Language Awareness as as prerequisite for a successful use of lexicographic resources

Foreign language learners use online dictionaries, dictionary apps and translation tools for language questions quite naturally. It cannot always be assumed that they have adequate competence in using them- even if they are digital natives. There are many reasons for this. When consulting dictionaries, users mainly look for single-word equivalents, while phrasemes are rarely or not at all sought out, which generally leads to inaccurate utterances in the foreign language. A well-developed language awareness seems to play a decisive role in the successful use of linguistic and lexicographic resources. (Frankenberg-Garcia 2011, Ranalli 2013, Wolfer et al. 2016, Nied Curcio 2020) In this regard, it is important that foreign language learners are aware that words are connected between each other and that it therefore often is not useful to look up single words in lexicographic resources. Furthermore, learners need to be aware that the combination of words is language-specific and cannot be translated 1:1 between languages. A high level of language awareness, coupled with the use of language comparison and metalinguistic reflection, seem to be a fundamental prerequisite for a successful use of lexicographic resources in foreign language learning.