A STUDY ON THE USE OF DICTIONARY AMONG STUDENTS OF STANDARD NINE.
A STUDY ON THE USE OF
DICTIONARY AMONG STUDENTS OF STANDARD NINE
Arjun K Anil
Second Year B.Ed. , English Education
|
St. Thomas
College of Teacher Education, Pala, Kerala
INTRODUCTION
We
often say education is a lifelong process starting from our birth to the grave
and some philosophers say education is there even after death. Anyway it is
true that dictionary is one such book which helps mankind to learn about words
and learn about its usage. One of the most important resources for a student to
learn English is their dictionary. Even then there are a few students who
cannot benefit from how to use a dictionary. There are different kinds of
dictionaries available for us to use some of them are;
1)
Bi-lingual Dictionary: The dictionary with two languages for example; English-
Malayalam, Malayalam- English, such dictionaries can be used in multi lingual
nations like India. Each state has its own language and its speakers demand its
own linguistic dictionaries. Thus the most common dictionaries are of
bi-lingual dictionary.
2)
Mono- Lingual Dictionary: It is designed for the native speakers of a particular
language. For a better knowledge of a language it is mandatory that a learner
must have a mono-lingual dictionary with him/her, example; Oxford Student
Dictionary.
3)
Learner Dictionary: These dictionaries are mainly English- English Dictionaries
that have been written for language learner. They have their own style and
difficulty levels. Good learner’s dictionary will have features beyond the
spelling, pronunciation and meaning. They include cultural connotations and
whether the word is formally or dated.
4)
Picture Dictionary: These dictionaries have illustrations along with the
meaning of a word. Most of the students and teachers find such dictionaries
very useful.
5)
Multi Media Dictionary: These are the new generation dictionaries available
with most advanced and innovative techniques, they work with the help of
computers and also available in computer CD’s, example, Oxford Word Power
Dictionary CD- Rom.
6)
Dictionary App: These are the Multi-Media Dictionaries available in smart
phones, these are available both online as well as offline. Using such
dictionaries students get easy access to the word within seconds. The meanings
are shown along with the pronunciation, translation, word origin as well as the
usage of the particular word in a sentence. These applications become
accessible for common man also because of the popularity of smart phones.
There
are many variations in dictionaries which serves special purpose and usage. This
study aims to finding the use of dictionary among the students of standard nine
of Kottayam district. This is an attempt to know whether there is a fear for English-
English Dictionary, or is there a more dependence for Bi- Lingual Dictionaries
among students. How the student uses the dictionary, for what purpose does a
student use the dictionary; to check spelling of the word, to look for a
meaning or a translation, to see if the word exist or not, to know about the
synonym and antonym of a particular word, look at the pronunciation and
practice, to know about the grammar, to know the origin of the word and its
history etc…
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This study aims
to finding the use of dictionary among the students of standard nine of
Kottayam district. “Self- Directed Learning has been described as a process in
which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, to
diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for
learning, select and implement learning strategies and evaluate learning
outcomes”(Knowles 1975). Self- directed learning depends on who is in charge,
who decides what to do, what should be learned, who should be learned, what
method and resource should be used, and how the source is dissipated. The
learners use the dictionaries on her/his own.
REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
Jenkins et al.,(1984) conducted a study which examined the hypothesis
that new vocabulary knowledge can be acquired through incidental learning of
word meanings from context. Fifth graders of two reading abilities read
passages containing unfamiliar words. Students were randomly assigned to
different numbers of context presentations: 0, 2, 6, or 10 passages read
over several days. Half of the unfamiliar words were informally taught before
their appearance in the passages. Word meanings were learned from context, and
more frequent presentation in context increased learning. Also, better readers
profited more from context than did less skilled readers, and prior exposure
(informal teaching) resulted in greater learning. Vocabulary effects were also
observed on a measure of reading comprehension.
Nagy, et al., (1985) conducted a study on “Learning Vocabulary from Context” which
concluded that students of all ability levels
increased their knowledge of the target vocabulary words as a result of reading
passages in which the words appeared, regardless of the instructions given
prior to reading.
