Reading: Vocabulary in Context: B1 Lesson 1: Inferring Meaning of Unfamiliar Vocabulary from Contextual Clues
CEFR Level: B1 (Intermediate)
Target Reading Sub-skill: Vocabulary in Context
Specific Focus: Inferring Meaning of Unfamiliar Vocabulary from Contextual Clues (synonyms, antonyms, examples, definitions)
What You Will Learn
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand what "contextual clues" are and why they are useful for learning new words.
- Identify synonym clues to guess a word's meaning.
- Identify antonym clues to guess a word's meaning.
- Identify example or definition clues to guess a word's meaning.
- Practice using these clues to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words in sentences.
Hello Cambodian Learners!
When you read an English article about, for example, tourism in Cambodia or a new technology, you might find words you don't know. Instead of stopping to use a dictionary every time, you can often guess the meaning from the words around it! These hints are called "contextual clues." Learning to use these clues is like being a language detective, and it will make your reading much smoother and faster.
Using Contextual Clues
Contextual clues help you understand new words by looking at the rest of the sentence or paragraph. Let's explore some common types:
1. Synonym Clues (Same Meaning)
The journey was very arduous; it was long and extremely difficult.
Here, "long and extremely difficult" are synonyms or explain what "arduous" means. So, arduous likely means very hard or tiring.
2. Antonym Clues (Opposite Meaning)
Unlike his gregarious brother who loved parties, Sareth was quite reserved and shy.
"Unlike" and "shy" tell us that "reserved" is the opposite of "gregarious" (sociable, friendly).
3. Example or Definition Clues
Many artifacts, such as ancient pottery, tools, and jewelry, were found at the archaeological site near Angkor Wat.
"Such as ancient pottery, tools, and jewelry" gives examples of what "artifacts" are (man-made objects from the past).
A pandemic is a disease that spreads over a whole country or the world.
The sentence directly defines "pandemic."
Practice Time!
Activity 1: What's the Clue Type?
Read the sentence. What type of clue helps you understand the highlighted word? Click the best clue type.
Activity 2: Guess the Meaning from Context
Read the sentence. Use the context clues to choose the best meaning for the highlighted word.
Quick Quiz!
Great Job!
You're learning to use context clues to understand new vocabulary! This is a very powerful skill that will help you read more complex English texts with greater confidence.