The Canadian Dictionary for Schools is a good choice for literacy programs for several reasons. First of all, it is visually appealing. It has print which is adequately large for most learners, a decent amount of white space (unusual in a dictionary) and a good number of helpful illustrations. In addition, the dictionary gives clear definitions in language appropriate to upper fundamental students. One student liked this dictionary because she could easily distinguish different definitions given for the same word - something which she had some difficulty with when using her own pocketbook dictionary. Another reason for choosing this resource is that many of the defined words are used in sample sentences. Several learners in my group said that they found this aspect useful, as they sometimes were unsure of what word form they needed to use and that most dictionaries were not of any help in this area. They also liked that the dictionary had all the words in it that they needed to study. In their experiences with other kinds of dictionaries, they found that dictionaries “with big writing usually don’t have enough words in them” - not a problem with this one.

One interesting element of the book (which I didn’t notice until months after I began using it with learners) is that it has an extensive introductory section called “Using your dictionary.” This section has a sample page that explains how a typical dictionary page is organized (not unusual in this kind of text). However, it also has different “dictionary” topics for students to read about and to practice. For example, there is a section called “Substitution” which discusses how you can check whether or not you have chosen the correct definition for a word. It includes a short explanation followed by some practice. Other topics that may be useful to learners are: “Guide Words,” “Abbreviations” and “Variant Spellings,” to name a few. All of these have short exercises for students to try after an explanation of the topic.

The dictionary has two disadvantages - at least from the learner’s perspective. One is the size and the other is the price. One of my students said that she didn’t mind the size or weight of the book (she has a car) and wanted to purchase a copy for herself. However, she found the cost of the book prohibitive, as did all others in my group. On the other hand, a colleague has noted that, despite the cost of this dictionary, several students every semester make this purchase. In a classroom or learning centre where weight is not a question (though cost might be!), this dictionary is a worthy resource.