The Effects of Using a Bilingualized Dictionary on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary

Abstract

Dictionaries have been integrated into vocabulary activities in different classrooms within the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). This study investigates the effects of using bilingualized dictionaries on EFL learners’ vocabulary. A mixed-method design that comprises a vocabulary exercise in a pretest, posttest and delayed posttest protocol in addition to interviews was employed with participants from the State of Kuwait. Participants included 52 female students, from which six students agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews to reflect on their experience of learning vocabulary. The results showed that a bilingualized dictionary significantly improved students’ vocabulary at both posttests, though the improvement decreased from the first posttest to the delayed posttest. The results could be interpreted according to the involvement load hypothesis (ILH; Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), which is founded on three pillars: need, search and evaluation. Participants’ views and reflection on the process of learning vocabulary, particularly when using the bilingualized dictionary, combined with the findings of quantitative tests, could inform vocabulary teaching in the EFL context.