Reading Comprehension Strategies: Tackle unknown words on the web-site for teachers
and learners of English as a secondary language from a German point of
view
Reading comprehension Strategy: TACKLE UNKNOWN WORDS
You don't know the meaning of a word?
If it is not important for the understanding
of the text don't worry.
If it is important for the understanding
of the text try the following strategies:
-
Guess the meaning from the context
of the sentence or paragraph.
-
Write the sentence on a sheet of paper
leaving a gap..............for the word you don't know and write the word
apart from the sentence.
-
Find an English synonym or equivalent
or a German word that seems to fit.
-
How does this word work or function
in the sentence?
-
Is it a noun or a verb, an adjective
or an adverb, a connective and a conjunction?
-
Put in one of the following passe-partout
words:
-
for nouns: thing, person, animal, ideas,
he, she, it, they
-
for verbs: to do, did, get, got, make,
made, give, gave, jump(ed)
-
for adjectives: a kind of, good, bad,
blue
-
for adverbs: in a certain way, well,
badly
-
for adverbials: yesterday, today, tomorrow,
then, in Maintown, there
-
for connectives: but, and, or, because,
which, that, if,
-
Find the markers for the parts of speech:
-
nouns: 3(numerals), this, my, the,
a(n)
-
verbs: second position after he/she/it/they/Mr
Miller/Ann, ....--ed, are(is/was/were ......-ing
-
adverbs: .....-ly
-
connectives: position between two sentences
or in front position
-
How can you ask, if you want to have
the word in the answer:
-
Who did what where when what like why?
-
What happened to whom where when in
which way why?
-
Look at the sentence in which the word
is used. Check whether the meaning you guessed fits together with its neighbouring
words and sentences
-
Perhaps there is a definition or an
explanation or an example somewhere else in the text.
-
Perhaps you know a part of the word.
What does the rest mean?
-
Do you know other words with the same
endings or beginnings, prefixes or suffixes?
-
Perhaps the word exists in other languages,
too.
Now start and tackle. And make it a gliding
tackling, not a high dive.
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