Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Guli Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Tai'an Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
In the classroom the discovery of new words is guided by the teacher who elicits the meaning using different strategies or pre-teaches difficult vocabulary, but what happens when the pupils are at home? Although students should try to guess the meaning from the context, it is likely that they will look up the word in a dictionary. Students with proper training on monolingual dictionaries will use this tool at its full potential compared to simple users interested only in the definition. Skilled students will master the IPA, enlarge effectively vocabulary and improve their search time. A fast consultation of the dictionary entry will focus only on the semantic but there is much more under a headword. Most of the reliable dictionaries include a phonetic translation and in general they use the International Phonetic Alphabet. The inclusion of the International Phonetic Alphabet translation of the words in the dictionaries is a great advantage as it allows any reader to pronounce correctly any word only by reading the phonetic translation. Of course, if the students ignore the symbols between the slashes, the chances are that the students will simply skip this information to go ahead to the definition. Even if the International Phonetic Alphabet is explained in the introduction of the dictionary is very unlikely that students will take the time to read it. However, ESL students trained on the IPA will be empowered by this tool and will be able to use the dictionary not only to check the spelling but also as source of correct pronunciation. Students with appropriate training are more likely to effectively assimilate vocabulary. A trained student will pay more attention to the grammar category, the labels of style, the examples sentences, the word collocations and the word variation. In this way, the students will learn not only the word they were searching, but also its variations and collocations building their vocabulary which can be useful in writing tasks. On the contrary a not trained user will be satisfied with the definition, the semantic aspect, disregarding the valuable information about the syntax and style. Unfortunately, this simplistic approach does not guarantee a retention of the word and the student lose the chance to put into fruition the time spent on the dictionary. As monolingual dictionaries are allowed in many exams, especially for writing essays, if students are used to consult the dictionary then they will be advantaged. To look up a word in a dictionary can be time consuming; if the students know the dictionary's pages and in particular the codes used, they may scan the entry for the information wanted. Obviously, the time in exams is precious and students should use theirs to complete the task, but if they have some minutes left they could find a synonym to substitute a recurring word or to check a connective use. In conclusion, lexicographers hand to users a marvelous work that depicts the language and offers valuable information for foreign learners of English, but many may not recognize all the knowledge contained in the dictionaries. As it has been seen, a simple user will ignore the phonetic translation and will not integrate the headword, or related words, in his vocabulary if the search is focused only on the meaning of the word. Besides, a not trained user will be at a loss if he has to use a dictionary in a time limit situation. Only through adequate training in the use of the dictionary, ESL students can use this pedagogical tool constructively in reading or writing tasks.