NEED FOR THE STUDY
Knowing
language give rise to a key to which a learner can unlock the immense treasure
of knowledge. A better knowledge of using a dictionary gives a student a
greater control over his/her own learning. Dictionary helps a student to
disentangle information in the word and its inner meaning. We are not born with
full knowledge about all the words it is same as in the case of dictionary slow
development through reference a student will achieve a greater vocabulary and a
hold over the language. A dictionary gradually generates ideas, new words and
its origin along with the meaning of the language. If a student knows
first-hand information of a word with the help of a good dictionary then there
will be minimal classroom disruption. A teacher can rely on students to get the
correct meaning; it will be an act of reference inside the classroom and outside
the classroom. Referring a dictionary gives the practical experience in the
skill of skimming and scanning process which is essential in reading skills.
This will give a student a curiosity to refer more books other than dictionary
and use the skills in an effective ways. The dictionaries can serve a reliable
focus for communication as well as classroom interaction. Dictionaries can help
the students to develop there language
especially the English language, use of dictionary gives a lot of benefits like
getting exposure to language, history, root of the word, aspects related to a
word, speciality of word, how it must be pronounced and many more.
Most
of the teachers assume that the students already know how to use a dictionary
effectively. Some teachers are afraid that the students will resist the
English- English dictionary thus most of them prefer a bi-lingual dictionary.
Convincing a student to learn how to use the English language dictionary must
begin from small classrooms itself. Learning the ways to deal with the
dictionary is not a part of the syllabus. The meanings of the difficult words
are provided on the back of every chapter in textbook or otherwise the meanings
will be written in the glossary of the textbook. Referring a dictionary is often
considered as a tedious task. Learning and mugging up of the meaning given in
the course book will not help the student always, but if ever a student come
across a difficult word and choose a dictionary for reference he/she will learn
more than just the meaning. If a student doesn’t know how to refer a dictionary
will be hindrance in front of new learning.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
To study the use
of Dictionary among the students of Standard Nine.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To test the
skill of identifying the synonym and antonyms correctly.
2. To check the
students practice of pronunciation and spelling accuracy.
3. To check the
usage of new words and its practice.
4. To identify
the choice of dictionary whenever there is a need.
5. To check the
awareness about the Thesaurus.
HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY
1) Students
know to refer a dictionary.
2) Students
use dictionary for reference regularly.
3) Students
know about thesaurus and various types of dictionaries.
4) Students
prefer English- Malayalam dictionary to English- English dictionary for
reference purposes.
5) Students
use dictionaries to practice pronunciation and learn new words.
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis
of the methods applied to a subject of study. It comprises the theoretical
analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with the subject
matter. This study aims to finding the use of dictionary among the students of
standard nine of Kottayam district. It
involved several steps like selection of variables for the study, construction
and validation of tools, selection of the sample, and collection of data,
analysis using suitable statistical procedures and drawing conclusions.
Tool used for the study:
·
A
questionnaire was prepared for collecting data about the knowledge of the
students on dictionary of standard seven.
SAMPLE OF THE STUDY
The
sample consisted of thirty, ninth standard students of St. Thomas HSS, Pala, in
Kottayam district. The sample considered only boys of English medium in the
school. The
population of the survey includes the students of standard nine
and for the purpose of this project, the students of standard nine,
studying in St. Thomas HSS, Pala were selected.
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED
Statistics used
in this research involve descriptive statistics- percentage.
Descriptive
statistics was used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. They
provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with
simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative
analysis of data.
Descriptive
Statistics was used to present quantitative descriptions in a manageable form.
In a research study we may have lots of measures. Or we may measure a large
number of people on any measure. Descriptive statistics help us to simplify
large amounts of data in a sensible way. Each descriptive statistic reduces
lots of data into a simpler summary
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Objective
1: Skill of identifying the synonyms and
antonyms.
