When reading a text for the first time, it is better if students learn to read on and focus on the overall meaning of the text before clarifying unfamiliar vocabulary. In doing do, the reader will be able to understand the main idea of the story better and may even deduce the meaning of unfamiliar terms within the text itself.
With the initial once-over done, the readers should go back and underline all the words which they did not understand. Then they could either ask someone or check the dictionary. Even then, the latter may cause more confusion as there are often more than one explanation for a word and the reader will have to consider the its context as well.
Therefore, students should learn strategies to guess the meaning of a word before referring to the dictionary. This will also encourage them to use their thinking and linking skills and making a good guess builds up their confidence. This skill is particularly important during an exam where there is no one to ask or dictionary available for checking.
The following steps can be used to work out the meaning of a word:
1. What kind of word is it?
Is it a Noun (naming word), Verb (action word) or Adjective (describing word). The position of the word could give you a clue - (Noun/Verb/Adjective/Noun).
2. Look at the context of the word.
Context refers to the sentence, paragraph and the wider passage in which the word occurs. In deciding the meaning of a word you look for clues, before and after the sentence in which it is used, to give you an idea of the possible meaning.
3. Compare the sound of the word to words you know. If you see a word like "pretentious", saying it out loud may help you link it to the word "pretend". Using this, together with any useful context clues, you might guess what it means.
Eg. I thought that girl was rather pretentious. She seemed to think she knew it all.
4. Break up the word.
Separate the prefix and suffix from the basic word. Prefix is the word part attached to the beginning of a word eg. prepaid, unheard. Similarly, a suffix is attached to the end eg. love ly, tall est. Combine the meanings of your word parts to decipher the ultimate meaning of the unknown word.
Eg. submarine translates to “under-boat” which means underwater vessel.
5. Punctuation can indicate that a word is explained within the sentence itself.
Eg. The most vulnerable people in the community - the very young - are not receiving the protection they deserve.
The dashes indicate that the young are the vulnerable ones and that they do not get protection.
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