Listening: Active Listening Strategies (incl. Note-taking & Summarizing - Basic) B1 - Lesson 1: Using Context to Guess Meaning of Unfamiliar Words

Guessing Word Meanings from Context CEFR Level B1 Lesson Goals In this lesson, you will learn and practice the powerful active listening strategy of using context to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. Don't Panic When You Hear a New Word! You will not always know every word you hear in a conversation—and that's okay! A powerful skill is to use the other words in the sentence as clues to guess the meaning. This is called using context. For example, if you hear, "The traffic in Siem Reap was terrible this afternoon, the roads were completely congested ," you can use the clue "terrible traffic" to guess that congested means "full of cars and very slow." Key Tip: Listen for Three Types of Clues When you hear a new word, listen carefully to the words and sentences around it. They often provide three types of clues: Definitions or Explanations: The speaker might explain the word right after they say it. (e.g., "We need to find a viable solution, one that…