Article,
Dictionary Use and Dictionary Needs of Esp Students: An Experimental Approach
International Journal of Lexicography, (2002)
Abstract
As an alternative to the use of dictionary workbooks a group of 85 chemistry students were asked to produce their own dictionaries. Students were told to use the texts they had been referring to during the course and to design a dictionary according to their own needs. The aims of this project were (1) for the students: (a) to revise vocabulary for their final examination and (b) to familiarise themselves with dictionaries and their macro- and microstructures; (2) for the teacher/researcher: (a) to understand the way in which this particular group of students visualised dictionaries, i.e. how they viewed the structure and content of a dictionary, (b) to analyse students' needs regarding dictionary reference skills, (c) to check the results so as to improve future explanations of dictionary content and dictionary use and (d) to increase awareness of the scope of an ideal dictionary for these chemistry students – and its limitations.
