Dictionaries and encoding examples to support language production

Abstract

Learners' dictionaries can help users not just with meanings, but also with collocations, syntax and common errors. Although there are several ways in which information for language production can be presented, previous research has shown that learners tend to prefer to obtain it from examples. However, early studies on the effects of dictionary examples did not disclose much evidence of their value. This could be because dictionaries do not distinguish between examples to reinforce comprehension and examples to support production, and also because learners may need more than one example to figure out how words are used. Following recent findings by Frankenberg-Garcia (2012, 2014), where encoding examples appeared to help language production, the present study aimed to further investigate the effects of such examples by refining previous elicitation procedures, by using a different and larger population sample, and by testing whether learners react better to an optimum number of examples.