Occasional Papers

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Acquisition of the English Dative Construction by the Japanese
(1992) Yoshinaga, Naoko; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
This study investigates the acquisition of the English dative constructions by Japanese speakers. The Thematic Core Theory (TCT) holds that the double object dative construction is subject to a possession constraint, a morphophonological constraint, and a narrow semantic constraint. Second language acquisition theory, based on the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (SLA-TCT) predicts that Japanese speakers will succeed in acquiring the possession constraint but not the narrow semantic constraint. In a test of the possession and morphophonological constraints, 64 native English speakers (NSs) and 66 native speakers of Japanese (JPNs) were asked to rate the acceptability of dative constructions with novel verbs. A second experiment, NSs = 85, JPNs = 85) tested the nanow semantic constraint using both novel and real verbs. The data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. The results supported the TCT and SLA-TCT. This suggests that universal grammar may not be available to adult learners oxcept through their native language.
Form Explanation in Modification of Listening Input in L2 Vocabulary Learning
(1993) Toya, Mitsuyo; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The effectiveness of vocabulary explanation as modifications of listening input - explicit (EE) and implicit (IE) - were investigated in contrast to unmodified (baseline, BL) condition. One hundred and nine university students from Japan listened to two texts, which included different vocabulary elaborations for 12 items. Students listened three times to each text. After each listening, they indicatec the meanings of the items. Four weeks later, a delayed posttest was administered. Positive effects of multiple listenings were found in vocabulary learning from listening input. As hypothesized, the EE condition resulted in significant superiority over the other two on the immediate posttests. However, IE was not significantly better than the BL. The findings suggested that the IE mostly remained unnoticed during the listening. On the delayed posttest, the score of EE dropped and there was no significant difference among the three conditions, though all conditions resulted in a significant increase from the pretest.
Agreement and Disagreement: A Study of Speech Acts in Discourse and ESL/EFL Materials
(1985) Pearson, Eloise; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The purpose was to formulate a description of the speech act agreement/disagreement and the rules of use under which it occurs in native speaker conversation. This was done by surreptitiously recording natural conversation, transcribing it and examining it for agreement/disagreement. It was found that it occurred only as a response related to a prior initiation move and it occurred on a scale of politeness from the most polite forms of agreement to the least polite forms of disagreement. The description was compared to two ESL/EFL textbooks to determine the degree to which the presentation matched that of native speaker use. The result was that the textbooks presented formulaic expressions which occurred infrequently in conversations among native speakers.
Compliments and Gender
(1994) Miles, Peggy; Kellerman, Eric; Bley-Vroman, Robert; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The Effects of Negotiated Interactioni and Promodified input on Second Langauge Comprehension and Retention
(1989) Loschky, Lester C.; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
This experiment tests hypotheses that premodified input and negotiated interaction facilitate comprehension and SLA (Krashen, 1980; Long, 1981) with Japanese as a foreign language. 41 beginning learners at the University of Hawaii had three listening tasks treatment sessions with native speakers in a pretest/posttest design. Treatment groups were 1) baseline input; 2) premodified input; 3) negotiated interaction. The tasks contained new vocabulary items and two locative structures, and were both learning treatments and on-line comprehension measures. Pre- and post tests included two vocabulary recognition tests and a sentence verification test. The hypothesis that negotiated interaction facilitates comprehension was supported (p< .05), but that for premodified input was not. No main effect for treatment was found for posttest gains in lexis and morphosyntax, though significant gains (p< .05) were found overall. The study thus supports the importance of negotiated interaction for on-line comprehension; however, task-focus on form-meaning relationships may have caused the posstest gains.
Academic Listening Comprehension: Does the Sum of the Parts Make up the Whole?
(1985) Haper, Andrew G.; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
A listening test administered to eighty-five non-native speaker students demonstrated that: (a) a significant relationship exists between global academic listening comprehension (ALC) and a subset of four microskills –inferring the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, and recognizing the respective functions of referential devices, conjunctive devices, and transitional devices; (b) each microskill tested is related to global ALC at p < .001 (correlattions ranged between .377 and .477); (c) common factors are involved in the skills of recognizing the functions of markers of cohesion and markers of coherence; (d) the relationship between global ALC and the ability to identify the main idea in short listening passages is significant but not particularly strong (r = .462). These findings imply that it might be useful to include microskill exercises in materials used for teaching and testing ALC.
