dictionaries on beginning level Russian tests?

[anne marie devlin]

Like many others, I can't see the benefit of or need for a dictionary at beginners level especially if testing vocab. However one thing came to mind. You mentioned the student was Argentinean, so English is not his first language. Could it be he's more worried about English instructions? I once had a native Russian speaking student who couldn't answer an exam question because it contained the word 'hence' which he had never come across before. It wasn't a language exam and since then I've explicitly told non-native English speakers to use a dictionary.
AM

> Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2013 20:40:20 -0800
> From: richmond at OXY.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] dictionaries on beginning level Russian tests?
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> 
> I've been teaching Russian since 1995 and have never had a student ask if
> dictionaries are permitted. I'm trying to think of a context where it
> would actually be useful, anyway. Most of my quizzes test the student's
> ability to decline/conjugate and reconstruct sentences. A dictionary
> wouldn't help there. The vocabulary in those sentences has already been
> subject of vocabulary quizzes, and they know they're supposed to know it.
> I do include an English-Russian translation section even on the earliest
> quizzes, but I tell them that if they can't remember a word in one of the
> sentences they can replace it with one they do remember as long as they
> note that's what they did.
> 
> I think the biggest problem is that they'll end up using the dictionary to
> second guess everything and get distracted from other aspects of the quiz.
> 
> 
> Best,
> Walt Richmond
> Occidental College
> 
> Subject: [SEELANGS] dictionaries on beginning level Russian tests?
> 
> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I have one Beginning Russian student from Argentina who insists that it is
> normal for students to use dictionaries when taking beginner-level tests.
> I have told him why I do not permit dictionaries (one reason being that he
> needs to memorize new vocabulary), but I am hoping to also get some input
> from you as to whether you allow dictionaries on beginning level language
> tests, and why/why not.   This question had never occurred to me in the
> past, because it just seems obvious to me that they are not used.  Thank
> you!
> 
> Elena
> 
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