Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English

TEACHER’S NOTES

Finding the right word

1 Understanding parts of speech

This exercise is designed to help students become familiar with the structure of the
dictionary, with each word treated in its own separate entry. It reminds them to check what
part of speech they need, in order to look up the right entry. Either give the worksheet to the
students and ask them to read the presentation about the word access or introduce the topic
yourself by writing the word access on the board and eliciting its parts of speech from the
students. Ask them to suggest sentences using access as a noun or a verb. You can repeat this
using other pairs of homonyms (e.g. report, total, feature). To fill in the table, ask students to
fill in as much as they can themselves first, before checking in the dictionary.

complete survey abstract peak straight

adjective noun adjective noun adjective
verb verb noun adjective adverb
verb verb

Check that students understand the meaning of each word in each part of speech. As a
follow-up, you could ask the students to write a sentence using each word in one of its parts
of speech, or assign different words to different pairs/groups. Students then swap sentences
and identify which part of speech has been used in each case.
2 Derivatives
This exercise is designed to help students become familiar with the treatment of derivatives
in the dictionary. Ask students what part of speech they think online is. Check that they
understand why it is an adjective in complete an online survey and an adverb in complete a
survey online: point out that the meaning of these two phrases is exactly the same – only the
grammar is different.
Elicit the meaning of impressive and a sentence using it. Ask students what the adverb
from impressive is (i.e. impressively); get them to check in their dictionaries at the entry for
impressive. Ask them to predict what the derivatives might be at unpopular and random –
not necessarily adverbs.
unpopular – the derivative is a noun, unpopularity; if there were an adverb it would be
unpopularly but this is such an extremely rare word it barely exists. In the 85-million-word
Oxford Corpus of Academic English, there is not a single instance of unpopularly; in the
3-billion-word Oxford English Corpus (of general English), unpopularly occurs only 8 times.
random – students may think of two derivatives, randomly and randomness. The adverb
randomly is a very frequent and important word in academic writing, so it has an entry of
its own in the dictionary. The noun randomness is less frequent, although it certainly exists:
its meaning can be worked out from the meaning of the adjective – either ‘the fact that
something is done, chosen, etc. so that all possible choices have an equal chance of being

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Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English TEACHER’S NOTES

considered’ or ‘the fact that something has no regular pattern’ – the example illustrates this
second meaning. You could also point out the entries for randomize (a verb with a specific
technical meaning) and the noun random which is only used in the phrase at random –
which is another way of saying randomly.
Ask students to guess the root words for successively, intensification and demographer. Ask
if they know the meanings of any of these words, then get them to check in the dictionary.
successively – adverb from successive. You can point out that it is also related to the nouns
succession and successor and that all these words derive from the verb succeed in its
second meaning – which may be new to them and is a more formal synonym of follow.
intensification – noun from intensify. Also related to intensity and intensive and all of
these derive from the adjective intense.
demographer – a person who studies demography. Other related words are demographic
(adjective and noun) and demographically.
3 Ask students to read the text first without using the dictionary. Ask a few global
comprehension questions: What is the topic of the text? Can you tell me anything it says
about this topic? Are there any words in the text you are not sure about?
industrialization – the process of a country or region (= Asia) developing industries on a
large scale – derivative at the entry for industrialize
dynamic – describing a process that is always active, changing or making progress; in this
context, dynamic changes are active changes (= changes made deliberately) that make
progress in industrialization – here it is an adjective, which is the second homonym in the
dictionary
competitiveness – the ability of businesses and industries to compete and be successful –
a derivative of competitive, but an important word, so it has its own entry
coherent – in this context, a policy (rather than an argument, theory or statement) that is
logical and well organized – dictionary sense 1
innovation – the introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing sth (in this context, within
industry) – the uncountable sense of the noun (sense 1) to describe the process in general
contributor – ‘something that helps to cause sth’: a more specific definition for this context
would be: ‘countries that help to bring innovation in industry’ – again, this is a derivative
of contribute, but it has several different meanings, so it has its own entry. The relevant
meaning here is the first, very general meaning.
4 This activity encourages students to think about how they can use the dictionary to expand
their vocabulary within their own discipline. This will work best if the text or terms chosen
are not too technical. OLDAE is essentially a dictionary of general academic English and does
not include all the technical vocabulary of all disciplines, as students will learn these on their
subject courses. Instead, it gives help with the general academic vocabulary that has a wide
application across a range of disciplines. This extension task is designed to show students
how this general academic vocabulary applies in their own particular discipline. Encourage
students to focus on words that are fairly familiar but which they might not actively use in
their own writing.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2014

