{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.029490616621983913, 'fraction_numerical': 0.00804289544235925, 'mean_word_length': 5.222222222222222, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
English Learners’ Dictionaries: How Much do we Know about their Use?

There is dire need for research in the behaviour and habits of users of learners' dictionaries. We know very little about the causes that bring about the use or avoidance of these dictionaries, about the success or failure rates in accessing the information they contain, about their contribution to vocabulary acquisition, etc. Moreover, some of the lexicographic goals in learners' dictionaries seem to be de­ tached from those of modern language learning methodology. 1. Learners' dictionaries defined Learners' dictionaries are dictionaries designed specifically for learners or users of a language other than their mother tongue. These dictionaries are characterised by: a. utilising a limited word list (usually 2000-3500 words) to describe tens of thousands of entries, derivatives and idioms; b. providing sentences or phrases illustrating the most common uses, or, alternatively, classroom uses, of a substantial number of these entries; and c. providing notes and other information presumed by the lexi­ cographer to be useful to the user.