Be aware, however, these two are more challenging to navigate than other sites included in this post. While the former focuses on images categorized by theme, the latter illustrates how words relate to one another, making them both unique resources. For advanced students, try Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online and Visuwords. Both sites also have a number of additional resources for ESOL teachers.
While there is no pronunciation element to either site, the images are clear, which makes them great for students to view on their own. Two that could be used for beginners are ESOL Help and the English Picture Dictionary. There are also a number of picture or visual dictionaries available online. Choosing one of these sites would be a good place to start in your quest to increase online dictionary use among your students. The Oxford dictionaries have a nice additional feature where a small pane off to the left, called “,” contains words related to your initial search. While I initially used the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, listening to the pronunciation of a word requires another window to open and load which is not quite as convenient as the other three sites. The Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries have both British English and American English pronunciations, but Oxford has an alternate dictionary called the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary, too, if that’s all your students need. Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, and Oxford all have online dictionaries for English learners that follow the normal dictionary formats and layout. Here I’ll talk about some of the online dictionaries I have found, but it is by no means a comprehensive list. Unfortunately, translators are not all created equally and I have seen some rather odd translations, so I recommend that my students, especially at the higher levels, use online dictionaries to help them. Translators definitely serve a purpose and students perceive them as the best resource for learning new words because they can see the new word in both their native language and English.
While I do not know how popular online dictionaries are with teachers and students, I have noticed that my own students often rely on translators to help them with new vocabulary.
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