How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks

M Table of contents A Introduction……………….……………………………………………2 Rationale of the study………………………………………………… 2 Aims of the study……………………………………………………….3 Scope of the study………………………………………………………3 Methodology………… ……………………………………………….3 B ontent………………………………………………………………… Definition or explanation ……………………………….…………… Surrounding words ………………………………………………….…6 Synonym ……………………………………………………………….7 Antonym …………………………………… .7 Cause and effect ……………………………………………………….9 Illustration …………………………………………………………… Purpose or use……………………………………………………… Groups or examples ………………………………………………… 10 C onclusion………………………………………………………….… Results ……………… ……………………………………………….11 Suggestions …………………………………………………………….11 References………………………………………………………………… How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks A INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study For the language learners in general, and English learners in particular, vocabulary is the most important and is a crucial factor for the success of language learning Vocabulary is the basis on which learners will be able to develop other skills such as reading, writing, speaking and so on Therefore, learning vocabulary is always considered the first and foremost task in the course of language learning Vocabulary is a means that we use to convey our thoughts, express our ideas, emotions, and a means for us to know about the world around them Because vocabulary is the basis for the development of language skills ,in addition to practicing skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar, vocabulary development for pupils, especially high school students so that they can afford to overcome these important exams is always the key task of the teacher Many studies have shown that reading comprehension skills are particularly closely associated with vocabulary Educators and researchers have confirmed that the language can tell fairly accurately reading ability of pupils because of limited vocabulary in this educational level Obviously the limitation of vocabulary can restrict reading comprehension skills of students, contributing to making learning English more and more inefficient It is a fact that the majority of students learning English often read English very little, because words are obstructing the process of reading and making them not understand the texts Inadequate vocabulary has made students feel that reading is extremely difficult, leading to psychological phenomenon to skip reading Survey data on students of grade 12 initially showed that over 85% of them thought that reading is the most challenging skill As a result, the scores for reading comprehension in the tests or examinations are often the lowest How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks From practical context above to help students no longer afraid of reading comprehension section, gradually improve and develop reading comprehension skills it seems that we have no choice but to start from the addition of lots of vocabulary for students Another issue is whether the students know a lot of words there will be no difficulty in the process of reading comprehension? Many studies show that hypothesis is not entirely true The researchers have shown that reading comprehension skills of students are not completely dependent on vocabulary alone Based on the rationale that the tactics of language learning can be taught to students, I have boldly put forward some strategies to help students guess the meaning of words in context to deal with a variety of reading tasks Aims of the study The aim of this study is to answer the two following research questions:  What are some strategies to help students guess the meaning of words in context to deal with a variety of reading tasks? Scope of the study - Object of the study: high school students of Hung Vuong High School for the Gifted - The number of classes: 03 ( 90 students ) + 01 class of grade 12 + 01 class of grade 11 + 01 class of grade 10 Methodology - To complete data and high reliability in order to answer the question, I have used a combination of two methods of research : + Analyze and compare student scores in reading comprehension tests before and after the study How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks + Using a questionnaire - The research project is divided into stages: Stage : Provide theoretical evidence and illustrations Stage : Practice Stage : Check How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks B CONTENT HOW TO DEAL WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS In order to understand what you are reading from an English text, you need to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words (words you not know) from the context This will help you read faster and easier There are many ways that we can use to guess the meaning of unknown words Let’s examine some: Definition or explanation A writer might give the meaning of a difficult word in the passage itself The explanation might follow a comma or a dash after the difficult word This is especially used for place names, technical terms, and other words that even native English speakers might not be familiar with For example, in the sentence “New and knew are homophones—words that sound the same but have a different spelling,” “words that sound the same but have a different spelling” is the meaning of homophones In the following sentences, find the words that mean the same as the underlined word Ex: a We visited Narvik, a town in the northern part of Norway b When she fell, she broke her ulna, a bone in her arm c When I was in