Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

(TESOL)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English by A. S. Hornby

Review by: Jym M. McKay
TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Mar., 1975), pp. 77-79
Published by: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
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 REVIEWS 77

significantly in the order of presentation of grammatical structures. The

five basic steps suggested for classroom presentation-modeling, choral and
individual repetition, teacher-student exchange, student-student exchange,
conversation sequence-are comfortably familiar to anyone who has used
other pattern practice materials.
In their promotional literature and elsewhere, however, the publishers
and authors try to make us believe that Situational Reinforcement? is some-
thing radically new under the sun. Take the first paragraph of the teacher's
manual for example:
SR? (Situational Reinforcement)is an approachto language teach-
ing. It's similar to other approachesin one basic respect-one of its
majorgoals is to help people learn a language. Unlike other approaches,
however, it's based on the belief that people should be able to learn
to communicateas well and as quickly as possible.
The absurd suggestion that "other approaches" are based on some contrast-
ing belief is surely insulting to the reader's sense of logic.
This use of contrast to point up the superiority of Situational Reinforce-
ment? is prominent in Teach Communication with SR?, which features an
eleven-point "comparison"between Situational Reinforcement? and pattern
practice. "Pattern practice," nobody's registered trademark, doesn't come
off too well. One of the most obvious devices of illogic in this comparison is
what may be called the false incompatibility. For example, on the Situa-
tional Reinforcement? side of things is the phrase "Language regarded as
system of communication," which is supposed to contrast with "Language
regarded as system of patterns" on the pattern-practice side. The extreme
implication seems to be that patterns are incompatible with communication.
Too much of what is labeled "SR? Philosophy" is at this level.
But the hucksterish promotion is peripheral to the real merits, discussed
earlier in this review, of Orientation in American English. The series is
geared toward no particular language background, and the materials and
situations around which the lessons are constructed are well suited to groups
of students with different first languages.
The sections of the teacher's manual titled "SR? Teaching Methodology"
and "What Do I Do If . .. ?" contain good practical advice for the be-
ginning teacher, and the "Situation and Structure Inventory" is helpful for
course organization.
EUGENEV. MOHR
University of Puerto Rico

OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNER'S DICTIONARY OF CURRENT

ENGLISH. A. S. Hornby (London: Oxford University Press, 1974. xxvii
+ 1055 pp.).
The Third Edition of this reference book for the advanced student of
English as a foreign language or as a second language has been extensively
revised. However, the concept that a useful dictionary for the foreign stu-

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78 TESOL QUARTERLY

dent must provide information on contextual usage and structural relation-

ships as well as on meanings and pronunciation remains the foremost pur-
pose of the book.
The writers of dictionaries follow explicit editorial policies which deter-
mine how information about language is treated and what is included in or
excluded from the data presented. These policies must be taken into con-
sideration in determining the usefulness of the linguistic information con-
tained in the dictionary. Hornby has chosen to provide as much detail as
possible about contextual usage and syntactic structure in a textbook size
volume. Etymological data is omitted from the references, and pronuncia-
tion is dealt with only superficially. The dictionary is written primarily for
the British English speaker but careful attention is given to American
spelling and pronunciation. Each entry is represented phonetically followed
by the American spelling and pronunciation (in phonetic symbols) where
they differ. The phonetic representations are supposedly ". . . the variety
of English most associated with national broadcasting and least restricted
in its geographical distribution" (p. xii). While this may be seen as a lim-
itation by some users, the inclusion of information not usually found in
dictionaries or in the textbook grammars is potentially more useful to the
advanced learner than data on dialectal variation in pronunciation which
is available from other sources.
The inside covers of the dictionary are utilized for listing (a) abbrevia-
tions used in the text; (b) specialist English registers indicated in the
entries; e.g., art, anatomy, business, science, etc.; (c) twenty-seven stylistic
values from archaic to taboo forms indicated in the entries; and (d) a key to
the phonetic symbols used.
The following aspects of the dictionary can be of value to the user seek-
ing answers to specific questions about meaning, usage, and structure:
1. A completely revised section on "verb patterns" is included in the
Introduction. The syntactic information made available in table form com-
prises 25 numbered sentence types with a brief structural description and
examples of each. The entries for verbs are supplied with the appropriate
number correspondingto the explanations in the table. Thus the user is able
to refer to possible types of structures in which the verb forms may be used
appropriately. The grammatical points outlined are limited and meant to
be a guide.
2. The definitions of each entry are intended to represent the "literal"
meaning and are followed by detailed explanations of use in particular con-
texts. The examples of changes in stress patterns in idiomatic expressions
are especially helpful.
3. The entries frequently have cross references to definitions, illustra-
tions, and relevant appendices.
4. The entries for the verbs include the particles (prepositions) which
may be associated with the verb. Examples illustrate the use and meaning
of the constructions.

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 REVIEWS 79

5. Nouns are labeled as countable or uncountable. In cases where both

uses are permissible, examples are given. For instance, the entry for coffee
indicates that in one of the uses of the word as a count noun "three black
coffees" means "three cups of coffee without milk."
6. The appendices include, among other things, a compilation of irreg-
ular verbs (infinitive, past tense, past participle), abbreviations, affixes, nu-
merical expressions, and weights and measures.
Numerous illustrations are provided throughout the text. Some of these
are grouped with common themes, some illustrate comparisons such as a
drawing depicting a Minotaur and a centaur, and some are labeled to indicate
individual parts of the subject. Unfortunately, many of the pictures are
unclear in print. Many are small and contain considerable detail so that it
is difficult to determine just what is supposed to be repesented. The labeled
diagrams are sometimes confusing because the British English word is
given for a part and the American English equivalent may or may not be
indicated. For example, in the illustration of the external parts of a car,
the only American equivalent given is hood for bonnet although Americans
use other names for the British labels boot, windscreen, and trafficator.
The foreign student who has learned English under the direction of
American instructors may find some of the examples and terms difficult to
understand. A large number of examples are typically British English ex-
pressions and not heard in American English. The dialectal variation is not
often noted in the text. Grammaticalterminology also differs to some extent
from that in current use in American textbooks; for example, the term
"anomalous finite" is used rather than the more familiar "auxiliary" and
"modal."
Despite these criticisms the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of
Current English is a valuable source of a wide variety of linguistic informa-
tion. The dictionary would be a useful addition to the libraries of teachers
and students.
JYM M. McKAY
The University of Texas at Austin

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