Chapter 9   English Dictionaries (1)

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Contents: the development of the Dictionary; types of dictionaries; using the dictionary; recommending four dictionaries 

Objectives: 

1.Let students have a general idea of the development of English dictionary. 

2.Help students to know the features of each type of dictionary and how to choose and make the full use of a dictionary

Difficult points: the development of the dictionary, types of dictionary, how to use the dictionary 

Procedures: 

Step I  Brief review of the last lecture 

Step II  Presentation 

1.Present the basic information about the development of the dictionary. 

2.Explain the types of dictionaries with examples and let students grasp the features of each type of dictionary. 

3.Discuss with the students how to make the best use of a dictionary. 

4.Brief introduction of four well-known dictionaries

Step III Answer students’ questions 

Step IV Homework 

Exercises

1.      Choose all those that you think are right. 

1)       Dictionaries___________. 

a. are used as reference books 

b. contain information concerning spelling, pronunciation, meaning, usage 

c. mainly provide encyclopedic information 

d. list words generally arranged in alphabetical order 

2)       According to different demands the major types of dictionaries are__________. 

a. monolingual, bilingual and multilingual dictionaries 

b. general and specialized dictionaries. 

c. Pocket, medium-sized and unabridged dictionaries. 

d. Synchronic and diachronic dictionaries. 

e.  Encyclopedias and encyclopedic dictionaries. 

3)       The characteristics of LDCE are__________. 

a. language notes. b. limited amount of words used for definition. 

c. clear grammar code .  d. usage notes . e. extra column . 

4)       CED (1995) is noted for_________ . 

a. 18 000 multi-character entries including catch phrases, sayings and proverbs. 

b. More faithful English equivalents for the Chinese items. 

c. Improvement of all the old entries. 

d. Abundant usage examples. 

e. Being the first of its kind. 

5)       The dictionaries which belong to desk dictionaries are___________. 

a. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 3rd Edition (1980). 

b. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. 

c. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition (1987). 

d. Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. 

e. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1983). 

　

2.      Decide whether the following statements are true or false: 

(   ) 1. Dictionaries in which words are explained in the same language are called monolingual dictionaries. 

(   ) 2. Dictionaries in which words are explained in another language are called bilingual dictionaries. 

(   ) 3. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English of 1987 and A New English-Chinese Dictionary are the best known bilingual dictionaries. 

(   ) 4. Unabridged dictionaries not only contain a large number of words but also give detailed information and a great many citations. 

(   ) 5. Small-sized dictionaries are called pocket dictionaries, which are designed only for beginners. 

 (   ) 6. Desk dictionaries are most appropriate for students or self-taught learners. 

  

Key: 

1. 1). a, b, d         2). a, b, c, e        3).a, b, c, d      4).a, b, c, d        5).a, c, d, e   

 2. 1). T        2). T         3). F       4). T         5). F         6). F