A Suggested Course Based on Explicit Instruction for Developing Dictionary Usage Skills among English Majors at MUST

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop some dictionary usage skills among 3rd year English majors at Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST) in Fall 2014/ 2015 semester. The problem of the study was that 3rd year English majors have not received a training or a course on how to use a monolingual English dictionary and that there was no material to be available for the students as it was clear from the semi-structured interview before the treatment. The participants in the study formed one study group who studied the suggested course based on explicit instruction. Two instruments were used; a semi- structured interview and a pre/ post dictionary usage skills test. The results of the semi-structured interview showed that 3rd year English majors did not receive any explicit instruction on dictionary use. The results of the dictionary usage skills test revealed that the suggested course proved to be effective in developing the five target dictionary usages (spelling, pronunciation, meaning, syllable division, and parts of speech). Recommendations and suggestions for further research were also presented