Reading skill 2

Lecture 4
Unit 2
you will be able to

 Predict the meaning of new vocabulary items

 Take part in a debate about different culture
 Guessing meaning from context
 UNIT 2
cultural encounter
 In this unit, you will learn how to guess the general
meaning of unknown words from the context of the
sentence or paragraph . This will help you become a
faster and more effective reader
 UNDERSTANDING VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT. To get at the
meaning of an unknown word, use the context (or
surroundings) of the word. There are 4 types
of context clues: examples, synonyms, antonyms, and
general sense of the passage (scroll to the bottom of page
to see answers.).
learning vocabulary in context

 One of the most important strategies to help build your vocabulary, increase
your reading speed and how much you understand is by learning vocabulary in
context. “In context” means using the situation that you understand in the
sentences you have read so far to guess the meaning of new vocabulary
without depending on a dictionary constantly.
 Guessing the meaning of new words using the context of the situation also
means using a dictionary less.
There are many different strategies you can use to help you build your
vocabulary without becoming dependent on a dictionary.

 Identify the part of speech:Before you guess the meaning of the new
vocabulary, you need to know how it functions in the sentence. Is it an action
(a verb)? Is it a thing or a person (a noun)? Is it trying to describe something
(an adjective)? Is it trying to describe an action (adverb)? You can also use
your knowledge of word roots, especially suffixes, to guess its part of speech.
That will be practiced later.
 Identify word families: “Word families” mean that some words have the
same or similar meanings, but the grammar or function of the words are
different. Again, they don’t always have the same meaning, but they do more
often than not.
 Does the sentence make sense if you replace the new word with a
synonym or a general guess?
 Look for words that show similarity in the sentence.
 Determine the part of speech.
 2• Look at the words that are used with it.
 3• Think about the meaning of the sentence and the topic of the passage.
 4• Notice if the word is repeated elsewhere in the passage or if the writer has
used any synonyms ( words with the same meaning) or antonyms (opposites).
 5• Look for an explanation or definition of the word somewhere else in the
passage (especially in a textbook).
 6• Infer an approximate meaning of the word.
 • Read the sentence with your meaning instead of the original word. Does it
make sense? If not, check steps 1-5 again (or look in a dictionary!).
Reading skill practice : guessing the general
meaning of unknown words from the context

 Exercise 1 page 18

 Without a dicitionary , use the context of the sentence to guess the meaning of
each underlined word. Write a synonym or definition for each words
• Word Definition
• 1. ……………………………… ………………………………………………….
• 2. …………………………….
• 3………………… …………………………………
• 4............................... ………………………..
• 5………………………………………………………..
• 6………………………………………………………………….
 Before you read the article, preview it.
 1. Read the title and say what you think it means
 2. Read the first paragraph. Can you tell what the article will be about?
 2. Scan the article for names, dates, numbers, and boldface type.
 3. underline the first sentence and the last sentence of the para .
 3. Read the last paragraph on the next page.
First Paragraph
 Based on your skimming, what seems to be the main topic of the reading /
what do you think the reading is about?
 A: what Chinese people think about Chinese –Americans
 B: how Chinese –Americans are treated in china
 C: how a Chinese –American discovers herself in china
 Now read the article all the way to the end. As
you read, underline any unfamiliar words with a
pencil but do not look them up in a dictionary
now. (You can do that later.)
 A. Write any unfamiliar words that made comprehension
difficult and write their dictionary definitions. Compare
your words with those of another student. Do you have
any of the same words?
 1-
 2-
 3-
Words 1-10

 Words tested on this page:  6-struggle

 1-diversity  7- blend
 2-ironic  8-encourage
 3-multi –culture mix  9-identity
 4-cultural shock  10-native
 5-bargain
 B. Discuss the article with another student. Consider these
questions.
 1. Where does the writer tell you what this article is
about?
 2. What does culture mean ?

 3. Were there any parts of the article that you did not
understand?
Vocabulary in context

 Exercise page 18 :
 usethe context of the sentence to guess
the meaning of each underlined word.
Write a synonym or definition for each
words
 C. Read the article again. Then discuss these questions
 1. why was Wendy amazed when she lived in china the
first time ?
 2. why had she come to china ?
 3. why didn’t she speak Chinese very well although she
had chinese side?
 4- what does multi- culture mean?
 What did she learn by the end of her first year in china ?
 Why did she love china very much ?
 Now after reading the text , DO you still agree with your answer to this
question : what do you think the reading is about?
 A: what Chinese people think about Chinese –Americans
 B: how Chinese –Americans are treated in china
 C: how a Chinese –American discovers herself in china
Getting the main idea
Talking a closer look

Exercise page 20