A Study of Requests by Two Native Speaker Groups: University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Graduate Students & the American Military Speech Community of Oahu
(1994) Hageman, Marybeth; Kellerman, Eric; Bley-Vroman, Robert; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The fields of Linguistics and ESL frequently use English spoken by native speakers as the target language for ESL learners or for comparative studies with interlanguage. Is it possible to claim that one English native speaker group represents all native English speakers? This paper illustrates similarities and differences in the English of two American native speaker groups in Oahu and by the genders of both groups: the American military speech community and graduate students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I present the data of 20 men and 20 women from each native speaker group, with a total of 80 participants. A questionnaire collects native speaker perceptions of the appropriate level of directness of requests to be used in encounters with personnel of both genders who serve the public. The native speaker groups choose directness of requests equivalently, but the genders show some significant statistical differences in choices with women choosing more direct requests than men. Different situations and addressee genders also are factors in request directness choice. The findings indicate that it is important for researchers and teachers to pay attention to accuracy in representing native speaker language.
Male/Female Language – Is this an ESL Concern?
(1994) Goedjen, Devon; Kellerman, Eric; Bley-Vroman, Robert; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
Six areas of folk linguistic beliefs about male/female language - verbosity, politeness, expertness, swearing, prestige, and lexicon - were selected for this study. People have retained the same folk linguistic beliefs in these six areas for centuries; data from a 200-subject questionnaire and eight interviews are presented to answer the following questions: (1) Do American adults in the 1990's hold these same six folk linguistic beliefs about male/femde language? (2) Do variables of gender, age, or geographic location affect these beliefs? (3) Does the speech of American adults reflect these believed male/female differences? (4) Are there any implications for the ESL classroom? Subjects included equal numbers of males and females and young adults and senior citizens from the states of Washington and Hawaii. Results indicate that high percentages of Americans do hold these same folk linguistic beliefs; that gender, age, and geographic location do not influence these beliefs (according to chi-square tests), with two exceptions; and that "masculine"/"feminine" features reflecting these beliefs can be found in adult speech. The main purpose of this paper is to raise the consciousness of ESL teachers and administrators about the importance of the sex variable in language teaching and learning and to suggest applications for the ESL classroom.
Criticism in English and Thai: A Pragmatic Analysis
(1993) Ercanbrack, Jay; Wichitwechkarn, Jongkonrat; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
Utilizing two separate data collection techniques, i.e., Discourse Completion Tasks (DCT) and multiple-response rating scales, this study explored Thai and American use of criticism in business interactions. The study attempted, firstly, to reveal and describe the strategies of criticism employed by each group; secondly, to determine the influence of interlocutor status on level of face-threat contained in criticisms; and lastly, to advance knowledge of the comparability and suitability of various data collection methods within the field of pragmatic and speech act realization research. A two-part questionnaire in the subjects' native languages was distributed to 45 Thai and 42 American business majors at universities in Thailand and the U.S. Nine identical items involving problem-oriented business situations were used in the DCT and rating scale portions of the questionnaire. The variable of interlocutor status was manipulated across items to stimulate a variety of critical responses. Analyses of data included chi-squares and ANOVAs as well as descriptive statistics. Results reveal areas of both conformance and non-conformance in Thai and American realizations of criticism strategies and the ways in which choice of these strategies are influenced by interlocutor status. However, the significance of the findings is to some extent mitigated by incongruities in results produced by the two data collection procedures. Implications of the findings for intercultural business encounters are discussed, and recommendations are made for future pragmatic research focusing on the area of criticism.
Native and Non-native Reactions to ESL Compositions
(1990) Kobayashi, Toshihiko; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
This study investigated how English native speakers (ENSs) and Japanese native speakers (JNSs) of professorial, graduate, and undergraduate levels evaluate and edit ESL compositions written by Japanese college students. A total of 274 subjects first evaluated each of two compositions in terms of grammaticality, clarity of meaning, naturalness, and organization, using 10- point scales. ENSs were more strict about grammaticality and naturalness than were JNSs. Among the ENSs, the higher the academic status of the group, the more positive evaluation they made. The subjects then edited the composition, correcting everything that seemed ungrammatical, unacceptable or unnatural. ENSs provided far more corrections and corrected errors more accurately than did the JNSs. In both L1 groups, the higher the academic status, the more accurately the group corrected errors. JNSs left many errors uncorrected, especially errors involving articles, number, prepositions, and lexical items which occur in Japanese as loan words from English.
