4
The quotation by Stein underlines the idea that research into lexicography
should not be merely restricted to the semantic aspect of dictionaries; rather, it must
include some consideration of the users for whose benefit dictionaries have been
compiled
.
As suggested by Hartmann (as cited in Laufer, 1997, p. 361), dictionary use
has become “the most recent and promising division of dictionary research . . . [,] a
research that examines the relationship between the lexicographer’s product-the
dictionary and the world of consumers-the users of dictionaries.”
With the development of technology, the prevalence of conventional printed
dictionaries (PDs) has slowly declined due to the remarkable advancements in
computer-mediated aids
.
So in addition to PDs, various types of electronic reference
materials have become increasingly available to L2 learners, creating more options for
coping with unknown or partially known words
.
These materials, including pocket
electronic dictionaries (PEDs), CD-ROM dictionaries (CDs), and online dictionaries,
are likely to enhance L2 learning significantly with their features such as the ease and
speed of look-ups, the quantity of information, the variety of search roots, and
multimedia capacity (Nesi, 1999)
.
Along with many countries in the Arab world, Algeria is one of the counties
where CDs are becoming particularly popular
.
One major reason for their popularity
is their extremely cheap price in comparison to PDs
.
As a result of the government’s
failure to enforce strict copyright laws which would protect copyrighted works and
materials, the Algerian uncontrolled CD-ROM market is now flooded with hundreds
5
of thousands of illegal copies of CD-ROMs, among which CDs are prevalent and
mostly sold for less than DZD 100
.
In addition, most CDs are shared and downloadable from the Internet, so it
just takes a few tricks and clicks on the Web to have the most popular and up-to-date
English dictionaries installed on one’s computer
.
In the past decade, CDs have rapidly
spread among Algerians, including adults, university students, and high and middle
school pupils
.
With this variety of dictionaries in print and CD-ROM formats on the
market, Algerian learners of English now have as wide a range of choices as ever
.
2
.
Statement of the Problem
CD-ROM dictionaries are becoming one of the most popular reference tools
among foreign language learners
.
They are especially popular among Algerian
learners of English due to their rich and interactive content, their widespread
availability on the market, and their extremely cheap price in comparison with PDs
.
While language learners appear to be excited about using CDs, many educators and
researchers doubt their value for reasons such as the possibility of encouraging
excessive look-up rather than guessing from context (Tang, 1997; Taylor & Chan,
1994)
.
However, whether negative or positive, these new language learning
technologies with their new and immense features appear to have impacted the way
students consult dictionaries to aid their L2 learning
.
6
To the best of my knowledge, although more Algerian EFL learners appear to
take advantage of CDs nowadays, no research has been carried out on how EFL
learners use them and how these might affect L2 reading and vocabulary learning and
L2 learning in general
.
Given the widespread popularity of CDs among Algerian L2
students, investigating these areas is important and research is needed to uncover how
these reference tools might impact L2 learning so that educators can provide students
with informed advice on how to use them to their benefit
.
This study was also inspired by my growing perception, based on my humble
EFL teaching experience, that many EFL students felt reluctant using PDs so often in
the classroom
.
However, most of them either preferred to use PEDs or dictionaries
embedded in their smartphones
.
This perception, in addition to my keen interest in
using information technology innovations in L2 learning, have prompted me to
undertake this study on the use of CDs, which are very similar to the ones embedded
in smartphones in terms of accessibility and presentation of information
.
3
.
Purpose of the Study
In an attempt to fill in the research gap identified in the previous section, the
present study investigates the use of CDs compared to PDs in relation to language
learning
.
In particular, this study attempts to examine the potential effects of students’
use of CDs and PDs on their reading comprehension and vocabulary retention
.
Algerian learners of English at the university level are the focus of this study because
7
they are one of the populations among whom CDs have most widely spread especially
in the past decade
.
4
.
Research Questions
Specifically, this study addresses the following research questions
:
1.
Will there be any significant difference in the reading time between the two
dictionary conditions (CD and PD)?
2.
Will the two dictionary conditions highlight any substantial difference in the
reading scores of the subjects?
3.
Will there be any notable difference in the number of look-ups between the
two dictionary conditions?
4.
Is there any relationship between the look-up frequency and the scores in
reading comprehension? In other words, does higher/lower look-up frequency
correlate with higher/lower reading scores in both conditions?
5.
Is there any correlation between the type of the dictionary used and the degree
of vocabulary retention?
5
.
Research Hypotheses
In the light of the previous questions, the following hypotheses have been
made
:
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