English Digital Dictionaries as Valuable Blended Learning Tools for Palestinian College Students

Abstract

Digital technology has become an indispensible aspect of foreign language learning around the globe especially in the case of college students who are often required to finish extensive reading assignments within a limited time period. Such pressure calls for the use of efficient tools such as digital dictionaries to help them achieve their academic purposes. Efficient use of such tools, however, would not be possible unless students are familiar with their special features so as to use them to their maximum advantage. This paper investigates the extent to which Palestinian college students are familiar with the features and advantages of different dictionary types especially digital ones. It also probes the effect of using certain activities on the students' level of awareness and dictionary use. A structured interview and a test were applied on a group of 148 Arts and Science students at two local universities. The interview measured the purposes (skills) that these dictionaries are used for and the domains they are used in. At a later stage in the experiment, these students were involved in an eight week activity that required them to use an online dictionary on a daily basis to complete an assignment. After the experiment, it was found that the frequency of dictionary use declined in the case of the print dictionary and increased remarkably in the case of the electronic (CD-Rom) and online dictionaries. It was also found that exposing students to the authentic language available in electronic dictionaries notably enhanced the students' overall language proficiency.

EFL Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Dictionary Use and Preferences

“…On the other hand, no significant differences were found between other types. The result agrees with the other studies reviewed in the literature which found that L2-L1 bilingual dictionaries were used more frequently than other types of dictionaries (Tomaszczyk, 1979;Baxter, 1980;Battenburg, 1989;Schmitt, 1997;Alqahtani, 2005;Ali & Siddiek,2015;Wolter;2015). "L2 learners, even those who have achieved a very high level of L2 proficiency and have been trained in academic skills, including dictionary use, still reach out for a bilingual dictionary" (Laufer and Hadar, 1997:189).It is very obvious that the subjects of the study rely more frequently on L2-L1 bilingual dictionaries.…”

“…In the interview, the students mentioned that they use their mobile to check unknown words either by using dictionaries installed on their mobiles or using Google translator and this shows the high frequent use of mobile and Google translator over other type of dictionaries in terms of the medium. Dwaik (2015) found that the highest reading proficiency is acquired by the students who use online dictionaries. ISSN 1948-5425 2016 It should be noted here that our subjects use print and HHE dictionaries less frequently and the mean frequency is below the middle point.…”

Investigating E-Dictionaries on Speaking Ability among University Students in Malaysia

“…Lastly, Dwaik stated that only 20% of learners use the e-dictionaries in the speaking context (pronunciation as an integral element of the speaking ability). This shows an unusual situation as pronunciation may cause difficulties for subjects participating in the research, and electronic dictionaries would obviously prove to be instrumental in this regard [13].…”

Digital Native/Digital Immigrant Divide: EFL Teachers’ Mobile Device Experiences and Practice

“…Mobile devices hold special promise in EFL contexts like Thailand as they can provide students with easy access to up-to-date materials and connect them to the real world and an authenticity of native English that is missing in classrooms led by non-native teachers. Studies have found that in EFL contexts technology can aid the learning of Grammar (Kilickaya, 2013;Saeedi & Biri, 2016) and highest reading proficiency is acquired by students who use online dictionaries (Dwaik, 2015). Moreover, technology and MALL can help teachers transform the language classroom, making English learning more personalized, more interactive, and more accessible (EF EPI, 2016).…”