How MED was created
by Michael Rundell

Introduction
Why do we need a new edition?
Bigger and Better
What's new in the Second Edition?
Learner corpora and writing skills
New features on the CD-ROM

Introduction

Musicians often talk about 'the difficult second album' (try searching for the phrase on Google, and you'll find thousands of examples). What they mean is that, if your first record has been a big success, people expect something even better when you make the next one - and that's a tough challenge. When we started planning a new edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary (MED), we found ourselves in a similar position. The first edition of the dictionary, published in 2002, quickly became one of the most popular learners' dictionaries around. So what could we do to make it even better?

We started by asking people what they liked about MED. In addition to informal conversations with teachers and students, we conducted a major survey of MED users, involving almost 2000 people, and these are the features that were most often mentioned:
  • the clear, user-friendly layout and defining style
  • the special attention paid to the 'core' vocabulary of English - the 7500 words shown in red - giving learners a solid basis for understanding what they read and for writing English that is natural as well as accurate
  • the simple but effective 'three-star' system for showing which words are most frequent and most worth learning
  • the 'menus' given at more complex vocabulary items, providing a quick overview of the word's different meanings
  • the elegantly designed CD-ROM version, with its powerful search functions and unique features (like the ability to add your own notes to a dictionary entry, or to find a word you have heard but never seen, just by knowing how it sounds)
  • the innovative website and e-magazine, which provide lesson plans, tips on using the dictionary, updates on new words and phrases, and dozens of interesting articles by language experts.

It wasn't only teachers and students who were impressed by MED. The dictionary also won two prestigious awards, from the English Speaking Union (the English Language Book Award, 2002) and from the British Council (Innovation Award, 2004). As both these institutions recognised, MED had achieved the difficult task of combining a strong background in linguistic theory with a down-to-earth, learner-friendly approach to language description which would help students become more independent and more confident in their use of English.

Why do we need a new edition? >