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1.2 Research Scope
This topic of the paper is Electronic Dictionary and Paper Dictionary: Impetus or Hindrance in English Writing of English Majors. An electronic dictionary (ED) is a dictionary whose data is transformed in digital form and is convenient for quick query. Electronic dictionaries can be found in various forms, such as dedicated handled devices, softwares available on computer, Apps on smart phones, or free or paid-for online products. In this paper, electronic dictionary refers to Apps on smart phones, and we take Youdao Dict. App (Ver. 4.3.2) as the example. A paper dictionary (PD) is a paper-based dictionary that is printed out, such as Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary. In this paper, we mainly talk about the persity and complexity in a composition. The research subject is English majors in Chinese universities.
1.3 Significance of Research
In real practice, dictionary plays a significant part in second language acquisition; however, most students haven’t master the appropriate way to use it. This paper will clarify the importance of dictionary. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different types of dictionaries in English writing process, this paper will discuss which kind of dictionary can bring the strengths into full play to help English majors improve the skill of vocabulary use and the ability of English writing, and will give advices for English majors on how to choose the right dictionary to help improve English writing ability.
1.4 Paper Structure
Section One introduced the background and the overall structure of the paper. Section Two gave a general literature review of relative research, introducing the features and the practical use of ED and PD, the previous study as well as the choice of research methodology. In Section Three, the paper introduced the experiment designed for English composition writing for English majors, including experiment instruments, experimental procedures and data analysis measures. In Section Four, the paper made a result analysis of the experiment. Section Five discussed the implication of the research in Second Language Acquisition area and made a conclusion.
2 Literature Review
Generally speaking, dictionaries can be classified into two types: paper dictionaries (PD) and electronic dictionaries (ED), the latter of which can be further categorized into different types (De Schryver, 2003: 156-157). Although some characteristics of these two types of dictionaries are shared, others are quite distinct. Therefore, in the following sections, the advantages and the features of PD and ED are first discussed. Then, the practical use of them and previous studies are introduced.
2.1 Advantages and Features of Paper and Electronic Dictionary
Paper dictionaries (PD) are often compared with electronic dictionaries (ED) in terms of function and the influence on language acquisition. Some researchers have claimed that PD should be considered as the most suitable form of dictionary for learning. According to De Schryver (2003) in his article “Lexicographers’ dreams in the electronic-dictionary age,” the advantages of PD included user’s familiarity, comfort of reading, ability to make physical annotations, durability without fear of serious damage or loss of functionality, no requirement of a computer to be switched on, and so on. On the other hand, the advantages of electronic dictionaries are portability, high retrieval speed, ability to pronounce and rich content (Shen, 2012: 94). Besides, Deng (2006) suggested that electronic dictionaries have concise and fashionable entries.
2.2 Effects of Paper and Electronic Dictionary on English Writing
Some researchers argue that college students who use electronic dictionary may only learn the isolated and one-sided meaning of a word, while paper dictionary can provide a full range of entries and clear and complete explanations, which will help non-English majors gain knowledge of subtle differences between words and get a higher score in English writing (Sheng & Xu, 2005: 142).