The Language Teacher
01 - 2002

Building Vocabulary: Guessing Meaning From Context

Jennifer Altman,

University of Washington
<sensei@u.washington.edu>


QUICK GUIDE

Key Words: Vocabulary building
Learner English Level: Beginner to advanced
Learner Maturity Level: High school to adult
Preparation Time: 5 minutes to copy each set (total 20 minutes)
Activity Time: 5 to 10 minutes per set (total 20 to 40 minutes)

"Today's topic was a little difficult for me. . . .The story that we read has a lot of words that I don't know."

Many students react similarly to the student above during lessons. While students' instincts tell them to dive into their dictionaries, mine says present a vocabulary lesson on how to guess meaning from context. Using context to guess word meanings helps readers build vocabulary because they are more likely to remember words; it has the added benefits of fostering reading enjoyment and improving comprehension because readers do not have to interrupt themselves frequently to use dictionaries (Mikulecky & Jeffries, 1996, p. 294). Textbook exercises often assume the students understand the concept of guessing meaning from context, a concept with which research and practice demonstrate that they are unfamiliar (Mulvey, 1998, p. 8). My solution is to use the following sentences to introduce the concept before moving to textbook exercises, such as those found in Reading Power, More Reading Power, or Reader's Choice.

Procedure

  1. Group the students in threes and fours, and ask a volunteer to read the directions aloud.
  2. Tell the students to underline the italicized words in Set A (to ensure that they know which words to guess) and explain that these words will not be found in English-Japanese dictionaries because they are Yiddish. I use Yiddish because most students have never encountered this language so there is minimal risk of students' prior knowledge conflicting with the purpose of the exercise. Nonsense words, like zep or alkdsu, may be substituted.
  3. Direct the students to use the context and their imaginations to guess the meanings.
  4. When the students finish (after five minutes or so), ask them to present their guesses to the class.

All the sentences contain ample context clues and elementary vocabulary so that students can easily guess the meanings of the italicized words; the guessing concept is isolated so that students can practice the skill. Then they can work in pairs or small groups on exercises with more complex sentence structures and higher level vocabulary, like those in textbooks. To reinforce the concept I present the students with Set B about three to five days later using the same procedure and follow the sentences with more challenging textbook exercises. Sets C and D further reinforce the skill.

Conclusion

After practicing this technique, students respond with "Guessing meanings go to near the really meaning. It is very useful to study in America" and "I used my brain and imaginations!" They may not be able to understand every word they read, but they can feel confident in guessing the meanings because they know how close their own guesses are to the dictionary definitions. This gives them self-assurance in their comprehension abilities and increases their vocabulary.

Activity directions

Read the sentences with your partner or your group and guess what the words in italics mean. Use the context and the words you know to guess the meaning of the word(s) you don't know. This is called "guessing meaning from context." (Possible answers appear in parentheses.)

Set A

  1. Sometimes when I'm reading a book in English, I use my kreplach to find new vocabulary words. (dictionary)
  2. Hiro often charoset to music on a CD player. (listens)
  3. Almost every morning Jane eats oatmeal for megillah. (breakfast)
  4. Have you noshed the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" yet? (watched, seen)
  5. Michael always rides the ungepachkit to Ochanomizu. (train, bus)

Set B

  1. Yesterday I talked to my friend on the schmutz for 2 hours. My ear was sore! (telephone)
  2. Donna matzo a letter to Mary yesterday. (wrote, sent)
  3. Miki ate lunch at a Thai verboten in Shimokitazawa. (restaurant)
  4. Over the weekend it verklempt in the mountains, so Bob and I went skiing. (snowed)
  5. I read an interesting schiksa last month. It was about the history of Tokyo from 1600 to 1868. (book, magazine, article, story, etc.)

Set C

  1. Did you buy that pair of goyim at the department store? (shoes, pants, socks)
  2. Cats like to chase boubeleh. (mice, bugs)
  3. Children play latkes during recess. (games)
  4. At the end of the movie Titanic the schpillkes sank. (boat, ship)
  5. After I finished jogging around the lake, I tchotchke on a bench. (rested, sat)

Set D

  1. Some people plotz in a bed at night. Others plotz on a futon. (sleep)
  2. On rainy days, I like to chazerei a book. (read)
  3. Pete sent a kugel from his computer at home. (email message, picture)
  4. Caroline toukes in a house near the university. (lives)
  5. Masa left his grammar schlemiel at home. (book, homework)

References

Baudoin, M. E., Bober, E. S., Clarke, M. A., Dobson, B. K., & Silberstein, S. (1994). Reader's choice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Mulvey, B. (1998). Entrance exams: The reading example. On Cue, 6(3) 5-12 Tokyo: JALT.

Mikuleckly, B. & Jeffries, L. (1996). More reading power. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Mikuleckly, B. & Jeffries, L. (1998). Reading power. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.


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