Junior High School English Detailed Dictionary

Author: Wei Min, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Do middle school students in English learning need reference books? Some people believe: Now, quality-oriented education is being promoted, and students only need to be able to speak—why bother with grammar? Or they say: Students need to reduce their workload, and if they have to look up dictionaries, won’t that just add to their burden? Those who hold these views either see quality education as being in opposition to basic knowledge, which is undoubtedly wrong; or they think reducing workload means "reducing learning content." It must be noted that China’s current level of foreign language education is still quite lagging. Therefore, in the short term, significantly improving the conditions and teaching standards of foreign language education in Chinese middle schools should be the consensus of all knowledgeable individuals. In terms of education, improving quality and the competition that drives it are absolute, while reducing workload is relative. Reducing workload should not contradict the following concepts: vigorously advocating the spirit of striving to learn for the nation and humanity; encouraging the enterprising spirit of fair competition among schools, classes, and individuals. Moreover, teachers should instill these spirits into students’ daily lives as a conscious habit. With reforms in English teaching, students have more opportunities to practice in class. Compared to this, teachers spend relatively less time explaining linguistic knowledge. This necessitates that students rely on self-study during their spare time to make up for the deficiencies. The junior high school English curriculum is still basic education, and mastering fundamental language knowledge in English is particularly important. It will be the fundamental guarantee for improving students’ quality. Therefore, having a good reference book is like having the true scripture to grasp the essence of knowledge. Improving educational quality and students’ academic workload are not proportional. Exam-oriented education uses the "sea of exercises" strategy to turn students into problem-solving machines, while quality-oriented education requires students to firmly grasp knowledge and apply it skillfully. Reading reference books more and doing exercises less is an effective measure to reduce students’ after-school workload. Currently, China’s college English teaching methods are basically based on the student-centered learning model guided by constructivist teaching theory. Students generally feel that their foundational knowledge in middle school is not solid, and a considerable number of students, aside from doing exercises, don’t know how to self-study in English. They also fail to understand this truth: English is learned, not taught. Therefore, a junior high school student with great aspirations should start now: learn to self-study, learn to use a dictionary. So, which dictionary should you choose? If you are fortunate enough to see this dictionary, we first hope you can casually flip through a few entries you find familiar and compare them with your current level of understanding of the words, as well as with other dictionaries. Or, you can bring a few questions from your English learning—preferably those that often puzzle and confuse you—and look them up in this dictionary. Then, you will truly experience the meaning of the idioms "benefit from opening a book" and "hard to put down." This dictionary has been revised based on multiple reprints. This alone shows its broad market demand. To meet the rapidly developing needs of junior high school English teaching, the vocabulary in the revised edition is now on par with the level of first-year high school. Moreover, more idioms and proverbs have been inserted into the entries, along with examples that are close to daily life, philosophical, and thought-provoking; the annotations have also been supplemented with more usage examples. The revised dictionary adopts a two-color printing method, and some words are even accompanied by illustrations, making it more vivid and visually helpful for understanding.