Crețan Lenuța-Andreea

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Using dictionaries

Being a teacher is hard, especially when you have to refine and shape your techniques.
From one class to another you have to be the best version of yourself and to embrace the variety
of changes which comes with every hour you teach. In order to succeed, and to make your
students understand and apply everything you are saying, there is a mixture of materials you can
use. These materials have the sole purpose of making your life and your students’ life (even if
they do not realize it every time) easier.
Using dictionaries at the right moment can undoubtedly increase your chances to be
“victorious.”
We know that words and grammar are thought to be separate entities. In fact, in learning
any word we are also learning something about its grammar. Students tend to feel anxious when
it comes to learning new pieces of information which tend to be slight different from what they
have already learned. A major problem I have noticed is that they have difficulties in recognizing
word classes. In some languages, however, the word itself tells us about what class it belongs to.
In English there are very few clues in the word itself, and we usually have to look at the context.
That’s why is better for students, and for the teacher himself, to look up various words in the
dictionary and to find what its multiple meanings are.
A lot of words can function as a member of one word class in some contexts and as a
member of another word class in other contexts. That’s why is highly recommended to
familiarize with every meaning a word may have before taking wrong presupposition. Students
can find everything they need in a good dictionary such as Cambridge Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary. Of course, it is hard to believe that every student will learn every word’s meaning by
heart, we are not absurd, but it is just fine if they learn to use a dictionary whenever they find
something ambiguous or when they cannot decipher the meaning out of the context.
For example, the word “high” can be, depending on the context, an adjective, a noun, and an
adverb. Students may not “guess” its word class every time, but with the help of a dictionary,
they can check this word’s meanings and make distinctions when necessary.
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Another case which requires the use of a dictionary is teaching nouns, especially the
plural form of the nouns. We know that some nouns have their plural form ending in s and other
have an irregular plural form, such as knife – knives. Considering the fact that there is no way of
telling whether a singular noun has a regular or an irregular plural form, we need to encourage
learners to use a dictionary in order to check and learn the plural spelling and pronunciation of
words that they come across.
These been said, learners need to use a dictionary to check the pronunciation of the plural
forms of words that end in th and f. (Such as: puff, roof, cloth, and so on). By doing this, they
won’t be prone to making mistakes, especially because these kind of nouns can be difficult to
pronounce: puff - puffs:/ pʌfs; cloth – cloths:/ klɒθs.
Speaking of nouns, a dictionary is used by learners in order to check whether we add s or
es to any particular words ending in o. For example, the plural form of “tomato” requires the
ending es. “Church”, “box”, “wish”, are nouns which also need this type of ending.
Learners also need to check the plural form of singular words that end in f or fe, such as
loaf, wife, life, leaf etc. (Parrot, 27)
However, teaching grammar is not easy, especially when we have to make a clear
distinction between what can or cannot follow an adjective. For example, if we use adjectives
predicatively, we can sometimes follow them with a preposition, infinitive or that – clause. E.g.:
unaware of speaking, happy to learn, eager than you should go. (Parrot, 64). In order to help our
learners, we need to teach adjectives by grouping them not only according to their meaning, but
also according to the word which follow them. Learners also need to develop the habit of using a
good learners’ dictionary such as Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary to check what can
follow any particular adjective. Of course, sometimes there is more than one possibility. On the
other hand, a few adjectives can only be used if they are followed by a preposition, such as fond
of, prone to etc.
Jumping to another topic which concerns us, focusing adverbs may be quite intriguing.
We use focusing adverbs to single out information, to express restriction or to refer back to
something. Because these adverbs help us structure what we write or say, they are closely related
to discourse markers. Some examples of focusing adverbs would be: even, specifically, just,
merely, also, either, especially, purely, too, particularly etc. The problem occurs when we refer
to the meaning of focusing adverbs. The meaning is dependent on the context we use them in and
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the knowledge we share with our readers or participants in conversation. Each adverb has its own
rules about what kinds of words it can be used with and where it comes in the sentence, and
learners can use a good dictionary to check these factors.
For example, we use “even” to indicate that something is surprising or unexpected:
Everyone is lying to me, even you; “only” is used to express some kind of restriction: I was only
asking you what time it is.; and “also” is used to draw attention to the fact that we are adding
information to the pre-existent one: You have to teach the affirmative form of the verbs and also
the question form. (Parrot, 80).
We have to understand which every adverb’s meaning is and also to refer to the context when
necessary. When it comes about sentence position, the position of even, only and also is quite
flexible. We usually place them immediately before the item they qualify. However, a good
dictionary, used every time we acknowledge these issues, can be a life saver.
Another major problem for non-native speakers of English is using prepositions. This is
because there are so many prepositions in English and learners often have to make choices and
distinctions that are not necessary in their own language. Many choices have little or nothing to
do with meaning, and that’s why prepositions are quite difficult to remember. For example, in
Romanian, we use “pe” in order to indicate the place something or someone is standing on. Its
English equivalent “on” has various uses, a quite relevant example would be “depend on”
(someone/something). Here, “on” does not have the meaning “pe”, it embraces another meaning
and we translate it as “a depinde de cineva, ceva”.
So, if learners really want to use prepositions correctly, good dictionary-using habits may be as
useful for them as classroom study. Nonetheless, we should try to teach prepositions in longer
phrases rather than as single words. (Parrot, 103).
Last but not least, dictionaries can be used by learners in order to find lists of irregular
verbs. A comprehensive list can be find in a good’s learner’s dictionary as Cambridge Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary. However, elementary level learners may prefer a list only of some of the
most common and useful verbs, and it is helpful to organize verbs into groups which have
similar characteristics. (Parrot, 122).
An example of this kind of list would be:
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These been said, dictionaries can be a resourceful material in teaching grammar and not
only. Learners should develop a habit of using them every time it is necessary. It is a weapon
against every meaning related issue, and also our best friend regarding pronunciation.
Learning to use a dictionary is like walking. At first it may seem a little bit scary, the information
may overwhelm you, you may trip over some unknown words or really hard pronunciations, but
once you’ve started, it only gets easier.