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As well as you know a dictionary plays significant role in language learning especially at schools and other educational centers. There are many advantages of using a dictionary: Right pronunciation. When students come across with new words, in order to have right pronunciation of words they can check out a word’s right utterance. Part of speech. It could inform which part of speech a certain word belongs. May it be a verb, noun, adjective or a combination of these three? It could also be a guide as to how should a particular word be used. Autonomy. Gives outstanding opportunity like to continue learning outside the classroom, and this will give students considerable autonomy about the decisions they make about their own learning. Besides it gives the learner good learning habits. There is enormous amount of information in a good learner’s dictionary. Helping learners tap into that information efficiently is one of the best ways to help them become independent. Correct spelling. Linguistically speaking, it is no doubt that a dictionary could help them out in knowing the proper spelling of words. In this connection, it will guide them in writing a word or phrase. It is also helpful in enriching their vocabulary. The uniqueness of English is that there is no coordination between pronunciation and the spelling. This leads the students mostly in the written form and to the considerable amount in the spoken form. Language learning is mainly for proficiency and fluency in communication in the spoken and graphic form. For that reason depending on manual dictionaries compiled could not satisfy the present need of the language learners and the researchers. In this technological scenario students should be motivated to learn the language easily by using electronic dictionary in the classroom. Generally it is difficult for students to communicate in English because English is not our native language, not a phonetic language and there is a lack of models to imitate. There is no correlation between sound and spelling and grammar elements and structures are not same as their mother tongue. Dictionary utilization is an art and it is significant tool in learning process. Learners should be motivated to learn themselves by improving vocabulary by referring to different dictionaries which come under reference materials. Learning process should be in interesting way. Pupils should be attracted by the teaching methodology using technological gadgets in the classroom. Firstly, students should be familiarized with dictionaries at the very beginning of a course. They should be acquainted with typical entries of dictionaries and they should know how to seek out a word and what the abbreviations in a dictionary stand for. Furthermore, the students’ dictionary skills should be developed using a variety of dictionary activities on how to use a dictionary effectively. These activities can concentrate on spelling, parts of speech, definitions, meanings, register, pronunciation, collocations, antonyms-synonyms, etc. Moreover students should be given some dictionary activities from time to time according to their level. One of the important thing each teacher should do with students is to teach them dictionary using tips so teacher should begin by teaching them the phonetic symbols and how to identify where the stress on the word . Because the most challenging aspects of learning a language is having a good pronunciation and being aware of the subtleties in order to escape misunderstandings. In addition when teacher teach them to interpret all the symbols in a dictionary this will help them to learn new words and to broader their vocabulary and build their confidence. Choosing right dictionary depending on their level is rule thumb. For instance, for elementary school children picture dictionaries can be useful. Because in this age they are fond of pictures and the same time they are not able to understand meaning of the word in English. It is undeniable that using dictionaries is very beneficial. As language teachers, we should all be aware of the importance of using a dictionary in language learning. Teaching students to use dictionaries is teaching them autonomy. Teachers should guide students to choose a good dictionary and encourage them to refer to it frequently.
