Abstract
One of the many features of technologically advanced dictionaries is the presence of corpus-based examples to illustrate how words are used in context. However, up to recently, there did not seem to be much evidence about their actual worth (e.g. Summers 1998, Laufer 1993, Nesi 1996 and Al-Ajmi 2008). The problem could be that previous studies (1) did not distinguish sufficiently between examples meant to aid comprehension and examples that focus on enhancing production and (2) did not provide enough examples. In Frankenberg-Garcia (2012), I carried out an experiment to evaluate the usefulness of separate examples for production and comprehension and also compared the effects of presenting learners with a single and multiple examples. The results obtained were very encouraging, especially when the participants were supplied with more than one example. However, Frankenberg-Garcia (2012) was a one-off study, and evidence of the value of examples remains scant. In the present study I conducted an experiment similar to Frankenberg-Garcia (2012), but with slight adjustments in the research design and using secondary school students instead of undergraduates as subjects. The results reinforce the importance of supplying more than one example and of distinguishing between examples for comprehension and examples for production. References Al-Ajmi, H. (2008) The effectiveness of dictionary examples in decoding: the case of Kuwaiti learners of English’. Lexikos, 18:15-26 Frankenberg-Garcia, A. (2012) Learners’ use of corpus examples. International Journal of Lexicography, 25 (3): 273-296. Laufer, B. (1993) The effects of dictionary definitions and examples on the comprehension of new L2 words. Cahiers de Lexocologie, 63:131-142. Nesi, H. (1996) The role of illustrative examples in productive dictionary use. Dictionaries, 17: 198-206. Summers, D. (1988) The role of dictionaries in language learning. In: R. Carter and M. McCarthy (eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching. London, Longman, 111-125. VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4IMU3zv42c