 Overview of the problem Contradiction toward dictionary selection between language teachers and learners  Significance of the study  Lack of study on Taiwanese students’ preference, habits, and capability of dictionary use  Lack of empirical study on assessing the effects of EDs on learners’ vocabulary acquisition Introduction 蘇琬楨 Wan-Chen Su (Jen)

 What are Taiwanese students’ preference, habits, and capability toward dictionary use?  What do Taiwanese students use EDs for?  Do school teachers in Taiwan put emphasis on the instruction of dictionary skills?  Which type of dictionary best assists students in short- term and long-term vocabulary retention, electronic bilingual dictionaries or paper monolingual dictionaries?  Research question Introduction

 Strengths of EDs Speed (Koren, 1997; Weschler and Pitts, 2000; Aust & Kelley & Roby, 1993) Lightness (Weschler and Pitts, 2000; Tang, 1997) Others: error tolerant input,, word and spelling games, cross-referencing (Weschler and Pitts, 2000)  Weakness of EDs Erroneous assumption (Koren, 1997; Aust & Kelley & Roby, 1993) Not detailed (Koren, 1997) Others: overuse (Aust & Kelley & Roby, 1993), quality (Tang, 1997) Literature Review

Methodology -  Questionnaire Pre-adolescentPost-adolescent Subject number by ages School nameChung-cheng Junior High School Stella Matutina Girls’ Junior High School National Taichung First Senior High School Stella Matutina Girls’ Senior High School Tung Hai University LocationTaipeiTaichung Subject number by schools Gender           Subject number by genders

Questionnaire Send to five teachers through Send to five teachers through Distribute to classes they teach Distribute to classes they teach Collect and mail questionnaires back Collect and mail questionnaires back Data analyzed by Excel files Data analyzed by Excel files Methodology -  Questionnaire

Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group Finding & Analysis -  Questionnaire Q1: What kinds of dictionaries do you have?

Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group Q2: How often do you use the following dictionaries?

Q3: Which type of dictionaries best assists vocabulary retention? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Different perception from the two groups

Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group Q4: Which of the following dictionaries do you prefer?

Q5: How did you learn to look up the bilingual dictionaries? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Q6: Do you carry a dictionary with you? ED or PD? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Q7: When do you use the electronic dictionaries? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Q8: What do you use the electronic dictionaries for? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Q9: Overall, why do you prefer using EDs? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

Q10: If you can't really understand the meaning looked up from the electronic dictionaries, what will you do? Group 1: Pre-adolescent group Group 2: Post-adolescent group

AgeGenderCurrent statusEnglish education in Taiwan Subject 127  Work in USA7 Subject 227  Work in USA7 Subject 325  RioHondo Community College6 Subject 420  Mt. San Antonio Community College 3 Subject 524  California State PolyTechnic University, Pomona 4 Subject 628  Work in USA7 Subject 724  California State University, Long Beach 7 Subject 823  Asuza Pacific University6 Methodology -  Experimental Design

Experimental Design – 1 st Round 8 Subjects randomly assigned to two groups 8 Subjects randomly assigned to two groups Pretest on 50 vocabulary Pretest on 50 vocabulary 2 nd Posttest on 50 vocabulary 2 nd Posttest on 50 vocabulary Data analyzed by T-tests Data analyzed by T-tests Read the 1 st article Experimental: ED Control: PD Read the 1 st article Experimental: ED Control: PD 5 minutes later 1 st Posttest on 50 vocabulary 1 st Posttest on 50 vocabulary 1 week later Methodology -  Experimental Design

Experimental Design – 2 nd Round 8 Subjects were switched over 8 Subjects were switched over Read the 2 nd article Experimental: ED Control: PD Read the 2 nd article Experimental: ED Control: PD Pretest on 50 vocabulary Pretest on 50 vocabulary 1 st Posttest on 50 vocabulary 1 st Posttest on 50 vocabulary 2 nd Posttest on 50 vocabulary 2 nd Posttest on 50 vocabulary Data analyzed by T-tests Data analyzed by T-tests 5 minutes later 1 week later Methodology -  Experimental Design

Mean of those who use EDsMean of those who use PDs Pretest st Posttest nd Posttest T-testPretest1st posttest2nd posttest N=8 t=.444, p=.664 t=.484, p=.636 t=.666, p=.517 N=80 t=1.571, p=.120 N=130 t=1.997, p=.048 Note: “p” needs to be less than.05 (T test assisted by Dr. Janice Schafrik) Finding & Analysis -  Experimental Design

