Towards An Interactive Model Of Online Learner’s Dictionaries With A Qualitative Analysis Of The Online OALD8as An Example

Learner’s dictionaries are designed for students learning a foreign language. Due to the blossoming of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the second half of the twentieth century, English learner’s dictionaries came into existence and had gradually been noticed in the lexicographic world. In recent years, the rise of online learner’s dictionaries has led to questions about how to increase vocabulary retention and acquisition when compiling online dictionaries. Although there is an abundance of semantic, cultural and grammatical information integrated in online English learner’s dictionaries, most EFL learners fail to make good use of it and some of them are even ignorant of its existence. As a result, EFL learners have difficulty recalling the vocabulary they have learned because they do not utilize online learner’s dictionaries properly. Online English learner’s dictionaries are powerful not only because they have unlimited space and size, but also because they open a range of opportunities for EFL learners to consult vocabulary. Given the fact that there are scarce studies examining the relationship between online learner’s dictionaries and vocabulary acquisition and retention, developing methods for increasing vocabulary acquisition and retention through the consultation of online learner’s dictionaries should be a focus of study. This thesis conducts a qualitative analysis of online OALD8in order to assess how EFL learners might look up words more effectively and increase their retention through online dictionary consultation. Based on this study, an interactive model for online learner’s dictionaries is proposed. Some practical suggestions, like strengthening semantic features and the hyperlink function, will be put forward to help EFL students and EFL teachers get the best out of online learner’s dictionaries.