 guistics.  This argument was accepted by the court.  ~
sth as sth Genocide is now accepted as an international
war crime.  ~ that… Most scholars accept that these texts
date from the first century AD.  it is accepted that… It is
generally accepted that early humans were genetically very
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English
similar to humans today.  REJECT (1) 3 to recognize
that an unpleasant situation is real: ~ sth The Emperor
was at last forced to accept defeat.  ~ sth as sth Suffering
was accepted as an inescapable part of human existence.
 DENY (2) 4 ~ sth to agree to or approve of a sugges-
acceptance by the political elite of the need for social
improvement following the war.  REJECTION (1) 2 [U]
the process of being made welcome as part of a group or
in a particular role: Legal equality did not guarantee social
acceptance.  ~ into sth Acceptance into Asia's diverse
business cultures is an important advantage.  ~ as sth
Darwin's acceptance as naturalist aboard HMS Beagle was
WORKSHEE T
a turning point in his life.  REJECTION (2) 3 [U] ~ (of
sth) the act of accepting sth that is offered: It is a funda-
mental tenet of contract law that silence cannot constitute

Finding the right word

tion, plan or practice: They refused to accept the recom-
mendation that compensation be paid.  The plan was
acceptance of an offer.  In his acceptance speech, Kennedy
promised ‘a new frontier’.  REJECTION (1) 4 [U, sing.]
readily accepted by Germany under Chancellor Adenauer. willingness to accept an unpleasant or difficult situation:
 He accepted the normal conventions of Chinese business The bereaved person may need help to move from denial to
in which shareholders left the operation of the business to a acceptance.  ~ of sth For centuries, the idea of a return to
manager.Understanding
 REJECT (1) 5 to make partssb/sthofwelcome
speech in a the homeland coexisted with a passive acceptance of exile.
particular role; to allow sb/sth to join a group: ~ sb/sth as  DENIAL (3)
sth The vast majority of church members accepted Brig-
ham Young Respondents
as leader.  ~with
sb/sth Internet access
for sth When thesewere
ac ·cept·ed /əkˈseptɪd/ adj. that most people approve of
ten asked to complete the survey online.
or recognize as valid: In today's society, it is a widely
countries were accepted for membership, three others—
accepted view that technology will increasingly dominate
Romania,InBulgaria
1998, justandnine per cent not
Turkey—were of UK households
considered could access the Internet.
the future of services.
ready to join.  REJECT (2) 6 ~ sth to admit that you d
ACCEPTED + NOUN wisdom  practice  norm, convention
Both these
are responsible for sth:sentences
Directors were contain
asked to the word access
accept  standard but in the first
 definition sentence
 explanation a noun and in the
it is principle
 view
responsibility for the crisis they had caused.  The father
second sentence it is a verb. In
accepted the obligation of raising and educating the child. the dictionary,
People areverbsmoreand likelynouns
to smoke (andif theyadjectives
are socializedand in a adverbs
culture where smoking is an accepted norm.
and other parts of speech) are treated dinADVERB
d ACCEPT + NOUN offer  invitation  proposal  job  help
separate entries:
+ ACCEPTED widely  generally, commonly 
This type of poverty was characterized by low-wage jobs,
universally  socially There is no universally accepted
two or three families sharing one apartment, and a
definition of terrorism.
reluctance to accept outside help.  argument  premise,
assumption, hypothesis, thesis  view  principle  ac·cess1  /ˈækses/ noun 1 [U] a way of entering or
notion, idea claim conclusion possibility existence reaching a place: Measures can include installing ramps to
The small homonym number
   

 validity Although the majority accepted the government allow wheelchair users to gain access.  ~ to sth Access to
view that there shows that emergency,
was a public this is theLord first of
Hoffmann much of the canyon from above is limited. 2 ~ to sth/sb
did not.  defeat  risk  criticism  the reality of sth  the the opportunity or right to use or get sth, or to see sb/sth:
two entries
fact that… The vast majority for now
of scientists access.
accept the Males compete for access to females indirectly by control-
reality of climate change. ling access to resources. 3 [U, C] the process of connecting
d ADVERB + ACCEPT readily, willingly  finally She did not to the Internet or of opening a computer file to get or add
willingly accept criticism or tolerateheadwords
dissenting views. information: Respondents with Internet access were asked
 widely  generally, commonly  universally  access
to complete the survey online.  There was an average6of ac·com·mo·date
internationally  tacitly, implicitly  broadly The principle 745 URL accesses per household per week throughout the əˈkɑːmədeɪt/ verb 1 ~ s
has come to beAuniversally
differentaccepted
ac·cept·able /əkˈseptəbl
part of byspeech is
all the institutions.
A study period. ~ to sth The number of
exclusion denies access to opportunities that most people
to the Internet
people can agree d would consider a right.


