The Best ESL Dictionary for ESL/EFL Teachers and Students
The best ESL dictionary for teachers, tutors and intermediate to advanced ESL students is the Longman Advanced American Dictionary. [WAIT! Don't order this book. For some reason, the price has more than tripled and I need to figure out why. It could be that this is an older edition. I need to figure out which particular dictionary replaces this one and also see if I think it is still the best one out there. If you can't wait, any of the Longman's will still be good.] I should mention that this isn't specifically a dictionary for ESL. There are other dictionaries out there that call themselves ESL dictionaries, such as the Oxford ESL Dictionary for Students of American English. However, in my experience, the best dictionary for ESL students and teachers is Longman.
Many ESL students start with a bilingual dictionary. Starting with a bilingual dictionary is probably essential for beginning and even intermediate learners of English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language (EFL), especially when they are doing homework or studying English on their own. However, for advanced level ESL students, an English-only dictionary is absolutely essential to master the language.
Longman is the best ESL dictionary for English language learners because it provides definitions that are commonly used today. The problem with many English dictionaries is that they either provide too many definitions (including definitions that are no longer used), in which case the ESL learner may not be able to figure out the best definition; or they are too small and don't provide enough definitions.
Longman Advanced American Dictionary provides sentences as examples for many words. It tells you when a word is commonly mistaken with another word. It provides lists of spoken phrases, lists many phrasal verbs with definitions, and it has a lot of grammar usage notes to help ESL students with word choice. There's a separate section with "Language Notes" on prepositions, adjectives, idioms, modal verbs, phrasal verbs, articles, etc.
I believe this English dictionary is the best ESL dictionary for advanced-level English learners and I recommend it to all of my students. Every student I've recommended this dictionary to has spoken highly of it.
Longman publishes several dictionaries. Be sure to get the one with the exact title above. It comes with a CD-ROM. You can get it in hardcover or paperback.
