 Why do frame-based resources make a difference in learning vocabulary? Well, let's look at an example and let's try this. How about we take a trip together, far away to our sister planet in the fifth dimension? The people of Ashtar enjoy the same life-sustaining atmosphere as here on Earth, so you are on a crucial mission to forge friendly relations with them. You must build an alliance that could save your world and everyone you love in the event of a global meltdown. It's all up to you. Unfortunately, your ship's drinking water supply ran out 36 hours ago and though you have pressing diplomatic business to attend to, this is all you can think about. You quickly type into your translation device. I am thirsty. You have drink? It reads out the Ashtarian translation and you smack your lips waiting for sweet relief. But something has gone wrong. Very, very well. Your life now depends on figuring out how to communicate the misunderstanding to the Ashtarians. Let's figure out what went wrong, shall we? First, the English word thirsty can be translated into two different Ashtarian words. One is used in the context or frame of eating and drinking. So this is what you were going for. However, the other is used in the context of hunting and warfare, as in being bloodthirsty. Unfortunately, you used the translation in the wrong context, in the wrong frame. If you had been given a few details about Ashtarian grammar, you would have known that the literal translation of what you said was, I am thirsty for blood. I have you to drink? So let's go back to that critical moment that can save your future and the future of your people. Using an online frame-based dictionary, you look up the word thirsty and find the translation that belongs in the eating and drinking frame. And you're finally on the right track. Now you see how learning vocabulary words within a given frame shows the whole picture aids in real-life language use and can be a matter of life and death. Here's what the German frame-based dictionary offers, systematic organization of lexical items based on shared meaning, detailed description of meaning, especially regarding differences from English, and annotated example sentences with usage and grammar. Go to www.koral.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, Koral. Stay tuned for the development of frame-based online dictionaries in more languages, maybe even Ashtarian.