has grown significantly.

people with access place to sleep, live or s
its efforts to attract and
given at/ adj.
each headword.
1 that
VERB + ACCESS provide allow  secure  restrict consider sb's needs or
on or approve of: Buyer and seller need to agree a mutually ac·cess2  /ˈækses/ verb 1 ~ sth to connect to the enced by this when yo
Restricting access to some Internet content raises questions
acceptable price.  Divorce has become more socially Internet or open a computer file in order to get or add policies accommodated
acceptable.  ~ to sb Choosing the approach that is most
of censorship.  gain , obtain , get  ensure  give , grant
information:
facilitate In,1998,
 limit control justThe
nine
raid perensured
cent ofaccess
UK households
from the threatened.
acceptable to the patient improves the chances of success. couldSea access
Irish to a the
routeInternet.
across the  Technology is increasing an
southern Pennines to York. ac·com·mo·da·tion
 UNACCEPTABLE 2 that can be allowed: Maximum organization's ability to access
 A given level of education at onesecondary data via
time gave access the
to elite əˌkɑːməˈdeɪʃn/ noun 1
acceptable nitrate levels in water are often set at 50 mg/l. web.  2 ~ sth to reach, enter,inget or use A common
sth: have
jobs. have  lack Households Desta's village no The housing was to be
 They conclude that it is morally acceptable to use ani-
consideration
access to insurance for most businesses
companies.  enjoy is the desire
 deny Socialto access
modation for the home
larger markets.  New towns emerged to access water
ment or arrangement
power at locations along major rivers.
different opinions whi
ac·ces·si·bil·ity  /əkˌsesəˈbɪləti/ noun [U] the qual- process of reaching th
ity of being easy to reach, enter, use or obtain: To improve was authorized to reach
accessibility, the document has been published in English Darlan.  Cooperation
and Spanish.  ~ of sth (to sb) These arrangements and collaboration. 3 [
depended on local factors, including the accessibility of adapting or adjusting t
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– 12/9/2013clinics
EAP A-Z.3d Page 5 of 916
to patients. sented a process of g
1 Look up the following words in the dictionary: ac·cess·what ible  are the different
/əkˈsesəbl / adj.parts 1 thatof canspeech demands. 4 [U] ~ (to s
be that
adjusting its FOCUS : Ac
reached, entered, used or obtained: Many Australian
each can be? architects have designed publicly accessible buildings
impaired as the lens be
which incorporate Aboriginal cultural symbolism. ~ to ac·com·pany  / 

complete survey abstract

sb/sth Services may not peakbe equally accessible to straight
all groups ac·com·pany·ing, ac·co
of patients.  Some information is accessible to anyone happen or appear with
with Internet access.  ~ by sth In New Urbanism, busi- A fall in price may be a
nesses are readily accessible by walking or public transit. quantity demanded. 
2 easy to understand: The author covers the topics in a accompanied an econo
highly accessible way.  ~ to sb Her work is somewhat less industry. 2 to travel o
accessible to a general audience. Suetonius is likely to ha
 be accompanied by s
ac·ces·sion /ækˈseʃn/ noun 1 [U] the act of becoming a be accompanied by thei
ruler of a country: ~ to sth Gorbachev's accession to power
in March 1985 was an event of considerable significance.  ac·com·plish /əˈkʌm
~ of sb (to sth) The accession of Henri to the French throne ceed in doing or com
disturbed this alliance. 2 [U] ~ (of sth) (to sth) the act of There were minimal res
becoming part of an international organization: The task.  A system is a c
accession of further Member States changed the borders of accomplish an overall g
Europe. 3 [C] (technical) an item that is added to items cutting is accomplished
that have already been collected, for example in a library centrate the energy.
or museum: ~ (of sth) Multiple accessions of 13 species
were sampled.  + noun For museum accession numbers,
ac ·com·plish·ment
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University əˈkɑːmplɪʃmənt
Press 2014 / noun 1
see Supplementary Appendix S1.
done or achieved after
ac·ci·dent /ˈæksɪdənt/ noun 1 [C] an unpleasant event, This was a political acc
especially in a vehicle, that happens unexpectedly and nitude. 2 [U] the fact
 how unpredictable and devastating earthquakes could be.
to-ˈone adv.: A great deal of market research is undertaken
one-to-one.
 more at EVER , IF , NAME 1 , NOT

