An insight into the visual presentation of signposts in English learners’ di...

An insight into the visual presentation of signposts in English learners’ dictionaries online
/ b4 M5 G. }( b3 M2 G- s% N7 Ehttp://ijl.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/11/24/ijl.ecv040.abstract

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The aim of the paper is to evaluate the methods for presenting signposts which are used in online versions of three monolinecv040gual English learners’ dictionaries: LDOCE5, OALD8 and OALD9. In these dictionaries, signposts take the form of, respectively, white capitals on a blue background, crimson capitals above a crimson line, and black lower-case letters above a dark orange line. The study aims to determine which of these signpost highlighting methods is the most beneficial to the speed and accuracy of sense identification as well as meaning retention. It also attempts to establish whether sense position in the entry affects the time and success of sense identification as well as the retention of meaning when different strategies for presenting signposts are adopted. In a Moodle-based experiment, purpose-built entries with manipulated signpost highlighting were employed and target sense positions were strictly controlled. The results indicate that the LDOCE5 method for highlighting signposts is generally the most recommendable.

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