Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Cambridge Dictionaries with CD-ROMs

Via the Cambridge Low Price Editions programme, the African branch of Cambridge University Press has ensured that several high-quality Cambridge dictionaries are now even more affordable on the African continent. These Low Price Editions (LPEs) differ only in price; not in content; in comparison to their standard edition counterparts.

In this article, I will highlight some of the features of two of these dictionaries – the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and the Cambridge School Dictionary. To see the full list of Cambridge dictionaries, you can follow the Dictionaries link in my ‘useful links’ section of this blog. (You will not however, see the prices of the Low Price Editions mentioned on the linked pages, as they are only applicable to Africa – so do keep on reading!)



Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary with CD-ROM (LPE)
Third Edition
Paperback ISBN 9780521736527
(Available in Africa only)

• Ideal for FET (Grade 10-12) learners
• For Upper-intermediate to Advanced learners
• Ideal for bilingual education, FCE, CAE, CPE, BEC and IELTS preparation

This impressive, yet very accessible dictionary not only offers 1699 pages of clear definitions and prominent guidewords (including hundreds of pictures and illustrations to highlight variations in meaning), but also contains useful study extras, extra help sections, thesaurus boxes and highlights common learner errors.
download a PDF excerpt here!

The CD-ROM: Tucked inside the dictionary is a really useful CD-ROM. Apart from containing everything found in the dictionary, the CD-ROM also offers thousands of example sentences; sound recordings of every word in British and American English – ideal for learners looking to improve their pronunciation of English words; extra collocation information; a unique thesaurus and a mini pop-up dictionary that can be conveniently accessed while you plug away at your keyboard.

Price: The current recommended price in South Africa is R110.00 (One Hundred and Ten Rands).


Cambridge School Dictionary with CD-ROM (LPE)
First Edition
Paperback ISBN 9780521138536
(Available in Africa only)

• Ideal for Senior Phase (Grade 7-9) learners
• For Intermediate and Upper-intermediate learners
• Ideal for bilingual education, International GCSE and CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning)

This brand new 891 page dictionary contains over 2000 curriculum based entries, from geography and anatomy to finance and literature, carefully selected by specialist teachers and checked by IGCSE curriculum experts. Every word is defined in clear, simple language, and the dictionary also contains hundreds of illustrations and diagrams to explain terms such as the nitrogen cycle even more clearly. The Extra Help section gives great tips on preparing for exams, working with numbers, charts and graphs, as well as ten pages of exercises to help reinforce learning and improve English through using subject-specific vocabulary. Common learner errors are highlighted, and guidewords explain words that have more than two senses.
download a PDF excerpt here!

The CD-ROM: Again, the CD-ROM has recordings (in British and American English) of every word found in the dictionary, a SMART thesaurus and hundreds of interactive vocabulary practice exercises. You can even call up all the vocabulary related to one topic area in a couple of mouse-clicks, and easily access the dictionary via the discreet Quickfind facility while you are working or surfing the Web.

Price: The current recommended price in South Africa is R89.95 (Eighty Nine Rands Ninety Five cents).

2 comments:

  1. 'Beth' above, appears either to be an admirably scantily clad fan of dictionaries or, more likely and more sadly, an abuser of blogsites. I can't recommend clicking on her 'comment' which is a link to a dubious site.

    ReplyDelete