Optimizing the Advantages of Monolingual Dictionary Utilization by Thai EFL Students

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) investigate the use of dictionary of second-year students majoring in English
at Bangkok University 2) compare the use of dictionary between the achievers and underachievers. The instruments used for
collecting data were a questionnaire and an in-depth interview. The population was 40 English major students from Humanities
faculty. The data were statistically analyzed in terms of mean and standard deviation. A t-test analysis was used to find the
difference between the achievers and underachievers on the use of dictionary. For the in-depth interview, six achievers and six
underachievers are randomized through simple random sampling technique to give their opinions on three questions provided,
and the data were collected to assure the results of the study. The results of this study showed that the overall usage of
dictionary of Bangkok University students was at a medium level, and significant differences existed in dictionary usage between
the achievers and underachievers. The findings of this research would let the teachers know the students’ problems and
purposes of using dictionary, so that the teachers can train the students to practice using dictionary systematically so as to make
the best use of dictionary. Pedagogical implications into reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition were suggested.