Dictionary Use and Typographical Clues

How to Use Dictionaries in
English Language Learning

Prof.Mag.Grettel Vargas
LM-1030 Estrategias de Lectura en Inglés I.

Why do English language
learners need dictionaries?

Why dictionaries?

▪ Dictionaries help us learn new words.
▪ Dictionaries help us contextualize new vocabulary.
▪ Dictionaries help us build learner autonomy.

Which dictionary should an
English language learner
choose?

Types of dictionaries

❖ Paper dictionaries

▪ Traditional; long-lasting and relatively cheap.
▪ Can be used as desk dictionaries.

❖ Online/Computerized dictionaries

▪ These dictionaries offer a vast amount of living examples, exercises and other
language activities; they are also easy to use with user-friendly search engines
and interface.

▪ Most of the online dictionaries are free.
▪ dictionary.cambridge.com;
▪ www.merriam-webstercollegiate.comdwww.dictionary.com
▪ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ ( con pronunciación)
▪ http://www.wordreference.com/es/ ( español/inglés/inglés/español)

Using the Dictionary:

❖ Alphabetical order

❖ Guidewords (they are 2 words that appear at
the top margin of a dictionary).

❖ Entry words (they are the words listed in your
dictionary in alphabetical order).

❖ Entry (It refers to the entry word and all the
information about it).

Parts of an Entry:

❖ The entry word and its correct spelling

❖ Its division into syllables

❖ The pronunciation and its accent or accents
(square brakets IPA).

❖ Parts of speech italics (noun n., verb v., adverb
adv., adjective adj.)

❖ The definition (s). (meanings are separated by
numbers)

❖ Sample sentences (show the use of the word in
context) I admire that beautiful painting

❖ Inflected forms (conjugations, plurals, suffixes,
prefixes)= unpredictable, unusual

❖ Etymology: origin of the word (language)=
cigarette (French), Karaoke (Japanese), persona
(Spanish-Italian).

❖ Labels (informal, old use, slang, idiom,
dialect,vulgar slang) = suck (slang) I don’t like
that movie, it really sucks!

❖ Idioms (idiomatic expressions)included at the end
(boldface) He kicked the bucket before telling
anyone where the threasure was.



A list of learner’s dictionaries

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (6th edition, 2000,
OALD6 ) British Eng. (BrE)

Merriam-Webster Diccionario Español-Inglés & Inglés-
Español (2001) American Eng. (AmE)

Merriam-Webster American English Dictionary (1999)

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2nd edition,
2003, CALD2) British Eng.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and
Antonyms (1992)

How should language learners
use their dictionaries?

How to use dictionaries

❖ Now you have made your pick of dictionaries! How to
use them? Here are a few guidelines.

▪ Read the guide to the dictionary and familiarize yourself with all
the symbols, abbreviations, and note markers. (Turn to
dictionaries for example.)

▪ Consolidate what you’ve just learned by making a few sentences
of your own or by finishing the exercises provided.

▪ Pay special attention to any notes attached – differences between
AmE & BrE, usage notes, etc.

▪ If possible, try to extend your knowledge of the word – other major
meanings, grammar notes, synonyms/antonyms, reflections, etc.

Do you have any questions?

Let’s practice!!
LET’S PRACTICE!!

UNIT 3:

TYPOGRAPHICAL CLUES AND
PUNCTUATION (page 26)

❖ Headings and images
❖ Fonts (different type of letters)
❖ Symbols and punctuation
❖ Superscript (numbers, symbols, etc)







Symbols and Punctuation:

⮚Dash Parenthesis Square Colon
⮚Hyphen () brackets :

- Ellipsis [] Italics
Quotation (plural Italics
ellipses) …. Apostrophe
marks ‘ Semicolon
““ Exclamation ;
mark (Carlos’ bar,
Slash ! He didn’t At
/ Period know) @
.
Comma Question mark
, ?

Dot
.com

❖ The Dash

1. The UCR that is now in San Pedro was
located at downtown San José in 1948.

2. Saturated fats typically found in red meat,
butter and ice cream are artery cloggers.

❖ The commas [ , ]:

⮚ He was a difficult, spoiled baby.
⮚ San Isidro, Heredia is my hometown
⮚ “It is very cold,” Anna said.
⮚ Some domestic animals are cats, dogs, fish and

rabbits.
⮚ We will launch the most revolutionary product,

the Mc 1658.

