What is a learner’s dictionary?

A learner’s dictionary is a type of dictionary designed specifically for people learning a language, rather than for native speakers, with definitions written in the target language.

For example, in an English learner’s dictionary, all the definitions are written in simple, clear English. These dictionaries are a valuable English language learning resource because, as well as featuring easy-to-understand definitions, they also include lots of example sentences and helpful information (e.g., words that frequently combine with the headword and common learner mistakes involving it).

A learner’s dictionary is a monolingual dictionary rather than a bilingual dictionary that provides translations.

Learners can also prompt AI tools like QuillBot’s AI Chat to provide simplified definitions and explanations for their level of English.

Language learning: Other interesting questions

How long does it take to learn Spanish?: If you’re an English speaker, learning Spanish is relatively quick compared to many other languages.

The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains American diplomats and government employees, categorized Spanish as a Category I language in a paper titled “Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching” (Jackson & Kaplan, 1999)—placing it in the first of three categories, among the languages considered easiest for English speakers to learn.

According to the FSI, English-speaking adults with good language-learning aptitude usually needed around 575–600 hours (roughly 23–24 weeks of intensive classes plus self-study) to reach Level 3 on the ILR scale in Spanish.

If you’re learning a language, Translate—QuillBot’s free AI translation tool—can help you with your self-study.
How long does it take to learn Japanese?: If you’re an English speaker, Japanese is considered a very difficult language to learn.

The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains American diplomats and government employees, categorized Japanese as a Category III language in a paper called “Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching” (Jackson & Kaplan, 1999)—grouping it in the hardest of the three categories.

According to the FSI, adult learners with strong language-learning aptitude typically needed around 2,200 class hours (about 88 weeks of intensive study, including self-study and considerable time spent in-country) to reach Level 3 on the ILR scale in Japanese.

Translate—QuillBot’s free AI translator—is a valuable self-study tool for language learners.
How long does it take to learn French?: For English speakers, French is considered relatively quick to learn.

The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains American diplomats and government officials, categorized French as a Category I language in its paper titled “Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching” (Jackson & Kaplan, 1999)—the first of three categories, which includes the least challenging of the languages it taught.

In the experience of the FSI, adult English speakers with strong language-learning ability usually required about 575–600 hours of study (roughly 23–24 weeks of intensive classes plus self-study) to reach Level 3 on the ILR scale in French.

Translate—QuillBot’s free AI translation tool—supports over 50 languages and can help you with your self-study if you’re learning a language.
How long does it take to learn German?: German is considered a relatively easy language for English speakers to learn.

The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains American diplomats and government employees, categorized German as a Category I language in a paper called “Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching” (Jackson & Kaplan, 1999)—the lowest of the three categories of difficulty for English speakers.

The FSI reported that English-speaking adults with good language-learning aptitude typically took about 575–600 hours (roughly 23–24 weeks of intensive classes plus self-study) to achieve Level 3 on the ILR scale in German.

Translate is QuillBot’s free AI translation tool. It supports over 50 languages and can help language learners with their self-study.
How long does it take to learn Mandarin?: For speakers of English, Mandarin Chinese is considered a very hard language to learn.

The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains American diplomats and government officials, classified Mandarin as a Category III language in its paper titled “Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching” (Jackson & Kaplan, 1999)—the most difficult of the three categories.

The FSI estimated that the adult students on its programs with good language-learning ability required around 2,200 class hours (about 88 weeks of full-time study, including self-study and a significant amount of time in-country) to get to Level 3 on the ILR scale in Japanese.

QuillBot’s free AI language translator, Translate, supports 52 languages and is a valuable self-study tool if you’re learning a language.
What are some hard words to spell in English?: These are some frequently used hard words to spell for English learners at the beginner level, because they contain sounds that are spelled in irregular ways.

Know (the sounds represented by “Kn” and “ow)

Said (the sound represented by “ai”)

Does (the sound represented by “oe”)

One (the sounds represented by “o”)

Two (The sound represented by “wo”)

Such irregular spellings are relevant to the question of whether English is a hard language to learn.

QuillBot’s Translate is a powerful tool for language learners and supports over 50 different languages.
What are some hard words to pronounce in English?: The following are hard words to pronounce for many English learners because they contain sounds that are relatively uncommon in other languages.

Think (the “th” sound)

That (the “th” sound)

World (the “orl” sound)

Girl (the “irl” sound)

Rural (the “r” sound)

English has some relatively uncommon pronunciation features that are relevant to the question of whether English is a hard language to learn.