The Effects of Training on Writing Tutors: Interpersonal Skills or the Conference Approach
(1990) Fujimoto, Donna T.; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
Testing the Availability of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition: The Governing Category Parameter and the Proper Antecedent Parameter in Japanese as a Second Langauge
(1990) Shimura, Akihiko; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
To solve the logical problem of L1 acquisition, a domain-specific Universal Grammar (UG) has been proposed. Is UG also available in adult SLA? There are three competing hypotheses with regard to this question in SLA literature: (1) the UG-Subset Principle Hypothesis (U-SPH), (2) the UG-Transfer Hypothesis (U TH), and (3) the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (FDH). They appear to be all theoretically motivated and empirically supported in the literature. Two studies with experimental designs were devised to systematically compare and test these three hypotheses to answer the question of the availability of UG in adult SLA. In the first study, the acquisition of he Proper Antecedent Parameter h Japanese as a Second Language (JSL) was investigated in order to compare the U-SPH with the U-TH and the FDH, while the second study looked at the acquisition of the Governing Category Parameter in JSL in order to compare the U-SPH and the U-TH with the FDH. 48 native-speakers of English worked on a picture identification task in these studies. 16 native speakers (NS) of Japanese and 16 NSs of English also participated as control groups. The results of the two studies supported the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis, which proposes that UG is no longer available in its entirety in SLA. UG is available only through L1. Suggestions were also made for the future research. To solve the logical problem of L1 acquisition, a domain-specific Universal Grammar (UG) has been proposed. Is UG also available in adult SLA? There are three competing hypotheses with regard to this question in SLA literature: (1) the UG-Subset Principle Hypothesis (U-SPH), (2) the UG-Transfer Hypothesis (U TH), and (3) the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (FDH). They appear to be all theoretically motivated and empirically supported in the literature. Two studies with experimental designs were devised to systematically compare and test these three hypotheses to answer the question of the availability of UG in adult SLA. In the first study, the acquisition of he Proper Antecedent Parameter h Japanese as a Second Language (JSL) was investigated in order to compare the U-SPH with the U-TH and the FDH, while the second study looked at the acquisition of the Governing Category Parameter in JSL in order to compare the U-SPH and the U-TH with the FDH. 48 native-speakers of English worked on a picture identification task in these studies. 16 native speakers (NS) of Japanese and 16 NSs of English also participated as control groups. The results of the two studies supported the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis, which proposes that UG is no longer available in its entirety in SLA. UG is available only through L1. Suggestions were also made for the future research.
What Does That Have To Do With the Flow of Ideas? Relevance in indonesian and American Interaction
(1986) Ewing, Michael C.; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The study of communicative style is important for understanding difficulties that arise in cross-cultural communication, but has been little researched in Indonesia, an area with a long history of cross-cultural interaction. This thesis looks at one aspect of communicative style, the maintenance of relevance, in groups of Indonesians and Americans involved in discussing an issue of professional concern through the medium of English. Relevance is analyzed in terms of the topic frameworks which the participants use for establishing the relevance of contributions made in the discussions. It is found that the American participants actively create relevance in the discussions, while the Indonesians participants assume the relevance of contributions to the discussions. Implications for the field of discourse analysis and for cross-cultural communication are discussed.
