Hi everyone!
Today I would like to share with you what I believe to be the best dictionaries for English learning. But, first of all, some questions. Do you have a dictionary? Do you use it? Is it an English/English dictionary or does it translate from your language into English? Having a good dictionary (and using it!) is essential to effective language learning and to better understanding ‘how’ to use English words correctly.

So, which dictionaries do I recommend? There are several respected publishers of English dictionaries (I will share my favourites in a moment), but the most important thing to remember is that you should have and use a mono-lingual dictionary (also known as an English/English dictionary). This is a dictionary which is written only in English, it does not have any translations into another language – all of the explanations and examples for words are shown in English and in English only.

The reason why it is so important to use an English/English dictionary as opposed to a bi-lingual or translation dictionary is that it accelerates your learning. Just think about it – when you use a translation dictionary, you are effectively ‘thinking’ in your own language almost the entire time, you are comparing the meaning of the word in English to the meaning of the word in your own language (and this can definitely cause usage and understanding problems if the word is not exactly the same in both languages). Although it might seem a lot easier to use a translation dictionary, in fact it is making the learning process a lot more difficult on yourself, not to mention the fact that it will take a lot longer for you to remember the new word.

So, now that we have established that you need a good English/English dictionary, I will share with you the names of the dictionaries which I recommend to all of my students. All are English/English dictionaries, and they are also all known as Advanced Learner’s Dictionaries – what does this mean, I hear you say. Well, this is a special type of dictionary which will speed up your learning and which will make using a dictionary a lot more fun!

The reason why you need an ‘Advanced’ dictionary is that these go into detail, they include the definition of most words – when using such a dictionary you will not have the disappointment that the word you are looking for is not included. Having said that, this type of dictionary is quite large and heavy, so it would be better as a reference dictionary for use at home – you can’t exactly take such a dictionary with you everywhere.

The reason why you need a ‘Learner’s’ dictionary is that these types of dictionary are written especially for people who do not have English as their first language. In other words, such dictionaries are for English language learners and can be used at any level of their learning. The reason why I recommend Learner dictionaries to all of my students is that simple language and explanations are used for each definition, making it a lot easier to understand the meaning of the word from the very beginning. Such dictionaries eliminate the usual frustration of using a dictionary which has been designed for a native speaker where you look up the meaning of a word, but do not understand the words in the explanation, so need to look them up too – sound familiar? All this makes the process a lot longer, less enjoyable and so frustrating that most people give up, either using a translation dictionary to help them, or not bothering to find out the meaning of the word at all.

So, now that we have established that you need a good Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, which one should you buy? I have three favourites, all are exceptional when it comes to the world of dictionaries, and all provide you with the necessary tools for successful language learning (if you use them and use them correctly!) My recommendations are as follows:

-Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
-Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
-Longmans Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

The reason why I spread the word about these three great dictionaries is that they all offer English language learners exactly what they need in order to develop their language skills quickly and easily. Each word has a clear and simple explanation of its meaning, several example sentences of how the word is used are provided, the grammar is explained, and each word is also written in the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet so that the correct pronunciation can be learnt from the very beginning. The fact that everything is written in English means that users of these dictionaries think in English the entire time – there is absolutely no need to think in or translate into another language.

It really does not matter which of the above dictionaries you choose, the main thing is that you start using them to help you more effectively develop your range of vocabulary. In future posts, I will be recommending the best online dictionaries as well as the best dictionaries to download onto your phone. I will also be sharing my tips on how to remember vocabulary for the long-term, on how to develop your confidence in using new words, on how to use vocabulary more accurately, and on how to make revising new words much more enjoyable. I hope that you have enjoyed my first entry in the vocabulary section of the blog and that my advice has been useful for you. Thank you for reading!
:) Nicole

© Nicole Sammer, Sydney English Teacher, 2015.

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