Woordenboekgebruik en Tekstbegrip

This article describes an empirical study on the effect of dictionary use on scores of reading comprehension tests for advanced levels of French, as well as the effect on certain aspects of learner behaviour. For a more detailed description, see Weistra (1997).In this research project, groups of students from the upper grades of secondary schools took parts of the final exam tests for reading comprehension (CITO toetsen) either with of without the use of a bilingual dictionary.Test scores and time on task under the two conditions have been compared. Data have been collected on the ability to select the correct meaning of the words looked up.