❖ The quotation marks “ “
(statement/citation):

⮚ “I had a dream about freedom”, said Martin
Luther King. (statement/quotation)

⮚ So, why did not your “friends” come to see you in
the hospital? (irony)

⮚ Mauricio “Chunche” Montero.
⮚ Miguel de Cervantes wrote: “En un lugar de la

Mancha de cuyo nombre no quiero acodarme…” (
Don Quijote, p.23) [citation]

❖ The Ellipsis …
⮚ I took a deep breath…then I told my mother the

truth. She already knew…

❖ The apostrophe ’ (page 27)
 It is used as a contraction(shorter form of words):
⮚ She isn’t (is not) married, she is single.

 It is used as a possessive form:
⮚ Charlie’s Bar (The bar of Charlie)

❖ The Italics

⮚ Maria cooked gallo pinto
⮚ The word fantastic is her favorite adjective.
⮚ This emergency door must be kept clean at all

times
❖ The Walking Dead is a very popular TV program.

❖ The Semicolon ;

⮚ I told Ben she’s running for the hills; I wonder if he knew I
was joking

⮚ Call me tomorrow; I will give you my answer then.

❖ The hyphen ( - ) shorter than the dash
⮚ A left-handed person
⮚ Snow-covered
⮚ 28-year-woman
⮚ Ice-cream-flavored candy

❖ The square brackets [ ]

1.The witness said: “He [the policeman] hit me”
2. The two teams in the finals of the FIFA World

Cup were from South America [Uruguay and
Argentina].
3. It is [a] good person.

General Uses (page 31)

❖ ADDITIONAL/EXTRA INFORMATION

❖ It refers to extra information which is not absolutely
necessary for the message of the sentence to be
understood.

❖ The author´s opinion is not present.

 The UCR - that is now in San Pedro- was located
at downtown San José in 1948.

❖ CLARIFICATION:
❖ It is the action of reducing or eliminating

ambiguity.

 I don’t like Frank, the student from my English
class.

 Everybody enjoys meet Jimmy, smart and funny.

❖ DEFINITION:

❖ It is a statement of the meaning of a word.

❖ You can usually insert the verb “to be”
between the word and its definition.

are

The neurons (the impulse-conducting cells that
constitute the brain, spinal column, and nerves)
will be damaged permanently

❖ DESCRIPTION:

❖ It is a representation of something or
someone. It uses descriptive language.

 It was a dark, rainy, and lonely night.

❖ EXPLANATION:

❖ It refers to a detailed review of a process leading
to a final product/phenomenon, or to the
justification for a particular claim.

❖ It usually answers the question: why?

 Alice carried out the investigation all by herself-
she made questioners gathered the data and
analyzed it.

❖ NAMING:

❖ It refers to giving a name to something.

 My grandma used to called her canned-good
cabinet “the bomb shelter”.

❖ RESTATEMENT:

❖ It is saying something that was said before in
another (easier) way to understand.

❖ Commas, dashes, or other punctuation can point
to a restatement clue.

 She studies linguistics, that is; the study of
language.

❖ SPECIFICATION:

❖ It is the action of stating or identifying clearly
and definitely:

 We will launch the most revolutionary
technological product (general/ambiguous)

 We will launch the most revolutionary
technological product, the Mc1658 (Specific)

❖ QUOTATION:
❖ Those exact words taken from orally spoken

material. Authors use quotations to support their
arguments.

 The dogs are almost an extension of the
owners' egos, says Orville Walls.

❖ CITATION:
❖ It is that material taken from a written source.

Indeed, “motivation involves the attitudes and
affective states that influence the degree of effort
that learners make to learn a L2” (Ellis, 1997,
p.75).

❖ ABBREVIATION:

❖ It is the shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase.
 Dr., Ms.,

❖ ACRONYM:
❖ It is formed from the initial letters of others

words and pronounced as a word:
 NASA, CNN, UN

❖ IRONY:
❖ It is a subtle mockery. It consists in saying

something which means the opposite or
something that happens. Its intention is not to
offend someone.

 My boss said “interesting job,” but he hated it.

❖ SARCASM:
❖ It is meant to hurt someone or something. Sarcasm
is generally intended to express ridicule or
reservation of an expression or idea.

 I’m trying to imagine you with a personality. I
work 40 hours a week to be this poor.

Let’s practice!

❖ Exercise 1 page 33
❖ Exercise 2 page 33, 34