Mozuku

This month I’d like to focus on some search tools that mostly specialize in vocabulary. I don’t feel really comfortable using the term “search engine” since most people associate that with the Google-powered tool that sits prominently somewhere on the page that opens when you launch your browser. But most people are now making use of multiple search tools—Google books, image or video search tools, etc.—on a daily basis and just as you would use certain search tools to search for images, the tools here can be used to help you investigate and better understand lexical items (words, phrases, or longer fixed expressions).

First and most impressive this month is Visuwords. Type in a word or phrase and get a visual “map” of the word’s meanings and associations. Hover your cursor over any term to get more explanation or definitions. This must be seen to be believed. You will be impressed: I promise.

Next is ERek, a search tool that brings up instances or examples from either the whole web or only .edu (academic) sites or only news sites. This can be very helpful in identifying collocations or just seeing how the lexical item is used. A great tool.

Amazon.com allows you to search inside many books. If you would like some good examples of a lexical item in use in a certain area (economics, TESOL, etc.) you just choose a book in that area and search in the book for your item. For example, I just chose the book Understanding Motivation and Emotion by Johnmarshall Reeve (Wiley) and did a search for the word “identity.” My search produced 30 examples from the book.

If you would like to know how two similar terms (start vs. begin, for example) compare  in usage volume (frequency) on the web, Googlefight can help you. Just input the two terms and the system returns the number of times they can be found on the web. This can also be used to check out cultural items (hambuger vs. hot dog, or Pokemon vs. Dragonball, for example).

And finally, there is a new search engine in development that may just be the way all search engines work in the future. It is called Wolfram Alpha. It tries to understand your questions and return data in a way that matches your needs. It is still in development, but vocabulary searches seem to work well. If you search for a term, you get definitions, origins, frequency information (written and spoken), pronunciation, and much more. Give it a try and taste the future.

This column was published in the July LET newsletter, but I thought I would start making a habit of posting them to this site as well.

You probably have a memory stick, a flash memory device that you
connect to your computer by plugging it into a USB port. In fact, if
you are like most people these days, you probably have more than
one―either on a keychain, in your bag, permanently plugged into your
desktop computer, or maybe all of these. Over the last few years,
these convenient devices have been increasing in memory capacity and
speed and decreasing in price. It is now possible to buy a high-speed
4GB stick for about 3000 yen. And this means that a memory stick can
do much more than just store your random documents and files and
pictures. You can now easily park programs on it and launch them from
there too. A few weeks ago at the JALTCALL conference I attended a
presentation called PortaCALL by Bill White and Shawn White where they
introduced applications you can put on a memory stick and take around
with you. This is particularly useful if you work at several locations
and would like to use programs you have configured to the way you want
them. But there are many reasons to go portable. A portable app works
as you move computers and it doesn’t require additional software on
the PC. It doesn’t leave files or folders behind on the PC or
interfere with any software installed. And in the case of Firefox,
after you have configured it and loaded it with bookmarks, you can get
your learners to download it so they are ready to learn with all the
links you want to give them in an ad free and English-based interface
complete with a Japanese dictionary function.

But there are many things you can do with these applications. The
following list of things you can do is from the website:
・Carry your web browser with all your favorite bookmarks
・Carry your calendar with all your appointments
・Carry your email client with all your contacts and settings
・Carry your instant messenger and your buddy list
・Carry your whole office suite along with your documents and presentations
・Carry your antivirus program and other computer utilities
・Carry all your important passwords and account information securely

But you really can’t appreciate the beauty of the many free
applications until you try them. The first place to go is
PortableApps.com, where you can find a wide range of programs to
download. And the first thing you should download is the web browser
Firefox. Then, you can configure your version of Firefox by
downloading various add-ons. Bill and Shawn recommended QuickProxy, an
application to make sure you can use your Firefox no matter the proxy
settings at the school you are at, Adblock, which blocks advertising
from displaying on websites you visit, BackWord, which gives
instantaneous translation for words you mouse over on a web page, and
a nice little tool called a Virtual Magnifying Glass that you can use
to enlarge sections of a web page to show your students.

But don’t stop there. You can also download a lot of other free open
source software that you will likely find useful. Open Office is a
suite of programs similar in functionality to the Microsoft Office
programs. In fact, you can save files as Office files and open
existing Office files with these programs. The sound editor Audacity
is also available here to download onto your memory stick. And there
is a very nice program called KeePass that can securely manage your
passwords, and an anti-virus program called ClamWin. And this is just
the beginning.

There are dozens of programs available now and new ones appearing
regularly. And did I mention that they are all open source and they
are all free?
http://portableapps.com/