Infering Word Meaning Through Context Clues

INFERRING WORD MEANING THROUGH CONTEXT CLUES: A STEP TO ENHANCHE READING COMPREHENSION

By: Neng Syifa Masnoneh
608653519295

Abstract One of the purposes of teaching English to EFL learners is to equip them with reading skill so that they can comprehend an authentic English text for their reading purposes. However, the lack of vocabulary size will apparently cause a big problem for them to comprehend the text since the number of vocabulary size supports the mastery of reading in addition to listening, speaking, and writing. Thus, vocabulary acquisition must be given a greater emphasis. Therefore, in this paper I aim to outline general teaching procedure to develop the microskill of inferring the meaning of new words students encounter through context clues. This microskill is one of ways to enhance their reading comprehension. It is expected that this paper could provide some insights for teachers with the same problem and interest.

A. INTRODUCTION English course, whether it is as general subject or as compulsory subject, is given to equip student so they can communicate in global community. One of the purposes is to improve their reading skill, enabling them to access information printed in English. This ability is considered important because lots of information, which is needed for academic and non-academic purposes are written in English; and to prepare high competent human resources who can compete nationally and internationally, the mastery of the skill is likely cannot be ignored. The underlying reason of the importance of English mastery is the global use of the language. However, many students, but not all, fail in acquiring the language which then leads to the reading failure. This failure is, in general, contributed by the lack of vocabulary size, since good vocabulary mastery supports the master of reading, along with writing, listening, and speaking. The relation between vocabulary size and the success or the failure of reading skill is supported by the result of questionnaires, interviews, and observations conducted by Merawati (2003) at the beginning of her study. It was found that, “students’ perceived problems when they were reading English texts were their limited vocabulary” (Merawati, 2003). Therefore, vocabulary acquisition needs emphasizing. The finding of research conducted by Nurweni (1997) supports the importance of vocabulary instruction in which it was found that on average the 324 subjects only knew 987 of the 2000 most frequent words, and 239 of the 808 university words.

B. THEORETICAL BASIS Reading comprehension is very close related with vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 2002). Therefore, teachers have to develop word-attact skills in case students face difficulty in comprehending the text due to unfamiliar words. Word-attact skills are techniques to deal with new words when comprehending texts including skipping some unfamiliar words and inference from context (Nuttal, 1982) or guessing the meaning from context (Nation, 1988, 2002). Although the skill of inferring word meaning from context is one sub-skill in word-attact skills, it is a powerful activity to enhance reading comprehension (Nuttal, 1982). The importance of developing the skill of inference from context is based on some underlying reasons that (1) only knowing the dictionary meaning of a word is not enough to comprehend a text. The surrounding context often determines the meaning of a word, which in turn lead to a better comprehension. (2) Over-reliance to bilingual or monolingual dictionary slow down reading speed, and more seriously, interrupt readers’ own thought processes (Nuttal, 1982). (3) The skill builds self-confidence in reading when dictionary is not available (Merawati, 2003). (4) Teaching the use of context clues encourages students to use clues in their independent reading and it can be a major self-help technique for students learning vocabulary. Judicious use of context clues is a long step toward independence in vocabulary growth (Thomas and Robinson, 1982). Context clues are words surrounding an unknown word that can be clues to make a logical guesses of the meaning of it. The clues could be in sentences other than the one in which the new word appears. It could be the entire paragraph. (Burns, at. al., 1996). The term context clues, according to Robinson (1977: 59): …is sometimes used as an oversimplification of a group of vital strategies for vocabulary development. Often the term is used to indicate a vague and general way of searching the words surrounding an unknown word to see if the reader can guess at the meaning. Such an endeavor pays off infrequently. On the other hand, knowledge and trained application of such knowledge about semantic interrelationships, syntax, and clues within words (frequently called structural elements) will result in understanding most of the time.

