[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Picture Dictionary contains a mix of pictures of Disney characters, English with Japanese translations, and some example sentences. It is actually meant for elementary school students learning English. So, why should we keep it for university students? I think there are a few ways you can find to use this book.
First, if you have read any of my book introductions that mention vocabulary, you already know how images can help you learn. Connecting a word with a picture is an effective way to remember new words. Using example sentences is also helpful. Both pictures and example sentences create “context” (文脈) for the word.
Second, because this is a children’s book, it may be interesting for you to see what kind of English children use. This may be particularly useful if you are studying children’s education.
Last, this is a large-sized book that you probably don’t want to carry around. Instead, open it up in the EL and use it with a friend. You can think of some games using the pictures, translations, and simple vocabulary. Be creative, and you can have fun while studying.
My two cents: When I first saw this book, I thought it was strange and didn’t belong in the university. However, if you think about it and use it creatively, you may learn something interesting from it.