Germany, I enjoyed Schweinebrauten, which is a type of roast pork Note:Pay attention to some key words that are often used by writers: Key words is/are means/mean is/are called what this means is is/are known as consist of How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks is/are defined as Refer to is/are described as may be seen as Ex: a Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices you pay for things you buy an unfamiliar word = inflation signal word = is the definition = a rise in the general level of prices you pay for everything you buy b Someone who explores and studies caves is known as a spelunker An unfamiliar word = spelunker signal words = is known as definition = someone who explores and studies caves Surrounding words Another way you can guess the meaning of a word is through the relationships of the words around it For example, in the sentence, “After the heavy rain, the ground was saturated with water,” you should be able to guess that the word saturated means “completely wet,” because that’s what happens to the ground after a heavy rain Ex: a The company lures workers with high salaries and good working conditions A organizes B fires C attracts D angers b In the United States, the transition from one President to the next one is generally smooth A payment B understanding C search D change c The swimmer dived into the pool at one end and swam under water to the other end, where she emerged from the water A came out C sank to the bottom B dried off D injured herself How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks Synonym The writer may refer to the same thing using a different word in another part of the sentence, or in a later sentence In that case, if you know the meaning of the second word, that will help you understand the meaning of the word that you don’t know “That vase looks very fragile With young children in the house, I have to be careful with breakable things.” In these two sentences, breakable and fragile seem to mean something similar Therefore, you can guess that something that is fragile must break easily Ex: a Gary is being paid more than $400,000 per annum This yearly salary allows him to live very well A in cash B for his services C during the summer D each year b The company president’s veracity has been questioned, but we not doubt his truthfulness A honesty B ability C luck D finances c Ms Aaron showed a lot of strength after her daughter died Everyone admired her fortitude A sadness B courage C niceness D appearance Antonym A writer might also contrast the word that you not know with a word or idea that you already know In that case, since you can see the opposite of what the word means, you can guess what the word means “That statue is in a precarious position Please move it somewhere that it won’t fall.” Here, precarious is contrasted with “somewhere that it won’t fall.” Therefore, a precarious position is a position in which something is in danger of falling Ex: a Most Americans are monolingual, but I don’t think that’s good Everyone should learn a second language How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks A speaking one language B very quiet C happy D traveling overseas b At first, our problems seemed insurmountable However, now I think we’ll be able to find solutions A not able to be explained B not able to be solved C not able to be understood D not able to be discussed c Though the artist has died, her art will be immortal A forgotten B beautiful C eternal D damaged d The writing style I used in my report was too colloquial, so my boss asked me to write it in a more formal manner A casual B repeating too much C unusual D simple Cause and effect Your knowledge of cause and effect is useful in helping you understand words that you not know “Your statement of purpose is ambiguous, so we don’t understand what you intend to do.” If the result is that the reader does not understand, the cause may be that the statement was unclear, so ambiguous means “unclear.” Ex: a The journey across the mountains was perilous, and several people were killed A long B unnecessary C beautiful D dangerous b Dean forgot to turn off the water in the bathtub, and the bathroom was inundated with water A flooded B baked C melted D boiled c The insects are so microscopic that you can hardly see them A ugly B dangerous C small D quiet How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks Illustration A writer might give an illustration related to the word that might help you understand the word For example, in the sentence, “Harry is so parsimonious that he won’t spend an extra penny if he doesn’t have to,” not spending an extra penny is an illustration of being parsimonious You can see that parsimonious means “too careful with money.” Ex: a After his long illness, Dave was so frail that he could hardly get out of bed A fearful B weak C unhappy D thankful b Glen belongs to a pacifist religious group, and he is not allowed to join the army A with many members B with strict rules C opposed to war D well known c Please replenish the supply of stationery I want you to buy letter paper and large envelopes A replace B use up C write on D send d I really enjoy the solitude of the mountains—being alone with nature A closeness B height C beauty D privacy Purpose or use In some cases, the writer will mention the purpose or use of an object , and this tells you what the object is For example, in the sentence “I used a cherry pitter to remove the seeds from the cherries,” the writer tells you that a cherry pitter is something used to remove seeds from cherries In the following sentences, find