한국일본학회

The purpose of this research is to explore why Korean intermediate and advanced-level learners could not achieve their search goals in their dictionary search mission. Materials used for this research are recorded files, sheets of a week's worth of dictionary apps, and vocabulary search activities on the internet, collected from 11 students majoring in Japanese language at K University in Korea. Results revealed that some students could not search successfully mainly due to the content of the dictionary and their search strategies. The main problems with the dictionary content were insufficient dictionary meanings and example sentences, and no information on how to use synonyms. By contrast, the problems with the learners' search strategies included mistakes in selecting search resources and input words. To solve the problems of the dictionary content, it is necessary to improve the dictionary content and system for learners, which is different from the language dictionary for Japanese general users. To minimize the problem of the learners' search strategies, I believe it is necessary to guide the dictionary search strategy in the field of Japanese language education. More specifically, it is encouraged to include from the internet various learners' dictionaries and learning blogs about how to search efficiently, i.e. use which words, expressions search resources for the purpose of search.