ESP and Free Online Dictionaries

Abstract

This chapter situates the concept of ESP within the Spanish university context, which is characterised by diversity. This means that ESP instructors must re-adapt the absolute and variable characteristics of ESP to the Spanish teaching and learning environment. A possible way to do this is to instruct learners in the use of free online dictionaries, which are information tools that are accessible through the Internet with or without paying a fee. These tools are especially adequate for gaining knowledge, such as the concepts and conceptual framework scaffolding a domain. Within this framework, this chapter illustrates a way to use using free online dictionaries for gaining knowledge. This consists of two stages: first, the use of a template that includes 10 characteristics for deciding on the adequacy of the dictionaries to be used and, second, the recommendation of two specific types of dictionaries for gaining knowledge. The implementation of both stages allowed me to propose the use of collaborative dictionaries, such as Wikipedia and/or specialised dictionaries, to assist ESP learners to gain knowledge of specific domains.