The Future of the School Electronic Dictionary in Light of Digital Transformation: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

The electronic school dictionary represents a qualitative shift in educational tools, having evolved from a mere silent reference book into an intelligent, interactive learning environment grounded in the applications of computer science and computational linguistics. This dictionary draws on a vocabulary stock derived from the pupil's actual language use, and is characterized by high search flexibility, immense storage capacity, and the deployment of multimedia (audio and image) to bring meanings closer to the learner. Digitization also opens broad horizons for developing language skills (both spoken and written) and for reinforcing learner autonomy. Nevertheless, this industry faces challenges such as weak computational structuring (limited to digitized copies), high costs, and the gap between linguistic content and modern curricula. The future success of this transformation depends on building genuine educational corpora and on combining the efforts of linguists and technicians to produce advanced educational software.