READING USING CONTEXT

What do you do if you are reading an English text and you do not understand a
specific word?
Tom decided that he desperately needed the glockum if he were to solve the problem.
Word meaning
What part of speech
Which clues
Reading in chunks
Reading clues:
hunking
!nderstanding part of speech
"ogical deduction
#ocabulary activation
Deduction $ What does the sentence concern? Which words does the unknown word seem to
relate to?
Part of Speech $ Which part of speech is the unknown word? %s it a verb& noun& preposition&
ad'ective& time expression or something else?
Chuning $ What do the words around the unknown word(s) mean? *ow could the unknown
word(s) relate to those words? $ This is basically deduction on a more local level.
!oca"ular# Acti$ation $ When +uickly skimming through the text& what does the text seem
to concern? ,oes the layout (design) of the text give any clues? ,oes the publication or type of
book give any clues to what the text might be about? Which words can you think of that belong
to this vocabulary category?
%ae logical guesses a"out the &eaning of the unno'n 'ords in the follo'ing
paragraph(
-ack +uickly entered the didot and cleaned the various misturaes he had been using to repair
the wuipit. *e had often thought that this 'ob was extremely yullning. *owever& he had to
admit that this time things seemed to be a bit easier. When he finished& he put on his redick
and went back to the study to relax. *e took out his favourite pipe and settled into the beautiful
new pogtry. What a fantastic schnappy he had made when he had bought the pogtry. .nly /00
yagmas1
Reading Sills
Si&&ing $ reading rapidly for the main points
Scanning $ reading rapidly to find a specific piece of information
E)tensi$e reading$ reading a longer text& often for pleasure with emphasis on overall
meaning
Intensi$e reading $ reading a short text for detailed information
These different types of skills are used +uite naturally when reading in a mother tongue.
!nfortunately& when learning a second or foreign language& people tend to employ only
2intensive2 style reading skills. 3tudents insist on understanding e$er# word and find it
difficult to read for the general idea& or only to look for re+uired information.

What4s .n?
*irst read the follo'ing +uestions and then use the T! Schedule to find the
ans'ers(
5. -ack has a video $ can he watch both documentaries without having to make a video?
6. %s there a show about making good investments?
/. 7ou are thinking about travelling to the !38 for a vacation. Which show should you watch?
9. 7our friend doesn4t have a T#& but would like to watch a film starring Tom ruise. Which film
should you record on your video?
:. ;eter is interested in wild animals which show should he watch?
<. Which sport can you watch that takes place outside?
=. Which sport can you watch that takes place inside?
>. 7ou like modern art. Which documentary should you watch?
?. *ow often can you watch the news?
50. %s there a horror film on this evening?
C,C
<.00 p.m.: National Ne's $ 'oin -ack
;arsons for your daily news roundup.
<./0: The Tiddles$ ;eter 'oins @ary
for a wild adventure in the park.
=.00: Golf Re$ie'$ Watch highlights
from today4s final round of the Arand
@aster4s.
>./0: Shoc fro& the Past$ This
entertaining film by 8rthur 3chmidt
takes a poke at the wild side of
gambling.
50./0: Nightl# Ne's$ 8 review of the
day4s most important events.
55.00: %O%A- Art for E$er#one$ 8
fascinating documentary that helps you
en'oy the difference between pointilism
and video installations.
56:00: .ard Da#/s Night$ Reflections
after a long& hard day.


*N,
<.00 p.m.: In0Depth Ne's $ %n$depth
coverage of the most important national and
international news stories.
=.00: Nature Re$ealed$ %nteresting
documentary taking a look at the
microscopic universe in your average speck
of dust. =./0: Ping 0 Pong %asters$ "ive
coverage from ;eking. ?./0: It/s 1our
%one#$ That4s right and this favorite game
show could make or break you depending on
how you place your bets. 50./0: Green
Par$ 3tephen Bing4s latest monster
madness. 0./0: 2ate Night Ne's$ Aet the
news you need to get a hard start on the
upcoming day.
A,N
<.00 p.m.: Tra$el A"road $ This
week we travel to sunny alifornia1
<./0: The *lintstones$ Cred and
Darney are at it again.
=.00: Prett# ,o#$ Tom ruise& the
prettiest boy of them all& in an action
packed thriller about %nternet
espionage.
?.00: Tracing the ,east$ The little
understood wildebeest filmed in its
natural surroundings with
commentary by ,ick 3ignit.
50.00: Pu&p Those 3eights$ 8
guide to successfully using weights to
develop your physi+ue while getting
fit.
55./0: The Three Idiots$ 8 fun farce
based on those three tenors who don4t
know when to call it +uits.
5.00: National Anthe&$ lose the
day with this salute to our country.