Use of digital dictionary by secondary level students in learning English vocabulary

Abstract

This study entitled Use of Digital Dictionary by Secondary Level Students in Learning English Vocabulary was conducted to explore the frequency of using digital dictionary by secondary level students, types of digital dictionary, purposes of using digital dictionary and problems of using digital dictionary by secondary level students in learning English language. I used survey research design in this research study. All the students who were studying in grade 11 were selected as participants from community schools of Damak Municipality, Jhapa. In order to obtain the objectives, close-ended and open-ended questionnaire were developed. Further, telephone interview was taken in order to get more data from the students who responded that they did not have smart phones and questions were asked about the reasons of not having smart phones. This research study was based on descriptive survey design. The data obtained from closeended questionnaire were analyzed by using tables, graphs, and pie-chart and the data

obtained from open-ended questionnaire were analyzed by making themes. The result

revealed that most of the students use digital dictionary while learning English language.

Students prefer to use mobile dictionary more compared to other types of digital

dictionary. They used digital dictionary for various purposes such as to find meaning of

unknown words, confirm the meaning of known words, find spelling, know the

pronunciation of words and use words in meaningful sentences. The findings showed that

the main reason for not using digital dictionary was the schools' prohibition to bring

smart phones in school premises. Secondly, almost all of the teachers do not allow them

to use smart phone inside the classroom. The majority of students reported that their

parents do not allow them to use smart phone at home, and some students do not have

smart phones.

This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction of the study which consists of background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitation of the study and operational definitions of the key terms. Similarly, second chapter is about the review of theoretical as well as empirical literature and its implication for the study. Moreover, it also includes the conceptual framework. Likewise, the third chapter deals with the methods and procedures of the study which covers design and method of the study, population, sample and sampling strategy, research tools, sources of data, data collection procedures, data analysis procedures, and ethical considerations. In the same way the forth chapter includes the analysis and interpretation of the data. Finally, the fifth chapter incorporates the findings and conclusion of the study followed by some policy related, practiced related, and further research related recommendation based on the study. The references and the appendices are also included for the validation of the research at the end of the study.