Digital Lexicography: Research of Usage of Different Dictionary Types at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University

Abstract

The current research focuses on the investigation of the VGTU students’ and foreign language teachers’ attitude towards the types of dictionaries: printed, electronic versions of printed dictionaries and dictionaries available online. The aim of the research was to set the most used type of the dictionaries by the students and foreign language teachers at VGTU. 296 students from different study programmes and 12 foreign language teachers were selected to participate in the investigation. The research data was analysed from two perspectives: qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitatively data was analysed with the help of literature review method, a questionnaire and a comparative analysis. Therefore, quantitatively data was analysed relying on the method of descriptive statistics. The collected data revealed the differences in the students’ and the foreign language teachers’ attitude. Majority of the students preferred online dictionaries to printed and electronic, whereas the selection of the dictionary type by the foreign language teachers was limited to a printed version. The same tendency could be observed relying on the question about the search of special terms. Majority of the students would rely on the dictionaries available on the Internet, hence teachers would select printed ones. Relying on the research, it could be concluded that while preparing study material and recommendations for the students, foreign language teachers should rely on students’ attitude.