THE IMPORTANCE OF USING DICTIONARY iN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING

The purpose of this article is to examine the importance of using dictionary in
language learning / teaching process and make some suggestions far language
teachers as well as language students. ·

A dictionary is a reference book containing the words of a language usually
alphabetically arranged, with information on their forms, pronunciatiohs,
functions, meanings, etymologies, spellings and idiomatic uses.
Most of this information cannot be found in other reference books. it is important to
consider several advantages in the use of dictionaries. In the very early stages
of learning, even an inadequate bilingual dictionary can provide an important
support and be a quick reference book. In language learning/teaching process
the importance of using dictionaries cannot be denied. It is obvious that the
dictionary can be an extremely useful learning resource, especially as it makes
the learner more independent of the teacher.

If the students learn how to use a dictionary effectively, then the dictionary
can be a very helpful resource for their studies. Training in the proper use of a
dictionary will be of help in selecting the meaning that is appropriate to a given
context. The most important basic skill in using a dictionary is to fınd a word or expression one has in mind. Then, one has to fınd out the meaning of the word,however, there is a problem of choosing of appropriate meaning to the given
context when several meanings are define. For instance, we can identify many
senses of the word "see" by means of a dictionary exploitation.
ı) I can't see Lydia anywhere. (perceive with the eye)

1. The security guard asked to see our passes. (inspect)
2. Can you ~ what I mean? (understand)
3. We are going to see a film tonight. (be a spectator at)
4. I could see that you were having an argument with him. (perceive
   with the eye)
5. I'd like to see the manager please. I have a complaint. (have a
   meeting with)
   When the above dictionary defınitions and example sentences are
   examined, it is seen that each sentence can be interpreted differently because
   of the contextual clues and different dictionary defınitions for the same word .
   Therefore, it is safe to advise language students ta analyse the different
   meanings of an unknown.word by m~ans of dictionary usage. Another important factor to consider is the students' unawarenesss of the information that a dictionary contains. A dictionary generally contains at
   least the following information about each word which can be used by the
   foreign language learners.
   
   ı. Its spelling

1. The standard pronunciation
2. Definitions to represent the word1
   s one or more meanings
3. Parts of speech, such as noun, verb or preposition
4. Example sentence in which the word used
5. Synonym
6. Antonym