Table 1
|
Si no
|
Components
|
Correct response
|
Percentage
|
|
1
|
Synonyms
|
12/30
|
40
|
|
2
|
Antonyms
|
17/30
|
56
|
|
Total
|
29/60
|
48.3/100
|
|
The above table
shows the students skill of identifying synonyms and antonyms. It states that
only 48% of the students were able to identify the correct synonyms and
antonyms from the questionnaire.
Objective
2: To check the student is practice of
pronunciation and spelling accuracy.
Table 2
|
Si no
|
Components
|
Correct response
|
Percentage
|
|
1
|
Pronunciation
|
3/30
|
10
|
|
2
|
Spelling
|
3/30
|
10
|
|
Total
|
6/60
|
10/100
|
|
The
above table shows the students pronunciation of new words and their spelling
accuracy while referring a dictionary is very poor, only 10% of the students
could identify the correct spelling and pronunciation.
Objective
3: The usage of new words and its
practice.
Table 3
|
Si no
|
Attitude
|
Frequency
|
Percentage
|
|
1
|
Sometimes
|
15
|
50
|
|
2
|
Often
|
10
|
33.4
|
|
3
|
Never
|
5
|
16.6
|
|
4
|
Very Often
|
-
|
-
|
|
Total
|
30
|
100
|
|
The
above table suggest that only 33% of the students are having the habit of using
new words in their vocabulary and practising them. About 50% of the students
rarely practice new words and a 16% of the students never practice the new
words that they come across.
Objective
4: The choice of dictionary that the
students prefer when there is a need.
Table 4
|
Si no
|
Type of Dictionary
|
Frequency
|
Percentage
|
|
1
|
English- Malayalam
|
27
|
90
|
|
2
|
English- English
|
2
|
6
|
|
3
|
Malayalam-English
|
1
|
4
|
|
4
|
Malayalam-Malayalam
|
-
|
-
|
|
Total
|
30
|
100
|
|
The above table shows that about
90% of the students of class IX are using English- Malayalam Dictionary for reference.
The students who use only English- English dictionary come only about 6% of the
total students and interestingly 4% of the students use Malayalam- English
Dictionary for reference.
Objective
5: To check the awareness about
Thesaurus.
Table 5
|
Si no
|
Attitude
|
Frequency
|
Percentage
|
|
1
|
YES
|
13
|
43.3
|
|
2
|
NO
|
17
|
56.6
|
|
Total
|
30
|
100
|
|
The above table
suggests that about 56% of the students are unaware about Thesaurus.
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
·
There are no students
in the class IX who have a fear for English- English Dictionary, but a big
majority of the students are using English- Malayalam Dictionary for reference
purpose.
·
Even though students
get enough chance to explore new words to build their vocabulary very few
students practice the new words that they come across.
·
Every student has a
pocket dictionary for reference.
·
The students have an easy
going attitude towards the pronunciation of new or unknown words. They make
mistakes in pronunciation.
·
They take too much time
in locating the words from the dictionary but none of the students fails to
find out the exact word meaning out of the dictionary.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Vocabulary
learning is an important part of learning a second language. Use of Dictionary
plays an important role as a tool to learn new words in the language that we
learn. A well-written dictionary with pronunciation guidelines will help non
English speaking learners to acquire not only the meaning but also the correct
form of pronunciation in addition to mastering spelling.
v The
teachers must give proper training for the students to refer a dictionary.
v Every
class must contain a class library with pocket dictionaries.
v The
teachers must ensure that the learners are using authentic and useful
dictionaries.
v The
teachers must ensure that the learners practice the pronunciation directed in
the dictionary.
RECOMMENDATIONS
More
research is needed in this field is required. Proper methods need to be
implemented in schools to enhance the self-directed learning among the high
school learners.
Learners must
understand the importance of punctuation, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Teachers should give opportunities for learners to refer books and make the
students a self-directed learner.
REFERENCE
Gary Martha, W
.Hach Clarence.(1950). English for Today-10.Philadelphia:J.B. Lippincott Company.
Best,W. John
.”Research in Education”, Pretice-Hall of India PVT. New Delhi, 1995.
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