INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEMS OF BILINGUAL AND MONOLINGUAL DICTIONARIES USE AMONG LIBYAN STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA
Master ThesisThe monolingual/bilingual dictionary use dichotomy has recently gained more spotlight than before, and this dichotomy has turned back to reassess the usefulness of each type in terms of vocabulary knowledge and acquisition. Although EFL (English as a foreign language) learners perceive dictionaries as inevitable references for vocabulary knowledge and linguistic consultation and almost all (learners and teachers) consider dictionaries ‘absolutely essential’ in the learning and teaching profession (Christianson, 1997; Walz, 1990; McAlpine and Myles, 2003), the usefulness of dictionaries tends to be dependent upon the type of dictionary being consulted (Laufer and Hadar, 1997; Hulstijn, 1993; Knight, 1994). Within this heated debate and abounding controversies over the usefulness of dictionary, the usability of dictionary and dictionary usefulness (Laufer and Kimmel, 1997) “do not necessarily go hand in hand” (p. 362), and Arab FL (Foreign language) learners’ perspectives towards dictionary types problems and users’ dictionary type preferences are not yet unearthed (Al-Ajmi, 2002). Moreover, within the recent emphasis for dictionary skills (Scholfield, 1982, Laufer and Hadar, 1997; Laufer and Kimmel, 1997), it is reported that Arab learners are not dictionary competent or skilled dictionary users and do lack the necessary skills (Aly, 2004). Within this framework, this qualitative study aims at arriving at a deeper understanding of the problems of dictionary use, either bilingual or monolingual, as faced by Libyan Arab learners for general dictionary use purposes among postgraduate master students at UUM(Univeristi Utara Malaysia).
Somya Ali Salem Almegrhee, (07-2010), ماليزيا: Universiti Utara Malaysia.,