Problems in Online Dictionary Use for Advanced Slovenian Learners of English

Abstract

AbstractThis article reports on findings from interviews with students from the University of Ljubljana. The study is based on fourteen questions about participants’ habits of dictionary use, their look-up abilities, and their perceptions of the utility and quality of definitions and illustrative examples. Students were given nine contexts containing a clearly-marked common word used in an infrequent sense; they had to locate the relevant sense in the online Merriam–Webster Learner’s Dictionary (MWLD). A think-aloud method enabled the researchers to follow the students’ look-up process and record their problems as well as their suggestions on how to improve the content and presentation of information in the dictionary. Recommendations are provided on: the improvement of drop-down menus; the inclusion of the form(s) of a target word; illustrative examples; the use of italics, boldface, and colors as well as what types of information should be displayed or available if needed.