Attitudes of Non-native Spekers of English to Language Variation in Hawaii
(1986) McCreary, Jan; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
In an investigation of ESL learners' attitudes towards language varieties in New York City, Eisenstein (1982) found that her middle-class subjects, who were exposed mainly to Standard English, tended to evaluate the standard variety more favorably. The main purpose of the present study was to examine language attitudes of ESL learners living in low-income areas exposed to both standard and non-standard varieties of English. The matched-guise procedure was used to determine the attitudes of both native speakers (NS) and non-native speakers (NNS) of English towards two language varieties –standard English and Hawaii Creole English. The subjects were high school students (n=94) who were living in low to low-middle socio-economic areas, and who had had exposure to both language varieties. The NNS subjects were from various parts of Asia and the Pacific and had been in Hawaii for an average of 24 months. Based on previous research (Ryan and Carranza, 1975; Carranza and Ryan, 1975), it was hypothesized that both NSs and NNSs would rate standard English higher on those traits associated with status (e.g., wealth and good education) and solidarity (e.g., friendship and trustworthiness). Both hypotheses were supported by the results. In an investigation of ESL learners' attitudes towards language varieties in New York City, Eisenstein (1982) found that her middle-class subjects, who were exposed mainly to Standard English, tended to evaluate the standard variety more favorably. The main purpose of the present study was to examine language attitudes of ESL learners living in low-income areas exposed to both standard and non-standard varieties of English. The matched-guise procedure was used to determine the attitudes of both native speakers (NS) and non-native speakers (NNS) of English towards two language varieties –standard English and Hawaii Creole English. The subjects were high school students (n=94) who were living in low to low-middle socio-economic areas, and who had had exposure to both language varieties. The NNS subjects were from various parts of Asia and the Pacific and had been in Hawaii for an average of 24 months. Based on previous research (Ryan and Carranza, 1975; Carranza and Ryan, 1975), it was hypothesized that both NSs and NNSs would rate standard English higher on those traits associated with status (e.g., wealth and good education) and solidarity (e.g., friendship and trustworthiness). Both hypotheses were supported by the results.
A Comparison of Tests of Recall as Measures of Foreign Language Listening Comprehension
(1986) Pinsent, Philip John; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
A comparison of three conditions of partial dictation (PD) recall – immediate recall (C1), transclausal recall (C2) and post-lecture recall (C3) – administered, along with post-lecture quizzes, to fifty-three ESL students revealed no significant correlations with either the PAT or the TOEFL (LC), but C1 and C2 did correlate with post-lecture quizzes which were very low in reliability. Scores on these quizzes were affected by recall condition. Reliability for PD was high in all three conditions, C2 having the highest. Scores on the recall tasks differed by condition and by item position, significant effects being revealed for both, as well as for the interaction between them. C1 scores showed a recency effect, due perhaps to modality, but in the other two conditions item position scores were more even across all four positions with some primacy effect evident. Mean scores for C3 were very low, however. While the relationship between partial dictation and global listening comprehension remains problematic, the lack of a primacy/recency effect typical of serial recall indicates that complex processing of ongoing discourse is required for the PD recall tasks. As a research tool for investigating particular features of intake (as compared to input), the transclausal recall condition looks especially promising. A comparison of three conditions of partial dictation (PD) recall – immediate recall (C1), transclausal recall (C2) and post-lecture recall (C3) – administered, along with post-lecture quizzes, to fifty-three ESL students revealed no significant correlations with either the PAT or the TOEFL (LC), but C1 and C2 did correlate with post-lecture quizzes which were very low in reliability. Scores on these quizzes were affected by recall condition. Reliability for PD was high in all three conditions, C2 having the highest. Scores on the recall tasks differed by condition and by item position, significant effects being revealed for both, as well as for the interaction between them. C1 scores showed a recency effect, due perhaps to modality, but in the other two conditions item position scores were more even across all four positions with some primacy effect evident. Mean scores for C3 were very low, however. While the relationship between partial dictation and global listening comprehension remains problematic, the lack of a primacy/recency effect typical of serial recall indicates that complex processing of ongoing discourse is required for the PD recall tasks. As a research tool for investigating particular features of intake (as compared to input), the transclausal recall condition looks especially promising.
