ИСТИНА

The paper provides an overview of up-to-date electronic reference devices (Android applications, PC software, Internet resources) facilitating learning English as a foreign language. With the advent of electronic technologies and the Internet the very existence of paper dictionaries was challenged. Be that as it may, the disappearance of paper based references has been overstated. Unlike Asian students, Russians haven’t completely switched to the exclusive use of electronic devices. But a gradual shift in interest has been evident. To keep up with the trend, the teacher is expected to be a confident user of all cutting-edge technologies. The teacher’s role is viewed as instrumental in instilling a linguistically conscious attitude to dictionary use in students and weaning them off simply ‘googling’ their every query. ‘Googling’ certainly has its place in some situations and should not be entirely dismissed; on the contrary, students should be equipped with an appropriate array of skills to evaluate and prioritize information extracted from the web. The teacher should provide sufficient instruction, practice and monitoring across all stages of the look-up process: choice of dictionaries, search strategies and application of the results to the language learning process.