Online Dictionaries

…and the attitude of the bus

Benefits of online dictionaries

Easy to SearchEasy to Search

• Don’t depend on alphabetical organisation

• Can perform complex searches• Provide hyperlinked cross-references• Definitions may be accessed from

thematically organised list of headwords

spoken headwordsspoken headwords

• students can hear the pronunciation

Pictures & VideoPictures & Video

• Unlimited number of pictures to illustrate artefacts and distinguish features

• Scripted video clips to illustrate actions and concepts

Unlimited SizeUnlimited Size

No limit to:

• number of headwords • length of each definition • number of examples

More informationMore information

•  increasing amount of grammatical information

• information about word behaviour in context

• usage notes, comments on pragmatic function, warnings of register restrictions, and examples taken from corpora of authentic texts

UnderstandableUnderstandable

• Clicking on any word in a definition produces a definition for that word

IntegrationIntegrationAn online reference can combine:

• Monolingual dictionary• Bilingual dictionary• Thesaurus• Encyclopaedia • Subject dictionaries• Other reference works

CustomisationCustomisation

• All these works can be accessed through a single query, with the output tailored according to user options.

• Dictionaries can be continuously edited and updated.

AvailabilityAvailability

You have access to an enormous variety of different kinds of dictionaries…

…and they’re nearly all free.

“There are 6800 known languages spoken in the 191 countries of the world. Fewer than 1,000 have writing systems (the others are only spoken) and currently over 260 are represented by on-line dictionaries.”

www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html

Access

•Dedicated web site•On any website•Integrated in web browser•Integrated in word processor

Dedicated Dictionary siteDedicated Dictionary site

A special site where the dictionary is accessed

www.xrefer.comwww.xrefer.com

“xreferplus takes its content from some of the world's best and most respected reference publishers so that you know that you can trust what you read.”

Dictionary.oed.comDictionary.oed.com

“The Oxford English Dictionary Online is a subscription service. Access to the Dictionary is only available to

users with valid licences.”

On any web siteOn any web site

There is increasing demand for online bilingual dictionaries integrated into various sites

– e.g. www.in.gr

It’s there when you need it …but there’s no guarantee that the translations or definitions are accurate.

Integrated in web browserIntegrated in web browser

Choose a dictionary to integrate into your web browser – you can use it on any web site you visit

• www.lookwayup.com• www.wordsmyth.net

LookwayupLookwayup

“…is also a browser add-on that combines dictionary, thesaurus, translation, and advanced search tool. With a double-click you can look-up the meaning of a word, or a phrase, search it on the page or the whole Web using your favorite search engine, check whether books have been written on the subject, and more! All that without leaving the Web page.”

• How does it work? • On a page where it is activated, double-click on any

word • Alternatively, if it is installed on your browser (10

seconds), then press the LookWAYup button • Information box pops up right on the page – no need

to go to a search engine or any other page • Information box contains

• Definitions • Synonyms and related terms • Contextual queries to search engines • Related information • Extended search tools

www.wordsmyth.netwww.wordsmyth.net

“Wordsmyth is an innovative and evolving language reference source that meshes the functions of a dictionary and a thesaurus with powerful and flexible search capabilities. Both the Wordsmyth Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus and the Wordsmyth web site reflect the philosophy that word meanings are not simply equations that one can get right or get wrong, but rather grow out of and depend on specific uses and contexts.”

Integrated in word processor

Integrated in word processor

Choose a dictionary to integrate into your word processor – as simple to use as the Word spell-check

www.wordweb.co.uk

“…excellent for writing and vocabulary activities, and pair work on dictionary skills activities. Future dictionaries will produce a context-sensitive definition or translation, tailored to the domain of the text."

Bilingual and subject dictionaries

Learner’s Dictionaries –

games and activities

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

“News Reader features articles on people and events that have recently been in the news.

Using the OALD, you can look up unfamiliar words as you read.”

But the actual dictionary isn’t online.

www.x-word.comwww.x-word.com

“Create fun vocabulary puzzles automatically from a list of words. Many theme lists are supplied, or make your own. Write some clues, print out (or put on the web!) and you have the perfect teaching aid.”

“Here at the Foundry, you have access to a variety of tools for working and shaping the linguistic resources of Wordsmyth into a variety of uses. Use the Crossword Puzzle Helper to inspire you in the most difficult of riddles. Word jumbles, or anagrams, are quickly solved and defined with our simple Anagram Solver. Teachers will save time with the Vocabulary Quiz Builder, which helps you generate customized, publishable vocabulary quizzes. Create your own mini-dictionary with the Glossary Maker, a handy way to make handouts.”

www.wordsmyth.net/foundry.html

Learner TrainingLearner Training

Choice of dictionaryChoice of dictionary

Choose the most appropriate type of dictionary depending on the level and

needs of the learner.

Choice of Cambridge Dictionaries

Choice of Cambridge Dictionaries

Cambridge International Dictionary of EnglishCambridge Learner's DictionaryCambridge Dictionary of American EnglishCambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal VerbsCambridge International Dictionary of Idioms

The Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary has very short, simple definitions:

attitude noun [C], [U]how you think or feel about something and how this makes you behavea positive attitudeHe has a very bad attitude to/towards work.

Other dictionaries in the family provide different styles of definition.

The Cambridge International Dictionary first gives us a choice of basic meanings to guide us to the right definition to suit the context:

attitude (OPINION)attitude (POSITION)

This overcomes one of the most common sources of learner error.

attitude (OPINION)noun (a) feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that follows from this It's often very difficult to change people's attitudes. [C]She takes the attitude that children should be allowed to learn at their own pace. [U + that clause]The government's attitude to(wards) the refugees is not sympathetic. [U]He seems to have undergone a change in/of attitude recently, and has become much more co-operative. [U]I don't like your attitude (=the way you are behaving). [U]That boy has a real attitude problem (=behaves in a way that makes it difficult for other people to have a relationship with him or work with him).

If you say that someone has attitude, you mean that they are confident and independent, sometimes in a rude or unpleasant way.

attitude (POSITION)noun [C] a position of the body; postureShe lay sprawled across the sofa, in an attitude of complete abandon.

If you strike an attitude, you hold your body in a way which suggests a particular quality or feeling. He struck an attitude of offended dignity and marched out of the room.

Learner training is necessary to overcome the tendency to select the wrong translation when several senses of a polysemous word are translated in one entry.

The attitude of the bus

Η στάση του λεωφορείου