Digital Versus Printed Multilingual Dictionary: Developing Young Learners' English Literacy

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effect of digital and printed multilingual dictionaries on young learners' literacy. Besides, it also explored the students’ responses on the implementation of those dictionaries. To achieve the study's objectives, the researchers followed a sequential mixed method that started with the quantitative method and followed with the qualitative method. There were two classes involved in this study. Those two classes were selected using the matching technique. One class was treated as an experimental class, while the other was the control class. To collect the study's data, the researchers used a literacy test for the quantitative method and a questionnaire, and an interview guide for the qualitative method. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically using an independent t-test, while the qualitative data were analyzed using an interactive data analysis model. This study statistically confirmed that the digital multilingual dictionary was better than the printed dictionary. The results of the questionnaire and interview supported the finding that young learners had positive responses toward the use of both dictionary, however they also affirmed that the digital dictionary was more interesting and could help them more to study English vocabulary with the pronunciations.