Syntacticization of Topic in Japanese and Mandarin Students' English: A Test of Rutherford's Model
(1985) Duff, Patricia Ann; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
Rutherford (1983) drafted a two-part model to account for the syntacticization of Topic in the English of Japanese and Mandarin learners. For Japanese, he charted the acquisition of English existential constructions with there out of earlier topicalized locative expressions. He characterized Mandarin learners development in terms of the evolution of Subjects from earlier existentials and Topic-Comment constructions. Implicit in Rutherford’s model are assumptions concerning (1) the role of transfer in second language acquisition; (2) typological distinctions between English, Japanese, and Mandarin based on the roles of Topic and Subject; and (3) the naturalness of the developmental shift from Topic Prominence to Subject Prominence. This theoretical background was reviewed to provide rationale for Rutherford’s claims and motivation for the hypotheses tested in the present study. Written compositions of 105 Japanese (J) and 105 Mandarin (M) learners, whose proficiency ranged from TOEFL 450-599, were examined. Analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of the independent variables of first language and proficiency on the dependent variable of syntacticization of Topic. In general Rutherford's model was not supported by statistically significant results, although the data revealed trends in the predicted direction for most measures. The study did, however, provide statistical support for differences between language groups in the production of passives (J > M), Subject-verb agreement (J > M), PRO-drop (M > J), and serial verbs (M > J); proficiency did not have a significant main effect in all of these cases though. The results could be explained, in part by typological differences between Japanese and Mandarin. However, it was noted that the research questions might be addressed more satisfactorily by conducting further studies with learners at lower levels of proficiency, and by examining oral production data, in addition to written data. Rutherford (1983) drafted a two-part model to account for the syntacticization of Topic in the English of Japanese and Mandarin learners. For Japanese, he charted the acquisition of English existential constructions with there out of earlier topicalized locative expressions. He characterized Mandarin learners development in terms of the evolution of Subjects from earlier existentials and Topic-Comment constructions. Implicit in Rutherford’s model are assumptions concerning (1) the role of transfer in second language acquisition; (2) typological distinctions between English, Japanese, and Mandarin based on the roles of Topic and Subject; and (3) the naturalness of the developmental shift from Topic Prominence to Subject Prominence. This theoretical background was reviewed to provide rationale for Rutherford’s claims and motivation for the hypotheses tested in the present study. Written compositions of 105 Japanese (J) and 105 Mandarin (M) learners, whose proficiency ranged from TOEFL 450-599, were examined. Analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of the independent variables of first language and proficiency on the dependent variable of syntacticization of Topic. In general Rutherford's model was not supported by statistically significant results, although the data revealed trends in the predicted direction for most measures. The study did, however, provide statistical support for differences between language groups in the production of passives (J > M), Subject-verb agreement (J > M), PRO-drop (M > J), and serial verbs (M > J); proficiency did not have a significant main effect in all of these cases though. The results could be explained, in part by typological differences between Japanese and Mandarin. However, it was noted that the research questions might be addressed more satisfactorily by conducting further studies with learners at lower levels of proficiency, and by examining oral production data, in addition to written data.
The Language of Entry-Level Job Interviews
(1985) Arago, Marybeth; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
The need for data-based studies of language use extends throughout the field of ESP. Such studies are needed to assess learners' needs with any degree of accuracy. In response to this need for data-based studies of language use, a study was undertaken to gather information on entry-level job interview for the design of Vocational ESL materials. Eight entry-level interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Two NS interviewers at different job sites participated in the study; each interviewer interviewed two NSs and two NNSs. The transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify discourse features such as topics, lexical items and certain syntactic structures, as well as to determine the frequencies of these features. The structure of entry-level job interviews was determined, based on both the entry-level interview data and a surveryof related literature. A literature survey also provided information on the conventions that have been established for interaction in job interviews. Finally, the communicative behhaviors of the applicats were examined in light of this information, in order to ascertain the particular needs of the target group.The need for data-based studies of language use extends throughout the field of ESP. Such studies are needed to assess learners' needs with any degree of accuracy. In response to this need for data-based studies of language use, a study was undertaken to gather information on entry-level job interview for the design of Vocational ESL materials. Eight entry-level interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Two NS interviewers at different job sites participated in the study; each interviewer interviewed two NSs and two NNSs. The transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify discourse features such as topics, lexical items and certain syntactic structures, as well as to determine the frequencies of these features. The structure of entry-level job interviews was determined, based on both the entry-level interview data and a surveryof related literature. A literature survey also provided information on the conventions that have been established for interaction in job interviews. Finally, the communicative behhaviors of the applicats were examined in light of this information, in order to ascertain the particular needs of the target group.
