LESSON 1
Improving Vocabulary through Contextual Clues
Contextual Clues- are words or phrases in the text acting as clues to the meaning of a difficult term in the selection. This vocabulary- building strategy involves the whole text plus the personal experiences of the reader.
Kinds of Contextual Clues
A. THE GENERAL SENSE OF THE SENTENCE
- The sense of the sentence clue involves the whole sentence. The reader has to get the general sense or meaning of the sentence to get some ideas about one unfamiliar term used in the sentence. T o do this, he has to ask questions about the sentence. The question plus the answer have some connection with the unfamiliar term.
Examples:
1. You cannot easily change the stand of an obdurate person.
Question: What can you say about a person who does not welcome change?
Answer: He is not flexible. Obdurate means not flexible
2. The strong wind will make your hair appear scraggly.
Question: What becomes of hair that is not combed?
Answer: It is not orderly. It is untidy or disheveled. Scraggly means irregular, unkept, disorderly, untidy.
B. USE OF SYNONYMS
- SYNONYMS- are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. The presence of the synonym in the sentence is signaled by a comma, dash, parentheses, a link or series of clause, or another sentence.
Examples:
1. By commas- to separate the appositive from the other words in the sentence.
The Volvo, a car, costs a million pesos.
The conundrum, a riddle, I one of the ancient forms of Philippine poetry.
2. By parentheses
She wants to establish a liason (a close bond) with the officers.
Give me the penultimate (next to the last) syllable of the word.
3. By dashes
The Visconde suspects are scions – descendants – of rich and famous politicians.
A claque – a group of persons to clap at a performance – was made to stand up near the stage.
4. By restatement or expression of the word in a more familiar term.
Restatement through an appositive A clergyman, a priest, wields tremendous influence on every member of the community.
Restatement through a phrase The clergyman, saying the Mass is the new chapel, is wearing a white robe a purple hemline.
Restatement through a clause A clergyman, who considers the church his permanent residence, gave me a golden rosary.
5. Linked synonyms: The author gives a word or series of words that are closely related in meaning to the unfamiliar term.
The proceedings of the Visconde case in the court indicate a chaotic,disorderly,confused, or muddled application of social justice.
C. USE OF EXAMPLES
- The examples in the sentence have common traits or characteristics. To use these as clues to the meaning of a difficult term in the sentence, the reader has to study these examples to discover what their similarities are, then associate these similarities with the word he does not understand, to know exactly what the unfamiliar term means.
Examples:
1. Novels, poetry, drama, short stories, and folk tales belong to a fictional genre.
Genre – category or class of literary works
2. The gadgets he was allowed to examine are: hair dryer, mixer, heater, and polisher.
Gadgets – devices to help you do a task.
3. The pious people like the friars, pastors, and nuns play a great role in uplifting the spiritual life of the villagers.
Pious – religious, sacred, devotional
D. USE OF COMPARISON OR ANALOGY
- Comparing the difficult term to another word will reveal similarities that can be used by the reader as clues to the meaning of the difficult term. Expressions such as similar to, like as …as, and the same are what the text uses in comparing things, places and persons.
Examples:
1. I’d rather accede to his demand than oppose it.
Accede is the antonym of oppose.
Accede means to submit or to consent
2. The task seems so cumbrous to me, but it appears too easy for you.
Cumbrous is the antonym of easy.
Cumbrous means difficult or troublesome
Improving Vocabulary through Contextual Clues
Contextual Clues- are words or phrases in the text acting as clues to the meaning of a difficult term in the selection. This vocabulary- building strategy involves the whole text plus the personal experiences of the reader.
Kinds of Contextual Clues
A. THE GENERAL SENSE OF THE SENTENCE
- The sense of the sentence clue involves the whole sentence. The reader has to get the general sense or meaning of the sentence to get some ideas about one unfamiliar term used in the sentence. T o do this, he has to ask questions about the sentence. The question plus the answer have some connection with the unfamiliar term.
Examples:
1. You cannot easily change the stand of an obdurate person.
Question: What can you say about a person who does not welcome change?
Answer: He is not flexible. Obdurate means not flexible
2. The strong wind will make your hair appear scraggly.
Question: What becomes of hair that is not combed?
Answer: It is not orderly. It is untidy or disheveled. Scraggly means irregular, unkept, disorderly, untidy.
B. USE OF SYNONYMS
- SYNONYMS- are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. The presence of the synonym in the sentence is signaled by a comma, dash, parentheses, a link or series of clause, or another sentence.
Examples:
1. By commas- to separate the appositive from the other words in the sentence.
The Volvo, a car, costs a million pesos.
The conundrum, a riddle, I one of the ancient forms of Philippine poetry.
2. By parentheses
She wants to establish a liason (a close bond) with the officers.
Give me the penultimate (next to the last) syllable of the word.
3. By dashes
The Visconde suspects are scions – descendants – of rich and famous politicians.
A claque – a group of persons to clap at a performance – was made to stand up near the stage.
4. By restatement or expression of the word in a more familiar term.
Restatement through an appositive A clergyman, a priest, wields tremendous influence on every member of the community.
Restatement through a phrase The clergyman, saying the Mass is the new chapel, is wearing a white robe a purple hemline.
Restatement through a clause A clergyman, who considers the church his permanent residence, gave me a golden rosary.
5. Linked synonyms: The author gives a word or series of words that are closely related in meaning to the unfamiliar term.
The proceedings of the Visconde case in the court indicate a chaotic,disorderly,confused, or muddled application of social justice.
C. USE OF EXAMPLES
- The examples in the sentence have common traits or characteristics. To use these as clues to the meaning of a difficult term in the sentence, the reader has to study these examples to discover what their similarities are, then associate these similarities with the word he does not understand, to know exactly what the unfamiliar term means.
Examples:
1. Novels, poetry, drama, short stories, and folk tales belong to a fictional genre.
Genre – category or class of literary works
2. The gadgets he was allowed to examine are: hair dryer, mixer, heater, and polisher.
Gadgets – devices to help you do a task.
3. The pious people like the friars, pastors, and nuns play a great role in uplifting the spiritual life of the villagers.
Pious – religious, sacred, devotional
D. USE OF COMPARISON OR ANALOGY
- Comparing the difficult term to another word will reveal similarities that can be used by the reader as clues to the meaning of the difficult term. Expressions such as similar to, like as …as, and the same are what the text uses in comparing things, places and persons.
Examples:
1. I’d rather accede to his demand than oppose it.
Accede is the antonym of oppose.
Accede means to submit or to consent
2. The task seems so cumbrous to me, but it appears too easy for you.
Cumbrous is the antonym of easy.
Cumbrous means difficult or troublesome