Application of ‘Ġabra’ online dictionary for international adults learning Maltese

Abstract

With the advancement of educational technologies, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) tools, like online dictionaries, are essential for acquiring a second language, especially new vocabulary. There has been no empirical focus on the usage of Ġabra online dictionary in learning Maltese, with a specific focus on international adults learning Maltese as a second language (ML2) and a lack of research in the pedagogy of e-dictionaries. This study aims to contribute to this research gap by exploring teachers’ perspectives and pedagogy of Ġabra for adults learning ML2, which could refer to any other second language. Unstructured interviews were conducted to obtain qualitative data from eleven teachers of ML2 adult learners including refugee learners. According to the study’s findings, Ġabra helps students learn new words, it is simple to use, it is a great resource and reference for ML2 learning, and it is convenient. The research also offers various pedagogical activities that illustrate how Ġabra is implemented in class. Another significant characteristic of Ġabra identified in this study is that students do not need to know the basic verb/noun/adjective to seek for a word, as they would in a traditional dictionary. Ġabra’s shortcomings were its incompleteness, no pronunciation feature, lack of sentence examples and its dependency on internet access. Although Ġabra’s benefits exceeded its disadvantages, it was recommended that Ġabra should continue to be corrected and to use artificial intelligence applications.