Définir pour apprendre et apprendre à définir : repenser la lexicographie pour l’enseignement des langues

Svetlana Krylosova

doi:10.31261/NEO.2025.37.06

Published: 2025-12-11

2025

Defining to Learn and Learning to Define: Rethinking Lexicography for Language Teaching

Svetlana Krylosova

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.31261/NEO.2025.37.06

Abstract

This article examines the pedagogical potential of the Active Dictionary of the Russian Language, edited by Ju. D. Apresjan and developed within Mel’čuk’s framework of Explanatory and Combinatorial Lexicography (ECL) and Apresjan’s Active Lexicography (AL). Rather than treating the Active Dictionary solely as a reference work, the article approaches it as a methodological tool for integrating lexis and grammar in the teaching of Russian as a foreign language. Following a concise overview of the theoretical principles underpinning ECL–AL, it shows how dictionary definitions can be adapted for pedagogical purposes. Each example highlights the controlled simplification of definitions and demonstrates how they can foster paraphrastic competence and support learners in justifying lexical choices in the target language. The approach proposed here argues for a more systematic incorporation of lexicographic methodology into language instruction.

Keywords:

Explanatory and Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL) , Active Lexicography (AL) , Active Dictionary of the Russian Language , pedagogical definition , Russian as a foreign language , lexicon and grammar , Ju. D. Apresjan

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Krylosova, S. (2025). Defining to Learn and Learning to Define: Rethinking Lexicography for Language Teaching. Neophilologica, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.31261/NEO.2025.37.06

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2025
Published: 2021-10-12

ISSN: 0208-5550

eISSN: 2353-088X

10.31261/NEO

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Defining to Learn and Learning to Define: Rethinking Lexicography for Language Teaching

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Svetlana Krylosova

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