Dictionary Skills in Teaching English and German as a Foreign Language in Hungary: A Questionnaire Study

Abstract

This study investigates the dictionary use of graduates in English and German as well as their attitudes towards teaching and learning dictionary skills in the classroom. The first section of the paper offers a historical overview of research on dictionary use and dictionary didactics in Hungary. This is followed by the detailed description of the quantitative research, which aims to investigate the participants’ (n=197) self-reported preferences and attitudes regarding dictionary use, their dictionary consultation behaviour, and the role of dictionaries as an aid to language learning and teaching. The research results partly confirm the trends revealed in previous international studies (e.g. increased use of online tools, reluctance to pay for dictionaries, low prestige of teaching dictionary use); they also show that there is a need for dictionary use skills to be taught from an early age and for placing a special emphasis on features and search strategies in the case of digital dictionaries. Based on these findings, the authors plan to design a core ‘dictionary skills’ module (with teaching aids and handbooks), which could be incorporated into a variety of courses in tertiary education.