Title: The importance of online dictionaries in language learning: a case study on third language acquisition of German

Authors: David Wai Kee Chu; Kwan Keung Ng; Ivan K.W. Lai

Addresses: School of Humanities and Languages, Caritas Institute of Higher Education, 18 Chui Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong ' School of Business and Hospitality Management, Caritas Institute of Higher Education, 18 Chui Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong ' School of Business and Hospitality Management, Caritas Institute of Higher Education, 18 Chui Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong

Abstract: The paper aims to study the ways in which online dictionaries help learners in their language learning in two perspectives: motivation and acquisition. A case study is drawn from a population of learners who chose Basic German as a third language to illustrate the results not only that the factors of social influence and self-management motivate them to use online dictionaries such as PONS Deutsch-Englisch/Englisch-Deutsch Online Wörterbuch in Basic German written assignments but also that they demonstrate their disappointment on the performance expectancy in using them for German learning. The latter is further evidenced in the error analysis conducted on the patterns of grammatical errors committed by the learners. Nevertheless, the pattern of grammatical errors can as well provide a scenario for new functions to be incorporated in online German dictionaries developed by software companies in the future.

Keywords: German; language learning; motivation; online dictionaries; technology acceptance; case study; third language acquisition; social influence; self-management; grammatical errors; error patterns.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2016.077946

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2016 Vol.11 No.2, pp.121 - 139

Received: 06 Nov 2015
Accepted: 18 Mar 2016

Published online: 23 Jul 2016 *

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