Dictionary use is one of the most basic strategies for promoting autonomous learning in foreign language learning. Japan is one of the most developed countries for English learner's dictionaries and has produced many user-friendly dictionaries in the field of paper and electronic dictionaries (cf. Cowie, 1999). The beauty of those pedagogical dictionaries was how to select the essential information for the target users and to provide in a limited space in a printed dictionary. With the recent development of online dictionaries, however, the space limitation is not a problem any more, and the type and amount of lexicographical information that was once clearly defined with a particular group of users in mind has been becoming increasingly less clear, and less proficient learners can only search for information superficially, not knowing what type of information is available and should be selected for solving lexical or grammatical problems they face in reception and production in L2.
User research on English dictionaries in the past was carried out extensively with paper-based dictionaries for very strong pedagogical perspectives in mind (Tono, 2001), but the subsequent research on online dictionaries has tended to emphasise the effectiveness of online dictionaries, with little reference to the types of dictionary information and search skills required at different levels.
For the last two decades, foreign language education has been strongly influenced by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, Council of Europe, 2001; 2020). The setting of learning objectives and the development of teaching materials and language tests has been made based on the "can do" descriptors. The CEFR descriptors contain many aspects of communication strategies, but very little is written on the use of reference materials as learning strategies. On the other hand, some references to dictionary use in reading and writing skills are fragmentally made in the descriptors.
The present study proposes a set of "can do" descriptors by CEFR levels, based on the knowledge and retrieval skills that dictionary users should have, drawing on previous major surveys (cf. Müller-Spitzer, Koplenig & Töpel, 2012; Dziemianko, 2012; Lew, 2012; Töpel, 2014). The development of "can do" descriptors for dictionary use hopes to improve systematic redesign of dictionary interfaces and raise awareness of the search skills required for dictionary skills training, online dictionary searching, etc. In doing so, the use of online as well as paper dictionaries can focus on the types of information one needs in particular skill domains at a given level of proficiency. It is also possible that some items in the creation of descriptors will inevitably require training in paper dictionary search skills before moving onto online dictionaries. This part is related to the question of at what stage of the novice-beginner levels it is better to understand the overall structure of dictionary entries.
In the actual presentation, we would like to present a "can do" list of dictionary skills by CEFR levels and hope to contribute to further discussion on how such lists can be refined and utilised in actual teaching and learning.
References
Council of Europe, (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment.
Council of Europe, (2020). The Companion Volume
Cowie, A. P. (1999). English dictionaries for foreign learners: A history. Oxford University Press.
Dziemianko, A. (2012). On the use(fulness) of paper and electronic dictionaries. In Granger & Paquot (Eds.) (2012), pp. 319-342.
Granger, S. & Paquot, M. (Eds.) (2012). Electronic Lexicography. Oxford University Press.
Lew, R. (2012). How can we make electronic dictionaries more effective? In Granger & Paquot (Eds.) (2012), pp. 343-378.
Müller-Spitzer, C., Koplenig, A. & Töpel, A. (2012). Online dictionary use: Key findings from an empirical research project. In Granger & Paquot (Eds.) (2012), pp. 425-458.
Töpel, A. (2014). Review of research into the use of electronic dictionaries. In Müller-Spitzer, C. (Ed.) Using online dictionaries. Lexicographica Series Maior 145. De Gruyter.
