The Effect of Menus and Signposting on the Speed and Accuracy of Sense Selection

A number of dictionaries include numbered 'signposts' in polysemous dictionary entries. These may be placed in a ‘menu’ at the top of the entry, or distributed as 'shortcuts' before each meaning. This study compares the effect of three versions of entries for MED2 'red' words (i.e. those of particular usefulness to learners): with their original menus, without menus, and with the menu information dispersed within the entry. Participants selected appropriate meanings from a paper-based mini-dictionary, and a purpose-built quiz type program recorded their answers and the time taken to select each meaning. A total of 2109 consultations were recorded. Selection time with and without signposting did not differ significantly, but responses to entries containing shortcuts were significantly more accurate than responses to entries with no signposting. Surprisingly, the last sense in the entry proved easiest to identify. A positive correlation between proficiency score and test score was noted.