand. That’s no good!
You have to be clever and choose the right words to check
and the right time to do it.
Try to follow the advice below and you will become a much
more efficient language learner:
When you find a new word while reading, finish the
sentence (better: the paragraph).
If you haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems
important, then you can look it up.
To avoid interrupting your reading for too long, you
should find its meaning in your own language using a bilingual dictionary.
When you hear a new word in class (or the teacher has
written it on the board),
wait and continue listening. What the teacher says next
may help you to understand the word.
If you look in your dictionary, you will not hear what
comes next,
and this will make understanding the lesson more and more
difficult.
If you think the word is very important, you could copy it from the board or write how you think
If you think the word is very important, you could copy it from the board or write how you think
it is spelled. Then later you could ask the teacher or
another student what it means.
You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve
read.
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
How
to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?
Perhaps
you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives many ways for you to work
with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com which takes
advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com
just for fun.
To
quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will
know.
The
more that you learn; the more places you'll go.
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