A Multilingual and Multifunctional Dictionary in the Service of Language Teaching

Abstract

[EN] The acquisition of vocabulary is a basic aim of language learning. Ordinary dictionaries are organized in alphabetical order, but in learners’ mental lexicons, notions are rather linked by associations. The most obvious type of association is thematic. In order to use words properly, their context should be known. WordNets offer different relations to words, but they are not planned for language learning. To help the foreign language learning process, a thematic dictionary structure was worked out where the headwords are accompanied by their types, typical verbs and adjectives used with the given noun along also with related more specific concepts and expressions. The informatic system planned for use on the internet can guide the learner to different elements linked to the headword by clicking on a button, therefore they can have an overview of the semantic net of a given element of the core vocabulary which makes its use easier and faster. The dictionary system can be enlarged with new items and associated elements, new topics are also elaborated. It is multilingual (chapters in English, Esperanto, Hungarian, German, Polish, Lithuanian and Chinese are available), and new languages (such as French and Korean) can and will be added. The user can see the words in any constellation of two to three languages, not only those worked out for the traditional paper versions, therefore the language learning power is augmented.