 One of the hardest parts about studying a new language is finding the right tools for learning, but some of the vocabulary resources out there like bilingual dictionaries, textbook glossaries, and online translators can leave you feeling disoriented and discouraged. When language learners look up a word or a phrase they need more guidance than a simple English translation, which can be misleading without adequate support such as details about grammar and usage. For instance, the English word for friend has two literal translations in German, Freund and Bekante, but they can't be used interchangeably. Freund means close friend and Bekante means a friend who is really just an acquaintance. What's more, depending on the grammatical usage in the sentence, Freund can mean boyfriend. So you can see how in a real-life situation it would be helpful to have more information than a literal translation to use even a simple word like friend. Need more examples? OK. To tell someone, I took a shower in German, you would need to say, I have showered me. If you say literally, I took a shower, it means I took a shower. Here's another one. Unfortunately, there comes a time when you need to say the words, I'm breaking up with you. Well, plug that into a German online translator and you'll end up saying, I am making connections with you. Two very different things. So you can see, your brain needs help making real meaning out of all the unfamiliar symbols, words and phrases we get introduced to when learning a foreign language. Charles Fillmore, founder of the theory of frame semantics, said that when learning a word, we can know the meaning of the word only by first understanding the background frames that motivate the concept of the word in codes. This starts with being provided with other related words, to give a basic understanding of the context. Add to that grammar support and correct usage notes for each new word, and now you're seeing the whole picture around a word. We need to see the whole picture, the whole frame, for real learning to happen. Those frames bring new words into focus. Go to www.coral.utexas.edu forward slash frames to access the German frame-based dictionary, brought to you by the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning, Coral. Stay tuned for the development of frame-based online dictionaries in more languages.