QuillBot’s Translate supports over 50 different languages and is a powerful tool for language learners.
How do I find a conversation partner for English speaking?: You can find a conversation partner to help learn English speaking by joining an online language exchange platform.

These platforms connect people who want to practice English with others who want to practice your language. Typically, you’ll spend part of the time speaking in English and part in your language, so both partners benefit.

If your goal is to speak with a native English speaker, it may be difficult to find one who’s learning your language. However, a conversation partner doesn’t have to be a native speaker; what’s important is that they speak English to a high level and meet other requirements (e.g., patience, clear communication, reliability, or shared interests) that make them a good conversation partner.

Choose a platform with strong safety policies. If you’re a young person, make sure you meet the platform’s minimum age requirement and only participate with the permission of your parent or guardian.

You can simulate speaking in English by enabling text-to-speech on your device and having a conversation with QuillBot’s free AI chat.
How can I improve my English pronunciation?: A good way to efficiently improve your English pronunciation and English speaking is to concentrate on pronunciation difficulties that are affecting your intelligibility—that is, the sounds or words that you are pronouncing in a way that can make you difficult to understand.

This involves:

Noticing occasions when your pronunciation has caused a communication breakdown

Identifying exactly what caused it (e.g., the sound or word that you mispronounced)

Listening to and practicing the problem pronunciation feature

For instance, you are a German speaker, and you notice that someone didn’t understand you when you said, “We don’t have enough staff.” You therefore have to explain what you meant to your conversation partner, who tells you that they heard the word “stuff” instead of “staff.”

You then decide to practice hearing the difference between the vowel sounds in these two words by searching for “stuff” and “staff” on YouGlish, and repeating some of the sentences.

Including lots of listening in your English learning activities will help develop your pronunciation.

QuillBot’s Translate is a powerful tool that can help English learners with their self-study.
What are the 4 levels of language proficiency?: None of the most commonly used language proficiency scales have 4 levels of language proficiency.

The CEFR scale has six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2 (where A1 is the lowest level).

The ACTFL scale has six levels: Novice (with the sub-levels Novice Low, Novice Mid, and Novice High), Intermediate (with the sub-levels Intermediate Low, Intermediate Mid, and Intermediate High), Advanced (with the sub-levels Advanced Low, Advanced Mid, and Advanced High), Superior, and Distinguished.

The ILR scale also has six levels: 0 (with the sub-levels 0 [No Proficiency] and 0+ [Memorized Proficiency]), 1 (with the sub-levels 1 [Elementary Proficiency] and 1+ [Elementary Proficiency Plus]), 2 (with the sub-levels 2 [Limited Working Proficiency] and 2+ [Limited Working Proficiency Plus]), 3 (with the sub-levels 3 [Professional Working Proficiency] and 3+ [Professional Working Proficiency Plus]), 4 (with the sub-levels 4 [Full Professional Proficiency] and 4+ [Full Professional Proficiency Plus]), and 5 (Native or Bilingual Proficiency).

If you’re writing your resume and want to include details of your language proficiency levels, QuillBot’s free AI chat can help you formulate the descriptions.
How can I assess my English language proficiency levels?: You can assess your English language proficiency levels using the CEFR self-assessment grids or by doing an online placement test.

If you need official certification of your English language proficiency, you can take a recognized test. Be sure to choose the test that meets the relevant requirements. For example, if you are applying to a university program, the institution may only accept results from specific exams, such as TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English Qualifications, or ACTFL Test of English Proficiency (TEP).

If you need to include details of your language proficiency levels on your resume, QuillBot’s free AI chat can help you formulate the descriptions.
What is the difference between code-switching and translanguaging?: Some linguists draw a distinction between code-switching and translanguaging. They see code-switching as speakers using two distinct codes, languages, or dialects and using each one in separate contexts (e.g., speaking Swahili at work and their local dialect at home).

Translanguaging, however, refers to a speaker using all their languages and dialects as one resource, regardless of context (e.g., a Czech student in an English language high school might say “Jak palivo uvolňuje energii, kvalita energie se snižuje v důsledku heat transfer do okolí,” (“As a fuel source releases energy, the quality of the energy decreases due to heat transfer to the surroundings.”) because English is the language of instruction for scientific terms like “heat transfer”).

You can ask QuillBot’s AI Chat for advice or clarifications baout subjects like code-switching.

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What is a learner’s dictionary?

Language learning: Other interesting questions