Dizionari monolingue in classi di francese lingua straniera. Il TLFi (Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé) e la progettazione di un'unità didattica sull'acquisizione dei colori

The aim of this article is to illustrate an experimental way of teaching lexicon to high school students by using dictionaries. New approaches underline the importance of exposing students to authentic material, avoiding the use of their native language: this is the reason why monolingual dictionaries are here chosen instead of bilingual ones. This article concentrates on the analysis of an experimental lexicon teaching technique using a French monolingual dictionary: the Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé (TLFi). After having shown the results of a questionnaire, students and teachers were asked to fill about their relationship with dictionaries and after having explained the choice of using the TLFi, this study presents a model of didactic unit dealing with the acquisition of colour terms for first year high school students with a very basic knowledge of French. The main aim of this article is to offer a model to follow to improve students’ lexical and metalexicographical skills. This model has to be adapted and repeated in different occasions in order to have long-term positive effects.