How I Use Dictionaries When Learning a Language

CC subtitles available in English.

To learn a language we need to look up the meaning of words. This means referring to dictionaries. Lately this has meant mostly referring to online dictionaries for me. Dictionaries are a necessary part of language learning as long as we use them effectively.

0:00 I love to buy dictionaries!
1:28 The difficulty with using a dictionary during my Chinese learning journey.
2:44 You should always have a purpose for looking up a word.
3:45 Make the process as easy and effective as possible.
7:20 Looking up words in the dictionary should be an assist and not your main language learning activity.

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#languagelearning #languages #polyglot

[Thelinguist]

How do you use dictionaries in your language learning?

[APlusRussian]

Instead of looking it up _right away_ I recommend using a dictionary ONLY after experiencing the unfamiliar word _at least_ THREE TIMES. Anecdotally, this tends to improve retention - especially when consuming visual media: movies, videos, etc.

[Andymegaara]

I significantly increased my English vocabulary by reading English translated manga while using a dictionary. My main goal then was not to improve my English, but to use my limited English knowledge in order to enjoy stories I was interested in. The by-product of that was that my vocabulary greatly increased in a very short amount of time.

[hak]

When I was a kid I had a dictionary and I was over there with the lil book translating everything on my way I think that helped me a lot to learn English because you know I was a kid and when one it’s a kid it’s easier to learn a new language

[rimenahi]

Always a smile on my face whenever I see a new video from you. Thanks Steve.

[yagmurcamd]

Discipline and consistency and immersion.

[islamadam]

I prefer using imprinted dictionaries because while looking for a word I accidentally see many others, some of which stick in my mind for being peculiar or funny, also that makes the language more familiar to me.

[clarencehammer]

I began learning Spanish in High School when I was 14 or 15 years old. We only had two years of Spanish offered then. About seven years later after military service I enrolled in junior college for another two years of study and then two more years at university. Since then I have tried to keep up on my own. I am now 75 years old. One of my favorite dictionaries is a monolingual dictionary. It is DICCIONARIO DIDÁCTIO DE ESPAÑOL INTERMEDIO. It is the 1993 edition. One very good thing about this dictionary is that it gives examples of usage. It is true that many times I find definitions that contain other words that I do not know but then I look them up too and eventually I understand. Sometimes it is a long process. If in the end I still don't understand then as a last resort I will refer to a dual language dictionary. I think that using a monolingual dictionary has been helpful to me. You are also right that we soon forget the meaning of words. Sometimes I think of a Spanish word and then look it up and find that I was wrong but close. Another thing that happens to me is that I will try to think of the Spanish word for something in English but think I do not know the Spanish word and then when I look it up I find that I do in fact know the Spanish word. I just could not recall it at the time. i also did study French in college but did not keep up with it and have had practically no exposure to it so I have not retained much of French. I've not studied any other language.

[WolfusMandrago]

Thank you for the video! I've watched just about every video of yours for about 4 years now. They help to keep me moving forward when I've hit a slow point in my learning.

[iberius]

I donated both my Modern Greek and Latin dictionaries. I prefer to acquire vocabulary in both languages naturally, contextually and through extensive reading and active listening.

[MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio]

My favorite way to use dictionaries is to wait until I have around an A2 level in the language and then use them while reading. It's especially handy in this case to have a Kindle, because you can instantly look up any word by simply touching it with your finger. This is essentially the way we all used dictionaries as a child when we were still learning our own native language.

[newcreationcor]

I actually really like to use same language dictionaries (after a certain level of course) They help my brain connect words within a certain context: so this word connects with this word somehow. I don't try to understand every single word in a definition, only key words, and it helps me stick in the target language (which really helps me connect grammar points more naturally)

[supertotoro]

Hello Steve, thank you for these videos. I started using Lingq again recently and these videos of yours have become very important part of my learning. No matter if the context of your videos is necessary to me or not, but just listening to you talking about language learning makes me really excited to start studying. Today I have not studied for 2 days and I had no will to start studying today either, until I saw today's video, now I'm excited to start again. Thank you, please never stop these videos :)

[josuekabue]

I thing monolingual dictionary is important at a certain level of the process of learning because it can help to immerse in the language and train your brain.
This is my experience from english, the language i am learning now. I use monolingual online dictionary and it is very useful to me.
I don't just look at words randomly. I first listen to an actual talk, take the script, identify words i don't know the meaning and then search them in the dictionary.

[gabriellawrence]

Who else thinks Steve could organize giveaways in which he gives lang-learning books he doens't use?

[constancechan]

I know how to use the word -sucker -in your video, there is no need to look up the dictionary, but if it would be much better if I do! Thank you for your sharing.

[ihavenoname]

Super-interesting topic, Steve ---- thank you ! 👍I'm a sucker for dictionaries too.
PS: Learner's dictionaries are very helpful.

[jay_]

I’m reading the Hunger Games in Korean (a physical book) and there are so many words I don’t know (I’m a low Intermediate). Hopefully it will get easier overtime😅

[PolyglotSecrets]

I love dictionaries too! Sometimes it's very hard to control myself and not look up every word, but I have to, otherwise it interrupts the flow of reading, if I'm reading, for exampe.
I have physical dictionaries and they just make my shelves pretty. I never use them. These days, I almost always go to Wiktionary. It might be surprising, but I love it because it shows what other languages this word shows up in, where the word comes from, how it's connected to words from other languages etc. It shows the connections between languages. Sometimes it can suck you in for a while, so be careful. 😁

[Chineseman]

you can use Youdao online dictionary for Chinese