Dictionary use

Dictionaries may be monolingual,bilingual or bilingualized. Learners show strong preferences for bilingual dictionaries.

Dictionaries may be used “receptively”, to support reading and listening,or “productively”, to suppor writing and speaking. Many learners do not use dictionaries as effectively as they could.

Training learners in vocabulary use strategies requires assessment to seewhat skill and knowledge of the strategies the learners already have.

Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge.

Vocabulary tests can have a range of purposes:

• To measure vocabulary size (useful forplacement purposes or as one
element of a proficiency measure).
• To measure what has just been learned (a short-term achievement
measure).
• To measure whar has been learned in a course (a long-termachievement measure).
• To diagnose areas of strength and weakness (a diagnostic measure).

Although no standardized vocabulary test has been truly well-researched, the following four have someresearch evidence supporthing their validity. They include the Vocabulary levels test,the productive levels test, the Eurocentres Vocabulary Size test 10KA (EVST) and the vocabulary dictation tests.The vocabulary levels test uses a matching format where examinees write the number of their answer in the blanks.

1 business
2 clock _______________ part of a haouse
3 horse______________ animal with four legs
4 pencil ______________ something used for writhing
5 shoe
6 wall

The test has five sections, covering various frequencylevels, and so the
results can help teachers decide what vocabuIary level learners should be working on.

The EVST uses a yes/no format the test inecludes some imitation words that look like real words('ploat') and Iearners' scores are adjusted downwards by the number of times they say that they know these non-words.

The test is adminstered like a dictation but only the 20 target words at each...