Abstract:
This article reports on the results of a broad evaluation of the efficacy of the Multilingual Explanatory
Science Dictionary and Multilingual Explanatory Math Dictionary in a multilingual educational
environment. The aim of the investigation is to ascertain (a) whether the target users possess the necessary
dictionary using skills to make use of the dictionaries effectively, and (b) whether the benefit of exposure
to definitions of terms in the home language is significant in the decoding of the meaning of science
and mathematical terms. Data were collected by means of two questionnaires that were completed by
members of the intended target user group. Participants in the study revealed themselves inexperienced
and untrained dictionary users with rudimentary dictionary using skills. They were able to perform simple
look-up procedures but performed badly in cases where a more sophisticated approach is called for.