the words that tell what the underlined object does Ex: a The pilot used the altimeter to see how high the plane was b With a whisk, I stirred the eggs How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks c Use a spatula to turn over the pancakes Groups or examples The writer might give groups of things or examples that tell you about the meaning of the unfamiliar words Ex: They marvelled at our dishwasher and dish-dryer They fell in love with the automatic coffeemaker, the microwave oven, and the food blender They wanted to take our rice cooker and toaster home with them They had never seen such appliances before 10 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks C CONCLUSION Results 1.1 Result of the first test (before the study) 90 students Number Percent Score > 61 67.78 % Score < 29 32.22 % According to the combined data on a total of 90 students participating the test on reading comprehension skills before joining the study, 61 students get points or more, accounting for 67.77 % while 29 students obtain scores below average, constituting 32.22 % 1.2 Result of the second test (after the study) 90 students Number Percent Score > 87 96.66 % Score < 03 3.33 % According to the combined data on a total of 80 one students participating the test on reading comprehension skills after the study, 87 students get points or more , accounting for 96.66 % while only students have scores below average , making up only 3:33 % of all the students targeted Suggestions - Teaching students tactics to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words aims to help students overcome their limitation of vocabulary and to help them improve the 11 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks efficiency of reading comprehension in the tests , examinations and so on It has brought positive, encouraging achievements and should be widely applied - High school English teachers should be encouraged to teach students reading comprehension strategies, tactics to guess words through context 12 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks REFERENCES Brown, H D (1972) Cognitive pruning and second language acquisition The Modern Language Journal, 56(4), 218-227 Coady, J (1997) L2 vocabulary acquisition through extensive reading In J Coady & T Huckin (Eds.), Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition (pp 225-237) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Denning, K, & Leben, W (1995) English vocabulary elements Oxford: Oxford University Press Gough, P (1984) Word recognition In P D Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp 225-253) New York and London: Longman Johnson, D., & Bauman, J (1984) Word identification In P.D Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp 583-608) New York and London: Longman Kenji Kitao (1994) Developing Reading Strategies Eichosha Liu, N & Nation, I.S.P (1985) Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context RELC Journal, 16(1) Nation, P & Coady, J (1988) Vocabulary and reading In R Carter & M McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp 97-110) London and New York: Longman 13 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks [...]... and to help them improve the 11 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks efficiency of reading comprehension in the tests , examinations and so on It has brought positive, encouraging achievements and should be widely applied - High school English teachers should be encouraged to teach students reading comprehension strategies, tactics to guess words through context 12 How to deal with. .. According to the combined data on a total of 90 students participating the test on reading comprehension skills before joining the study, 61 students get 5 points or more, accounting for 67.77 % while 29 students obtain scores below average, constituting 32.22 % 1.2 Result of the second test (after the study) 90 students Number Percent Score > 5 87 96.66 % Score < 5 03 3.33 % According to the combined... (1985) Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context RELC Journal, 16(1) Nation, P & Coady, J (1988) Vocabulary and reading In R Carter & M McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp 97-110) London and New York: Longman 13 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks ... context 12 How to deal with unfamiliar words in doing reading tasks REFERENCES Brown, H D (1972) Cognitive pruning and second language acquisition The Modern Language Journal, 56(4), 218-227 Coady, J (1997) L2 vocabulary acquisition through extensive reading In J Coady & T Huckin (Eds.), Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition (pp 225-237) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Denning, K, & Leben, W (1995)... (1984) Word recognition In P D Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp 225-253) New York and London: Longman Johnson, D., & Bauman, J (1984) Word identification In P.D Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp 583-608) New York and London: Longman Kenji Kitao (1994) Developing Reading Strategies Eichosha Liu, N & Nation, I.S.P (1985) Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context RELC Journal,... According to the combined data on a total of 80 one students participating the test on reading comprehension skills after the study, 87 students get 5 points or more , accounting for 96.66 % while only 3 students have scores below average , making up only 3:33 % of all the students targeted 2 Suggestions - Teaching students tactics to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words aims to help students overcome their