Reference

Review ~ Primary IDictionary 2
Reviewed Nov 2011 by David Dodgson

Primary iDictionary 2

The Primary iDictionary 2 is an interactive picture dictionary CD-ROM published by Cambridge. It is designed for primary school aged learners of English with the vocabulary being suitable for children preparing for the Cambridge Movers exam.

The program contains over 300 words divided into 14 vocabulary topics ranging from animals to weather, as well as language-focused units on things like adjectives and past simple forms. In each topic, the vocabulary is presented via images with the accompanying word. The pronunciation of each word can also be listened to, as can the spelling of the word.

Each unit also contains a song, a story and a game, all of which draw on the vocabulary that is presented. The songs can be listened to with the lyrics or without, or in the ‘karaoke’ mode that allows the child to sing along. There are 4 different types of game: a drag and drop game in which words are matched to pictures; a drag and drop game in which items are added to a picture based on an audio description; a listen and match game in which a description of an item or action is listened to before choosing the corresponding image; and a memory card game in which matching pairs of cards need to be found.
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Longman Wordwise Dictionary
Reviewed Nov 2009 by Jennie Roloff

Are you looking for a dictionary to recommend to your students that is easy to use, colorful and not off-putting to intermediate level learners? Look no further than the Longman Wordwise dictionary. The 2nd edition of the Longman Wordwise dictionary contains 38,000 words defined in simple, accessible English and highlights
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Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
Reviewed Oct 2009 by Carmela Chateau

Why do people buy dictionaries? To know what words mean, or to check usage, spelling or pronunciation, or any combination of the above. Most English dictionaries give pronunciation as a matter of course, as English is a tricky language to pronounce, but the fact that there are many varieties of English
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Oxford Picture Dictionary Second Edition
Reviewed Aug 2009 by Alex Case

The absolute basics of this book can be easily understood from its title- it has 4000 pictures spread over 12 categories and about 120 subcategories that are meant to illustrate the meanings of nouns, verbs, and the occasional adjective and preposition, and almost always does so unambiguously. It looks slightly different from other picture dictionaries, in that it uses what seem to be computer generated pictures (for better or worse) and doesn’t look childish at all. The fundamental differences between this book and other picture dictionaries I have used lies
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Longman Dictionary of American English 4th Edition
Reviewed Feb 2009 by Lara Promnitz-Hayashi

Components: Dictionary, CD-Rom
Publisher: Pearson Longman

There are a number of learner’s dictionaries available on the market and the Longman Dictionary of American English is one of them. It is well presented, colourful and easy to use and is aimed at intermediate and above
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Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 3rd Edition
Reviewed Nov 2008 by Joshua Antle

Components: Dictionary, CD-Rom
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Summary: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary was designed to be used as a reference dictionary for upper-intermediate to advanced learners of English.

Review:
The CALD is one of the many learner’s dictionaries available today. It has been specifically designed for upper-intermediate to advanced learners of English, especially those who are preparing for tests such as IELTS, FCE, CAE and others.

Along with the actual dictionary, the CALD has several `Extra Help pages`, maps, colour pictures, and instructions on how best to use the dictionary. The dictionary is also colour-coded and includes all the typical information found in learner’s dictionaries. In addition, there is information on the word frequency, common mistakes and word partners, as well as a Word Guide to help with words which have multiple meanings.

There are several features new to this edition: the Let’s Talk section focuses on how people really speak; the Common Mistakes box mentioned above; Thesaurus boxes for overused words; and Word Partner boxes for the most common collocations. There is also a CD-Rom with this edition.

I was very impressed with this dictionary. I found it to be very user-friendly, comprehensive and informative. Several features stood out: the Word Guide was very useful for my students when dealing with words, such as “change”, which have several meanings; the Let’s Talk section is well-organized and focuses on everyday English; and the Common Mistake Box, which is based on real learner errors from the Cambridge ESOL exams, was an excellent addition. My students also found the information on word frequencies to be motivating, and it helped concentrate their efforts on more useful vocabulary.

I didn’t have many complaints about the CALD. There were, however, a few smaller issues that could be improved upon. The dictionary used a classification system, in addition to the information on word frequency, which showed if a word was “important” or not; it did this by using blue head words instead of black. Having these two systems seems a bit redundant. The Smart Thesaurus on the CD-Rom lists too many words in my opinion (I got 88 different words, listed in alphabetic order, for “aspect”). If the words were listed based on frequency, this would not be a problem. Finally, the dictionary itself is rather bulky. It is an excellent reference book, but I would not want to have to carry it to class everyday.
I found the CALD to be very useful in my higher level vocabulary and reading classes (upper-intermediate to advanced learners of English). I have also used it with lower-intermediate students with mixed results; they had trouble with several of the definitions. That said, however, that they still found it to be beneficial and that it would get them into the habit of using an English-English dictionary. The complaints I had with it were all minor and should not discourage someone from buying this excellent resource.

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Review ~ Cambridge School Dictionary
Reviewed Nov 2008 by Kaithe Greene

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Components: Book & CD ROM with User’s Guide.

I must be a sad creature because I actually like dictionaries. And, yes, I read them – not cover to cover, but just the important bits, like how to use the edition in my hands. This one appeals to me because it is small and light enough to go on the trolley bus across the city to in-company classes with me, it has some coloured pictures in the middle, a readable few pages of instructions for use in a restful shade of turquoise, and an Extra Help section as well.

So what’s new about this particular dictionary? It has encompassed the evolution of our language with words like “torch” as a verb, the omission of “happy” as a definition for “gay”, not to mention such questionable terms as “chick lit” and “chick flick”. Although these may not seem like
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Longman Eiwa Jiten English-Japanese Dictionary
Reviewed Jul 2008 by Lara Promnitz-Hayashi

There are numerous bilingual dictionaries on the market and Longman’s Eiwa Jiten is one of the newer ones. It is specifically aimed at Japanese people who are studying English from High School level upwards, and unlike other dictionaries on the market it offers encyclopedic entries, thesaurus notes and
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