[DaveESL]

My students here in China are (apparently) too poor for electronic dictionaries. When I was in Taiwan / Hawaii, though, my classes were full of them. I agree with the zero retention problem but, I'm much more concerned with eliminating mp3 players and cell phones than dictionaries.

[Denis DNT]

This debate reminds me of the debate on using electronic calculators during Maths classes and exams. That was when i was in secondary school. It was hard for Maths teachers. Hardly did I know as an English teacher someday the same problem will come up.

[clivehawkins]

Quote Denis DNT

This debate reminds me of the debate on using electronic calculators during Maths classes and exams. That was when i was in secondary school. It was hard for Maths teachers. Hardly did I know as an English teacher someday the same problem will come up.

I'd go along with that!
One thing I remember clearly though is that we had to learn how to use it correctly otherwise you got yourself into all sorts of problems. OK, basic additions and subtractions were easy enough but other functions needed to be taught. I guess it's the same with electronic dictionaries. To really get the most out of it you need to know how to use it. I don't know how good they are these days, but what I prefer about paper ones is that you have the word, the phonetic spelling, the stress, the part of speech and then the definition, often with examples. I like to get my students to get the most out of the dictionary and not simply use it to get the meanings. I usually do a dictionary lesson at the start of each course so that during the year they become autonomous using it and less reliant on me to tell them what stuff means, how to pronounce it etc etc.

As for mp3 players, games etc I simply don't stand for them. They can rant and rave all they like but there's no way I'm having anybody in my class listening to music \ playing SuperMario 8 or whatever it's up to now. You've got to be kidding.

[Denis DNT]

As for mp3 players, games etc I simply don't stand for them. They can rant and rave all they like but there's no way I'm having anybody in my class listening to music \ playing SuperMario 8 or whatever it's up to now. You've got to be kidding.

That's the worry that inspired the debate topic. The first electronic dictionaries were very basic and useful, but with competition in that sector the manufacturers, I mean the designers now include all those extras in order to lead sales; music, games, alarm clocks, I can't name them all. Little do they know how much distraction they are providing the kids and how much trouble it means for us teachers.
Like the example of calculators I mentioned earlier, I remember there was this classmate of mine who had a Japanese made calculator that had some kind of fax. He could actually fax a maths problem to his brother who was in High School at the time. We became so excited about the idea and couldn't keep our secret. Our smart discipline mistress, late Miss Dube found out everything and seized the famous calculator before exams showed up. Jeez! Those days were fun!

As for these dictionaries we shall only have to learn to work with them.

[michèle 2]

[That's the worry that inspired the debate topic. The first electronic dictionaries were very basic and useful, but with competition in that sector the manufacturers, I mean the designers now include all those extras in order to lead sales; music, games, alarm clocks, I can't name them all. Little do they know how much distraction they are providing the kids and how much trouble it means for us teachers.
Yes, you're right the designers don't know how much distraction they provide in putting such "devices" on the market
Fortunately for me none of my students has an electronic dictionary!!

[Denis DNT]

And the pain is having to check each time on the little guy whether he is actaully checking out the meaning of a word or programming his alarm extra that will throw off your lesson a few minutes later with the sound of a police siren.

I was compelled to seize one just before the October holiday after three warnings. The guy's dictionary has this loud sound of laughter and clapping each time he wins a game or kills one of the heros in the games. I don't know whether it is download from the internet or it is actually part of the dictionary built-in.

You know what even gives them the most fun? The fact that old teachers like us from the other generation don't even know how to use these devices. I brought the one I seized to the staff room and we were all at a loss. No one could even turn it on. The guy had some password lock key or something.

[kisito]

Electronic dictionaries are generally bad for the classroom. Students just can't resist using them when they get new words. They could be used, provided there is some strict guidance at the start of the course as how and why we use dictionaries.Most often, without proper guidance it becomes frustrating when my students (who are quite keen to learn) head for their e-dictionaries when I have just only mentioned a new word. Sometimes it takes away focus from the subject as some new words are just introduced but not as part of that lesson ( I call them throw away words).This is when I get to ban them. Also, often using these dictionaries could mean that the students need some non-dictionary vocab learning skills. Read my article on this topic.