Book Reviews – Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
English Teaching Matters - Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 2008
Phil Walker (ELTAS)
The first edition of the MED, which I do not have, came out in 2002. The fact that the second version has appeared only five years later possibly reflects not only how rapidly the English language is developing within the context of globalization, but also the ever-expanding number of non-native users of English.
The dictionary is based on the World English Corpus which contains 200 million words recorded in a way that shows how they are actually used in the modern world. It is aimed at advanced level learners and comes with a CD-ROM. There is really a lot of useful stuff in this package, and for the purpose of this review I will only pick out the features that I found most worthy of comment, as well as mentioning feedback which comes from an advanced learner of mine (Martina).
Layout
One of the most vital aspects of a dictionary is that it should be easy to use, the layout having a key role. The MED scores highly in this respect. The core vocabulary of 7,500 words all appear in red lettering, with a star rating to show usage frequency - three stars denoting the most frequent words down to one star for words used less frequently. Martina commented that this helped her to decide whether it was a word really worth learning or not, both for herself and for her sons whom she is coaching through school exams. For words with several meanings, there is a menu box numbering the definition you need without having to wade through lots of superfluous information. Phrases and phrasal verbs are also either listed in the menu box or picked out in red as a special feature. Layout main strong point: clear colour coding. Weak point: print rather too small.
Definitions
The definitions are in plain English and usually accompanied by an example sentence. Extra information about the word is highlighted in text boxes with a pale red background. There are various different kinds of text boxes including: collocation, Get it right, other ways of saying, metaphors, words that may cause offence, and differences between American and British uses. This is really useful for advanced learners, who nevertheless often find it difficult differentiating between words with similar meanings and the way to use them. Definitions strongest point: metaphors and idoms.
Extra sections
Three study sections appear in the middle of the dictionary: Improve your Writing Skills, Expand your Vocabulary, and Language Awareness. While all three contain interesting and helpful information, both Martina and I felt that including this in a dictionary was providing a bit too much information. Having said that, Martina enjoyed dipping into the vocabulary section and found it good. This has the three broad themes of communication, emotions, and movement, and gives words to describe these with their definitions and usage.
For my part, I found the section on Writing Skills very beneficial for teaching professional report writing. I can also imagine that it would come in useful for those studying for one of the Cambridge exams. Study sections main strong point: extra value and added interest for highly motivated learners. Weak point: just too much information.
CD-ROM
The package includes a CD-ROM which contains all the information in the dictionary and more. The extra functions include exercises (which Martina loved), weblinks, Quick View, and Sound Search. Quick View is probably one of the most useful - you can have it open all the time and when your mouse goes over a word you are looking at on screen (regardless of the source/type of document), a definition will come up automatically. The CD takes a bit of getting to know and it's not perfectly user-friendly. The Sound Search is a great idea - you can look up a word by clicking on the phonetic symbols so you don't need to know how to spell it - you can also find words which rhyme. However, despite using the correct phonetics, I found it didn't always find the words I was looking up so perhaps it needs a bit of enhancement.
It's also worth mentioning that it is necessary to install the CD into your disk drive every 30 days even after you have installed it. This is in order to prevent illegal use of the CD. More information on this can be found at www.macmillandictionaries.com/aboutcdfaq.htm
To sum up, I have no difficulty in recommending this dictionary to advanced learners and to teachers. It's fun and easy to use and contains all the inforamtion you would expect to find, and more. The layout makes it pleasant to look at as well as making the considerable amount of information available readily accessible.