EXPLORING TEACHERS’ AND LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES IN ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY LEARNING

ABSTRACT : This study is a case study which aims to examine and compare students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using Portable Electronic Dictionaries in the English Language Classroom. The findings of this study reveal that students have great and exciting experience in using electronic dictionaries for learning new vocabularies. They have positive attitudes and perceptions towards using such innovative learning tool. On the other hand, the results for the teachers’ interview show that though teachers’ attitudes towards using e-dictionaries are generally positive, an interesting number of teachers consider their use as a hindrance in the English Language classroom. They argue that the use of electronic dictionaries may cause some problems. They can prevent students guessing skills and contextualized thinking in vocabulary acquisition. KEYWORDS: Electronic dictionaries, English as a foreign language, students’ attitudes, teachers’ attitudes, challenges.