TY - JOUR
T1 - A study on the effectiveness of electronic and paper dictionaries
T2 - Comparing the hybrid use of both and the pure use of either
AU - Zou, Di
AU - Xie, Haoran
AU - Wang, Fu Lee
AU - Wong, Tak Lam
AU - Wu, Qingyuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Playing an important role in assisting vocabulary acquisition, dictionary use has been studied from various perspectives, among which, investigation of the facilitative effects of dictionary consultation in promoting word learning is a particular focus. However, no research has ever been conducted to compare the effectiveness of various approaches to dictionary consultation (e.g., the pure use of either paper or electronic dictionary, or the hybrid use of both). The present research, therefore, responds to this call and conducts two experiments among 185 language learners to examine the facilitative effects of diverse methods of dictionary use. We also interview the participants to inspect their perceptions of dictionary use. The empirical results demonstrate the superiority of the paper dictionary over the electronic dictionary, the usefulness of repetition, and the greater effectiveness of the hybrid use of both paper and electronic dictionary than the pure use of either. The results also shed light on the factors that are of concern to language learners while using dictionaries. We further conclude this study by highlighting the importance of processing for constructing memory, repetition for consolidating memory, and diversity for reinforcing memory in promoting word learning.
AB - Playing an important role in assisting vocabulary acquisition, dictionary use has been studied from various perspectives, among which, investigation of the facilitative effects of dictionary consultation in promoting word learning is a particular focus. However, no research has ever been conducted to compare the effectiveness of various approaches to dictionary consultation (e.g., the pure use of either paper or electronic dictionary, or the hybrid use of both). The present research, therefore, responds to this call and conducts two experiments among 185 language learners to examine the facilitative effects of diverse methods of dictionary use. We also interview the participants to inspect their perceptions of dictionary use. The empirical results demonstrate the superiority of the paper dictionary over the electronic dictionary, the usefulness of repetition, and the greater effectiveness of the hybrid use of both paper and electronic dictionary than the pure use of either. The results also shed light on the factors that are of concern to language learners while using dictionaries. We further conclude this study by highlighting the importance of processing for constructing memory, repetition for consolidating memory, and diversity for reinforcing memory in promoting word learning.
KW - Electronic dictionary
KW - Hybrid learning
KW - Incidental word learning
KW - Paper dictionary
KW - Repetition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85020481008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1504/IJIL.2017.084364
DO - 10.1504/IJIL.2017.084364
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85020481008
SN - 1471-8197
VL - 21
SP - 379
EP - 398
JO - International Journal of Innovation and Learning
JF - International Journal of Innovation and Learning
IS - 4
ER -