Lexicography in the Age of AI - Proceedings

This study explores the potential of collaborative dictionary compilation to promote vocabulary retention and contributes to research in Chinese heritage language education. A pilot intervention was conducted with 22 second-generation Chinese students attending a complementary school in Italy. The participants studied literary vocabulary from Lu Xun’s Village Opera and collaboratively compiled dictionary entries using Lexonomy. To assess the broader effectiveness of the protocol and compensate for the absence of a control group of heritage learners in Italy, the framework was replicated with two age-matched groups in China: an experimental group of 50 students engaged in dictionary-compilation activities and a control group of 53 students receiving traditional teacher-led instruction. Vocabulary knowledge was assessed through a pre-test and a delayed post-test administered three months after the intervention. A mixed-effects logistic regression analysis showed that the experimental group was approximately twice as likely as the control group to improve its retention of the literary vocabulary studied. The findings provide preliminary evidence that collaborative lexicography can support medium-term literary vocabulary acquisition and culturally oriented language learning, although larger-scale studies involving students from complementary schools are needed.