Page 22 - @ccess 1 Reader´s Book

EVERYONE WHO SEEKS FINDS

Knowing when to use the dictionary
Unless you want to spend your entire day looking up
words in a dictionary, you have to be adept in choosing
the ones that will really help you. Be sure to choose the
words that will genuinely help you and the appropriate
time to check them. Try following the advice below:

• On occasion, you will find unfamiliar wo ds while
reading. Finish the sentence or, better yet, the
A paragraph. If reading the word in context hasn’t
B
helped you guess the meaning and you still think
it’s important, look it up. It’s a good idea to find out
what the word means in your language with the help
of a bilingual dictionary.
• While you are in class, you will hear new words.
Keep listening to the teacher’s full sentence or
phrase; what he or she says next may help you
figu e out the word’s meaning. Looking the word
up in your dictionary immediately will interfere with
your understanding of the lesson, making it harder
and harder to assimilate. If the word seems very
important, copy it from the board or write down
how it sounds. Afterwards, you could ask the
teacher or another student for its meaning.

Read the introduction
Reading the introductory section of your particular
dictionary is the best way to learn how to use it. The
introductory section gives you valuable information
about your dictionary, such as the abbreviation and
pronunciation symbols used in the entries as well as
how the entries are arranged.

• Entries in dictionaries typically give the word
and variants, the parts of speech the word is, its
pronunciation and its definition among other things.

Reader's Book 21