BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 528

BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 528

IELTS Academic Reading Test

How to use a dictionary effectively

A.   Dictionaries are extremely important tools for anyone learning a new language. At a fundamental level, dictionaries can be used for looking up the meaning of English words you see or hear, or for checking the spelling of a word. Good dictionaries can also provide additional useful information such as the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb and other grammatical information about a word. If the dictionary is a bilingual one, then users can check the English translation of a word in their language.

More advanced users may wish to use dictionaries to look up the collocations of words or find out about the register of a word. Dictionaries are also useful for checking the pronunciation of a word, something that is especially easy if the user has an electronic (talking) dictionary.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

To be a good dictionary user, however, it is not enough to know what to use the dictionary for. Students must also decide which is the best dictionary for any of the purposes previously mentioned, and additionally students need to be able to find what they are looking for quickly; you need to be sure that you have found what you were looking for; and, most importantly, you need to know when to use your dictionary.

B.   Electronic dictionaries are the best choice for ESL students, and most of them contain native-language equivalents and explanations, as well as definitions and example sentences in English. They can pronounce English words, and they are easy to carry around. However, on the down side, they are expensive and easy to lose. A more cost-effective alternative for students who regularly work at the computer is to use an online dictionary. Alternatively, if you open Google and type the target word, you will get a long list of different definitions. A good monolingual dictionary is recommended for students who already have a high standard of English and want to learn about word use.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

C.   This is a skill that students need to practise. All students need to know the English alphabet perfectly, so practise this, especially with elementary level students. Students should be encouraged to refer to the guidewords at the top of each dictionary page and keep practising until they can find any word within ten seconds. Students should also practise finding words in their own language in bilingual dictionaries, and if they are using an electronic dictionary, ensure students take some time at home to learn how it works, and encourage them to practise finding words quickly.

D.   Very often when looking up a new English word, students find that it has more than one meaning. If they are unsure which meaning is correct, students should check through all the meanings and select the one that makes most sense in the context where they found the word. Guessing the meaning of unknown words using contextual clues is a very important skill in language learning. If they are still uncertain about the meaning, students can think what the word is in their own language and look it up in a bilingual dictionary. If one of the English translations is the original word they looked up, then they can be satisfied that they have found the correct meaning.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

E.   Another frequent problem facing many learners is that they want to check their spelling but can’t find the word they’re looking for. Bilingual dictionaries may help here, but it is essential that learners also try to develop their skills by predicting spelling, possibly through comparison with similar-sounding words or considering other (possibly shorter) words that they might expect to encounter in the same word family, and again, if all else fails, a bilingual dictionary can help.

F.   When searching for a word in their own language in a bilingual dictionary, students will probably find that there is more than one English translation. If they have doubts over which to use, they could try a back translation. This involves looking up the English translations one by one in a monolingual dictionary, and if a word has a definition that matches the word in their language, it is safe to use.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

G.   If students hunt for every new word they see or hear, they may spend their whole day with the dictionary in their hand, and that’s not what they should be doing! Students have to be clever and choose the right words to check and the right time to do it. In order to become much more efficient language learners, students should not check meanings immediately. For example, when reading, they should finish the sentence (or better, the paragraph) before even thinking about the dictionary. If they haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems important, then and only then should they look it up.

To avoid interrupting their reading for too long, students should check meaning in their own language using a bilingual dictionary. In the classroom, if students hear a new word or the teacher has written it on the board, they should wait and continue listening. Typically, what the teacher says next may help them to understand the word without having to resort to dictionaries, and simply turning straight to the dictionary may result in students not hearing what follows, and this will make understanding the lesson more difficult.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Read the text and then choose the best heading from the list for each section of the text. Use each heading once only. You do not need to use every heading.

i.          Finding words quickly

ii.         Knowing when to use the dictionary

iii.        Reasons for using a dictionary

iv.        Finding the right English translation of a word in your language

v.         Using an online dictionary

vi.        Knowing which dictionary to use

vii.       Finding the right spelling

viii.      Bilingual dictionaries

ix.        Finding the right meaning of an English word

IELTS Academic Reading Test

1. Paragraph A

2. Paragraph B

3. Paragraph C

4. Paragraph D

5. Paragraph F

6. Paragraph G

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

7. Online dictionaries are more _____________ than electronic ones.

8. Higher-level students should use ______________ dictionaries.

9. Students should use ____________ clues to help them guess the meaning of words that they don’t know.

10. Working out the spelling of unknown words is ______________ for learners to develop.

11. Not immediately looking up the meanings of unknown vocabulary is an example of the behaviour of language students who are much _______________.

12. Students need to _____________ when they hear a new word from the teacher in class.

13. When listening to a teacher, students may get help understanding a word by listening to what s/he ______________.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

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BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 528

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IELTS Academic Reading Test

1. III

2. VI

3. I

4. IX

5. IV

6. II

7. COST-EFFECTIVE

8. MONOLINGUAL

9. CONTEXTUAL

10. ESSENTIAL

11. MORE EFFICIENT

12. WAIT/CONTINUE LISTENING

13. SAYS NEXT

IELTS Academic Reading Test

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