More Examples May Benefit Dictionary Users

Abstract

There is no doubt that example sentences enhance a dictionary’s value by providing dictionary users with the typical context of words. But how many examples do dictionary users need in a dictionary, or how many examples in a dictionary lead to confusion? The aim of the paper is twofold. First, an attempt will be made to investigate the usefulness of encoding examples in language production. Second, the aim will be to see whether a multitude of encoding examples exhibiting various types of syntax and collocation patterns confuse or benefit students of English during a translation task. 213 Polish learners of English participated in the study. To achieve the aims of the present study, mixed-effects logistic models were fitted and analyzed for the purpose of statistical analysis. The findings of the current study suggest that the presence of encoding examples in dictionaries is beneficial to learners of English in language production. Also, it can be inferred from the data that exposure to eight examples exhibiting two target syntax/collocation patterns of use is equally helpful to dictionary users as the availability of three examples exhibiting a single target syntax/collocation pattern.