C. TEACHING PROCEDURE Before teaching the skill to the students, teachers should pay attention to the readability of the text. It should be at the right level of the students, not too low from their level or too high (Nuttal, 1982; Merawati 2003). To enlarge their vocabulary size through the skill of inferring word meaning, use the text with vocabulary level that is a little bit higher than the students’ level (Nation, 2002). The text should also give information. Teacher also needs to point out that inference is not about certainties, but it is about possibilities. The demand for 100 per cent certainty about the meaning of a word is what drives us to consult dictionary. Frequently we do not have to know the meaning of every word exactly. However, the more we read, our understanding of words will be more exact, so that probabilities gradually turn into certainties. To train students to infer, teachers can do activities as follow: 1. Tell them every information related with the microskill of inferring word meaning from context clues (the definition, the example, and the advantage of mastering the skill in their reading) Bright and McGregor (in Nuttal, 1982) point out that most students are not aware that they are able to understand new words without first being told what they mean. So, at first, teacher should tell students that it is possible. 2. Provide one sentence or two sentences containing unfamiliar words. It can be presented in slide show. Have them to reason out the meaning based on the context clues. This activity can be conducted in the form of question and answer (the teacher asks a few leading questions and the students do most of the work). Below is the example. Suppose that all students already know the meaning of all words presented in the slide except the word parsimonious. - Teacher shows sentence: He was so parsimonious that he refused to give his own sons the few pennies they needed to buy pencils for schools. It truly hurt him to part with his money. Q: What can we learn about the meaning of the word parsimonious from the sentence? 3. Next, give them a text and some leading questions related with the text. 4. Tell students not to look up dictionary every time they encounter new words. Consulting dictionary is the last aid. Encourage them to try to skip unfamiliar word and continue reading. 5. Ask the student to answer the leading question once they complete reading. 6. Have them to list unfamiliar word they encounter. After that, teacher leads them to the most common unfamiliar words. 7. The teacher asks some of them to volunteer to ‘think aloud’ the context clues that will lead to the meaning of the word. Student may work in pairs on a context clues worksheet and verbalize their context usage strategies to each other. Finally, they have to work on their own to determine the meaning of the word.

D. REFLECTION Students trained with the skill of inferring meaning from context clues are likely to become more analytical. This is due to its problem solving characteristics. The characteristics ‘appeal to most people and challenge students to make use of their intelligence extent that is not always common in language classes’ (Nuttal, 1982). Students mastering the skill are more aware that words change and shift meaning because of the context in which they appear.

E. CONCLUSION Because vocabulary is the basic and essential element of comprehension, building students’ skill in inferring word meaning through context clues should not be abandoned in teaching reading. The skill is one sub-skill of word attack skill, but student mastering this skill can increase their vocabulary knowledge which in turn increases their comprehension, and it can be taught using the teaching procedure presented in this paper. Of course this teaching procedure is not the only one. However, the skill will be useless unless students read a lot, because the best ways of extending vocabulary is through reading itself’.

F. REFERENCES

Burns, Paul C., et. al. 1996. Teaching Reading in Today’s Elementary Schools. 6th Editon. Massachuset: Houghton Miftlin Company.

Merawati, M. V. J. 2003, Oktober. Building on Students’ Weaknesses to Practice Guessing Meaning from Context and Improve Reading Skills and Strategies. Paper presented at the 51th TEFLIN International Conference, Bandung

Nation, I. S. P. 1988. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.

Nation, I. S. P. 2002. Best Practice in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning. In Richards, J. C. & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice (pp. 258-266). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I. S. P. 2002. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nurweni, A. 1997. How many Words do Senior High School Students Acquire per Week. TEFLIN Journal, 8 (1): 103-115

Nuttal, C. 1982. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. London: Heinemann.

Robinson, H. Alan. 1977. Teaching Reading and Study Strategies: The Content Areas. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

Thomas, Ellen Lamar, and H. Alan Robinson. 1982. Improving Reading in Every Class.

References: Burns, Paul C., et. al. 1996. Teaching Reading in Today’s Elementary Schools. 6th Editon. Massachuset: Houghton Miftlin Company. Merawati, M. V. J. 2003, Oktober. Building on Students’ Weaknesses to Practice Guessing Meaning from Context and Improve Reading Skills and Strategies. Paper presented at the 51th TEFLIN International Conference, Bandung Nation, I. S. P. 1988. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. Nation, I. S. P. 2002. Best Practice in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning. In Richards, J. C. & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice (pp. 258-266). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nation, I. S. P. 2002. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nurweni, A. 1997. How many Words do Senior High School Students Acquire per Week. TEFLIN Journal, 8 (1): 103-115 Nuttal, C. 1982. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. London: Heinemann. Robinson, H. Alan. 1977. Teaching Reading and Study Strategies: The Content Areas. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Thomas, Ellen Lamar, and H. Alan Robinson. 1982. Improving Reading in Every Class.