The role of electronic pocket dictionaries as an English learning tool among Chinese students.

This study addressed the role of electronic pocket dictionaries as a language learning tool among university students in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The target groups included engineering and humanities students at both undergraduate and graduate level. Speed of reference was found to be the main motivato...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 25; no. 6; pp. 503 - 515
Autores principales: Jian H, Sandnes FE, Law KMY, Huang Y
Formato: questionnaire/scale research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Dec2009
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:This study addressed the role of electronic pocket dictionaries as a language learning tool among university students in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The target groups included engineering and humanities students at both undergraduate and graduate level. Speed of reference was found to be the main motivator for using an electronic pocket dictionary. Next, the functionality used was found to be connected to the language proficiency of the learner. Finally, multimedia content was ranked least important. The results of this study have implications for the design of electronic dictionaries and for the teaching of second languages with electronic dictionaries. In particular, device developers should focus on improving the accessing speed and pay less attention to multimedia functionality. Educators should ensure that the device functionality matches the language proficiency level of the students.