Google has now established itself as a mainstream language reference tool. This paper reports findings of a survey of non-native speakers of English concerning the patterns of their use of Google as a reference tool in EFL writing, and discusses implications of these findings on user assistance in terms of user guidance and software support. In comparison with the previous surveys, this survey is unique in having been conducted in a completely non-controlled setting on respondents more representative of the target population. The survey found a strong predominance of Google over the other reference tools and of 'open search' over 'closed search'. This calls for the understanding of the Web as a new and unique reference tool rather than just a large corpus.
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