Bilingual dictionary or monolingual dictionary?

Second-language English learners often feel more comfortable using a bilingual dictionary (English-Spanish, for example), since each English headword is given a translation or brief definition in the learner's native language.

Using an English-English monolingual learner's dictionary may require more effort, but can be beneficial to second-language learners:

• Monolingual dictionaries immerse the student in the target language. As students read definitions, they get practice with the English words in the defining vocabulary and see how these words are used in sentences to explain meanings.
• Second-language English students working in a group can share the same monolingual dictionary and discuss word meanings, even if they do not speak the same first language.
• Some language pairs lack good bilingual dictionaries. After looking up a word in a bilingual dictionary, students can double-check the word's meaning and usage in a monolingual dictionary.
• English monolingual learner's dictionaries often have more extensive information for second-language students: better explanations of multiple word senses, example sentences showing collocations, usage and grammar notes.

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