ˌone-ˈway adj. [usually before noun] 1 moving or allowing

only2 /ˈəʊnli; NAmE ˈoʊnli/ adj. [only before noun] 1 used to
say that no other or others of the same group exist or are
movement in only one direction: Most road networks
there: The only way a firm can stay in business is to make
include one-way streets.  The device forces air via a one-
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English
way valve into the patient's lungs. 2 operating in only one WORKSHEE T
profits.  He was the only person capable of bringing unity
out of division.  Scale is not the only difference between
direction: Most traditional media provide one-way com-
the two supermarkets. 2 used to say that sb/sth is the best
munications, where information passes from a source to a
and you would not choose any other: There was a devel-
receiver but there is little opportunity for feedback.
oping belief that hospital was the only safe place to have
on·going  /ˈɒnɡəʊɪŋ;
Derivatives NAmE ˈɑːnɡoʊɪŋ; ˈɔːnɡoʊɪŋ/ children.
[ ]
adj. usually before noun continuing to exist or develop: It
is clear that personal development is an ongoing process. 
onset /ˈɒnset; NAmE ˈɑːnset; ˈɔːnset/ noun [sing.] ~ (of sth)
Now look
There is anatongoing
the entry
debatefor online.
about whetherWhat parts of
management is speech can it be?
the beginning of sth, especially sth unpleasant: Treatment
should be initiated within 60 minutes of the onset of symp-
an art or a science.  Clinical trials are currently ongoing.
Online
toms.  Only after the onset of the recession in 2008 did a
can be an adjective (complete an
on·line /ˌɒnˈlaɪn; NAmE ˌɑːnˈlaɪn; ˌɔːnˈlaɪn/ adj. connected clear policy divide on economic issues appear.  (medical)
to or available using a computer or the Internet: There is online
the survey) or an adverb
sudden/early/rapid/acute onset of (complete
sth a
growing evidence that online surveys typically generate survey
onto /ˈɒntəonline). Because
; NAmE ˈɑːntə; ˈɔːntə; the
beforemeaning
vowels ˈɒntuof
; NAmE
lower response rates than postal surveys.  online
ˈɑːntu ˈɔːntu/ (also
the; adverb on to)easy
is quite 1 used
prep. to with verbs to
understand
resources/materials/research/communication  Finally,
express movement on or to a particular place or position:
Hollensen suggests that organizations can create online from
The sugarthe
canemeaning
was loadedofontothecarts.
adjective, it does
 Samples can be
communities where customers can share ideas and interact
smeared directly onto a glass slide. 2 used
not have its own entry. Instead, it is at the to show that sth
together.  OFFLINE  see LINE 1  on·line adv.:
faces in a particular direction: Only a few small windows
Increasing numbers of customers now prefer to shop end onto
of the entry, in a section marked by
looked the street.
online.
only1 /ˈəʊnli; NAmE ˈoʊnli/ adv. 1 no one or nothing
a blue
ontol ·ogysquare. Derivatives
/ɒnˈtɒlədʒi that/ can
; NAmE ɑːnˈtɑːlədʒi noun be(pl. -ies)
1 easily
[U] a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of
understood from the meaning of
except: There have been only a limited number of studies
existence: For such reasons as these, Heidegger believes
on this topic.  Only three levels were used in the analysis
presented.  Capitalist production was only a small part of
their
that rootand
ontology word are treated
phenomenology in the2 same
coincide. [C, U] (com-
puting) a list of ideas and categories in a subject area that
O
the economy.  Thermodynamics applies only to bulk mat- way. These derivatives may have the same
shows the relationships between them: An ontology is con-
ter, not to individual molecules.  sb ~ has to do sth One form so asthat
thetheroot (as online
wordknowledge adverb
structed acquired can be classified.
only has to note the growth of price comparison websites to
 onto·logic·al /ˌɒntəˈlɒdʒɪkl; NAmE ˌɑːntəˈlɑːdʒɪkl/ adj.:
see how these tools can be extremely important. 2 in no does) or they may have a different form
Any entity's ontological category is very plausibly one of
other situation or place; for no other reason: Thyroid eye
its–essential features. redefinition noun which
for example
disease only occurs in patients with Graves' disease.  ~
because He emerged victorious only because his opponents oncomes ·wardsfrom redefine
/ˈɒnwədz verb. ; ˈɔːnwərdz/ (espe-
; NAmE ˈɑːnwərdz
were more incompetent than he was.  ~ if A firm will cially BrE) (NAmE usually on·ward /ˈɒnwəd; NAmE ˈɑːnwərd;
reinvest profits only if it expects to earn more profits. ˈɔːnwərd/) adv. 1 from… onwards continuing from a par-
 In formal written English only, or only if and its ticular time: The Royal African Company's standing grad-
2 Look upcan
clause, these words
be placed ininthe
first the dictionary. Each
sentence. In the one has
second uallya declined
derivative: what
from the 1710sis onwards.
the derivative and
 From that point

