International Journal of Lexicography Advance Access published online on September 11, 2008
International Journal of Lexicography, doi:10.1093/ijl/ecn034
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The Electronic Dictionary for Writing: A Solution or A Problem?
Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (vylee52{at}kice.re.kr)
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The dictionary plays an important role in helping writers solve lexical problems in the L2 writing process. However, this is only when L2 writers are sufficiently competent to deal with the lexical problems they identify in the dictionary entries themselves. To obtain data on the L2 writers’ process of using dictionaries, 10 Korean university students were asked to think-aloud while writing twice in English on word processors with access to Internet dictionaries. The dictionary was not an instant problem-solver and led writers to identify further dictionary-based lexical problems due to writers’ lack of knowledge of the L2 word(s) offered, or when the L2 word(s) were known but were considered inappropriate or wrong by the writer in some way to convey the intended meaning. To solve these problems, writers used a repertoire of dictionary use strategies which can be explained within the framework of communication strategies that may be employed by L2 learners when they need to compensate for their lack of productive lexical knowledge.