Limitation & Recommendation  Questionnaire: Gender of subjects & Modernization of schools districts selected  Experimental design: Sample size & Problem of counter-balanced design Implication  Overview of the research questions Conclusions

Application  Explicit instruction of dictionary skills  Activities related with dictionary use  Make the best use of EDs  Complement EDs with other dictionaries

Questionnaire Dear all, Thank you for participating in this study. I ’ m a graduate student of TESOL(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program in University of Southern California. The purpose of this questionnaire is to investigate Taiwanese students ’ (including junior high, senior high and university) habits, preferences, and attitudes toward dictionary use. This questionnaire is an anonymous design and your answers will only serve as references in my study. Thanks again for your valuable opinions. Personal information Age_________ Gender ： □Male □Female School name_________________________ 1. Please check the following dictionaries which you possess. □ English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 2. How often do you use the following dictionaries? English to English □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use English to Chinese □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use Chinese to English □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use Electronic □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use English to English & Chinese □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use 3. Which kind of the following dictionaries is the most effective one in assisting vocabulary retention? □English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 4. Which of the following dictionaries do you prefer? □English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 5. How did you learn to look up the English-Chinese dictionaries? □ Taught by junior high school teachers □Taught by senior high school teachers □ Taught by cram school teachers □Learn by yourselves □Learn from classmates or friends □Taught by parents □Learn from brothers or sisters □Others______________ 6. Do you carry a dictionary with you? If yes, which type? □Yes □No Dictionary type________________________ 7. When do you use the electronic dictionaries? (Multiple answers) □ Traveling □In class □Reading English books □Listening to lectures □Watching English programs or movies □Writing □Talking to foreigners 8. What do you use the electronic dictionaries for? (Multiple answers) □ Using English to Chinese dictionaries □Using Chinese to English dictionaries □ Function of pronunciation □store the new vocabulary for future review □checking synonyms or antonyms □Using the slang dictionaries □Playing games □Calculation □Memo 9. Overall, why do you prefer using electronic dictionaries? (Multiple answers) □ Speed of looking up words □Light, easy to carry □Fashionable □Pronunciation function □Assist writing 10.If you can't really understand the meaning looked up from the electronic dictionaries, what will you do? □ Look up from English-Chinese dictionaries □Look up from English-English dictionaries □guessing from the contents of the reading materials □Ignore it 11.What does your teacher think about students' using electronic dictionaries? □ Strongly against □Do no recommend □not against □In favor of □Others_______ Questionnaire Dear all, Thank you for participating in this study. I ’ m a graduate student of TESOL(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program in University of Southern California. The purpose of this questionnaire is to investigate Taiwanese students ’ (including junior high, senior high and university) habits, preferences, and attitudes toward dictionary use. This questionnaire is an anonymous design and your answers will only serve as references in my study. Thanks again for your valuable opinions. Personal information Age_________ Gender ： □Male □Female School name_________________________ 1. Please check the following dictionaries which you possess. □ English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 2. How often do you use the following dictionaries? English to English □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use English to Chinese □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use Chinese to English □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use Electronic □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use English to English & Chinese □Always □Sometimes □Never □Cannot use 3. Which kind of the following dictionaries is the most effective one in assisting vocabulary retention? □English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 4. Which of the following dictionaries do you prefer? □English to English □English to Chinese □Chinese to English □Electronic □English to English&Chinese 5. How did you learn to look up the English-Chinese dictionaries? □ Taught by junior high school teachers □Taught by senior high school teachers □ Taught by cram school teachers □Learn by yourselves □Learn from classmates or friends □Taught by parents □Learn from brothers or sisters □Others______________ 6. Do you carry a dictionary with you? If yes, which type? □Yes □No Dictionary type________________________ 7. When do you use the electronic dictionaries? (Multiple answers) □ Traveling □In class □Reading English books □Listening to lectures □Watching English programs or movies □Writing □Talking to foreigners 8. What do you use the electronic dictionaries for? (Multiple answers) □ Using English to Chinese dictionaries □Using Chinese to English dictionaries □ Function of pronunciation □store the new vocabulary for future review □checking synonyms or antonyms □Using the slang dictionaries □Playing games □Calculation □Memo 9. Overall, why do you prefer using electronic dictionaries? (Multiple answers) □ Speed of looking up words □Light, easy to carry □Fashionable □Pronunciation function □Assist writing 10.If you can't really understand the meaning looked up from the electronic dictionaries, what will you do? □ Look up from English-Chinese dictionaries □Look up from English-English dictionaries □guessing from the contents of the reading materials □Ignore it 11.What does your teacher think about students' using electronic dictionaries? □ Strongly against □Do no recommend □not against □In favor of □Others_______