part of the sentence, be, do, have, etc. come before the onwards, progress seemed unstoppable. 2 forward: The
what part
subject andofthe
speech is of
main part it?the verb: Only in Burma and term ‘cohort’ is derived from the idea of a Roman troop of
Thailand did Buddhism achieve the status of a state reli- soldiers marching onwards together.  The fear was that
impressive
a gion.  Only if cost-cutting fails will enterprises make stra- humankind might be regressing instead of striving
b tegic changes within their existing operations. 3 no more
unpopular onwards and upwards.
than; no longer than: Some species grow to adult size and
opaque /əʊˈpeɪk; NAmE oʊˈpeɪk/ adj. 1 (of glass, liquid,
randomonly once.  Soil temperature increased only etc.) not clear enough to see through or allow light
c reproduce
slightly.  Climatic recovery takes only a decade or so.
through: Most opaque minerals have colours in reflected
4 not until: The census analysis has only recently been
Now find the entry containing each
completed. Radiation damage may only become appar-

of these derivatives.
light thatWhat is the
range from root
nearly pure word
white and its part
to various shades ofof
grey.  TRANSPARENT (2) 2 (especially of language) dif-
speech?
ent many months or years after radiation exposure.  Only
ficult to understand; not clear: There is a growing percep-
then can the cell divide to form two daughter cells.
d  successively
When only begins a sentence be, do, have, etc. come
tion that decision-making in Brussels is remote, opaque
and even undemocratic.  TRANSPARENT (1)
the subject and the main part of the verb. 5 used
e before
intensification
to say that sb can do no more than what is mentioned, open1 /ˈəʊpən; NAmE ˈoʊpən/ adj. 1 allowing things or
demographer
f although this is probably not enough: Workers can only people to go through: He supports the ideals of democratic
peace, free trade and open borders.  The family resource
hope to shape or block technical change, not to initiate it. 
The President could only begin to come to grips with the centre should be a welcoming space with an open door
enormity of what Hurricane Katrina revealed. 6 used to policy.  The inlet and exhaust apertures remain open so
say that sth has or will have a bad effect: AIDS only serves that the exhaust products can be expelled.  CLOSED (1)
to exacerbate poverty.  He argues that pumping more 2 (of sb's eyes or mouth) with the EYELIDS or LIPS apart:
money into the economy would only make things worse.  The patient should breathe deeply with their mouth
~ to do sth Tall smokestacks are constructed on coal-burn- open.  CLOSED (1) 3 spread out; with the edges apart:
ing power stations to reduce local pollution—only to cause Frost can damage open flowers, preventing seed set.
acid rain elsewhere.  CLOSED (1) 4 not blocked by anything: Keep the

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Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English WORKSHEE T

3 Read this short text and look up all the bold words in your dictionary. Write a short
explanation of each word, as it is used in this text.

Asian industrialization has required rapid developments in research, education,

finance, and law to encourage the dynamic corporate and technological changes
required for contemporary competitiveness. Countries such as Korea, Taiwan, and
Singapore are developing coherent national innovation systems and becoming
important international contributors to innovation.
SOURCE: Dodgson, M. and Gann, D. (2010). Innovation: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press

• industrialization
• dynamic
• competitiveness
• coherent
• innovation
• contributor

Practice
4 Now find a short text in your own discipline and identify 5 or 6 words to check in your
dictionary.
a Identify the part of speech.
b Do the words have their own entries or are they shown as derivatives?

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2014