A Comparison of the Comprehensibility of Modified and Unmodified ESL Reading Materials
(1985) Brown, Ronald L.; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
Reading instruction for ESL students depends upon materials of modified vocabulary and syntax. The rationale is that students progress through stages of increasing complexity to the native speaker comprehension level. Research indicates the information level within text is more relevant to comprehension than structure. This study compares the reading comprehension of ESL students on separate versions of a text that had been modified at the input and interactional levels. Results indicated that modified versions of the text were of greater comprehensibility than the native speaker version. The modified texts were of almost equal comprehensibility despite levels of readability.
The Differential Effects of Source of Corrective Feedback on ESL Writing Proficiency
(1985) Shuquiang, Zhang; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
In teaching writing to second language learners of English, various corrective procedures are employed as feedback to assist the revision stage of the writing process. These procedures include the use of peer, teacher and/or self-feedback as stimuli for successful revision. Whether or not any one of these types of feedback is superior to the others has not yet been determined objectively. Related to this question is how ESL learners themselves feel about those corrective procedures from different sources. The experiment and survey reported here are intended to illuminate the differential effects of teacher feedback, peer feedback and self-feedback upon the informational/rhetorical and grammatical/mechanical aspects of ESL writing proficiency at three levels ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced. It is found that across the proficiency levels, manipulation of the feedback type variable produces no significant differences on the informational/rhetorical aspect of ESL writing proficiency. But in the grammatical/mechanical category, feedback has a main effect. There is also evidence to suggest that teacher feedback might be the most effective procedure in dealing with grammatical inaccuracy. Survey results reveal that the supposedly "palatable" peer feedback is not as well received by ESL learners as the traditional teacher feedback. In teaching writing to second language learners of English, various corrective procedures are employed as feedback to assist the revision stage of the writing process. These procedures include the use of peer, teacher and/or self-feedback as stimuli for successful revision. Whether or not any one of these types of feedback is superior to the others has not yet been determined objectively. Related to this question is how ESL learners themselves feel about those corrective procedures from different sources. The experiment and survey reported here are intended to illuminate the differential effects of teacher feedback, peer feedback and self-feedback upon the informational/rhetorical and grammatical/mechanical aspects of ESL writing proficiency at three levels ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced. It is found that across the proficiency levels, manipulation of the feedback type variable produces no significant differences on the informational/rhetorical aspect of ESL writing proficiency. But in the grammatical/mechanical category, feedback has a main effect. There is also evidence to suggest that teacher feedback might be the most effective procedure in dealing with grammatical inaccuracy. Survey results reveal that the supposedly "palatable" peer feedback is not as well received by ESL learners as the traditional teacher feedback.
ESL Learner Dictionaries: A Study of Definition Difficulty
(1985) McFarquhar, Peter; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of English as a Second Language.
ESL teachers, frequently recommend dictionaries to their students, and nearly every learner owns one. Although many dictionaries may seem much alike, there are differences in the defining styles and techniques they employ that may considerably influence how useful learners will find them. However, just what sort of definitions and explanations learners actually find most helpful and understandable is little understood. To investigate this question, ESL students at the University of Hawaii were asked to evaluate a sample of entries illustrating different defining practices commonly used in English dictionaries. The entries were taken from two well known learner's dictionaries, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, and a widely used dictionary for native speakers, Webster's New World Dictionary. A significart majority of these learners consistently preferred entries from Longman. Possible factors contributing to this preference, and Implications for other learners, ESL teachers, and lexicographers are discussed.ESL teachers, frequently recommend dictionaries to their students, and nearly every learner owns one. Although many dictionaries may seem much alike, there are differences in the defining styles and techniques they employ that may considerably influence how useful learners will find them. However, just what sort of definitions and explanations learners actually find most helpful and understandable is little understood. To investigate this question, ESL students at the University of Hawaii were asked to evaluate a sample of entries illustrating different defining practices commonly used in English dictionaries. The entries were taken from two well known learner's dictionaries, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, and a widely used dictionary for native speakers, Webster's New World Dictionary. A significart majority of these learners consistently preferred entries from Longman. Possible factors contributing to this preference, and Implications for other learners, ESL teachers, and lexicographers are discussed.

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