Vocabulary: Strategies for Vocabulary Learning & Retention (C1) - Lesson 11: Inferring Meaning of Highly Complex & Low-Frequency Words

Lesson 11: Inferring Meaning in Complex Texts The Art of the Educated Guess Even native speakers constantly encounter words they don't know, especially in academic or technical reading. The skill that separates proficient readers from expert readers is the ability to infer —to make a logical, educated guess at a word's meaning based on a variety of clues. This lesson provides a toolkit for decoding low-frequency , complex words without immediately reaching for a dictionary. Key Vocabulary To Infer (verb) | សន្និដ្ឋាន To deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. Low-frequency (adjective) | កម្រប្រើ Not occurring or done very often. In linguistics, a word that is not common. Cognate (noun) | សហជាតិនៃពាក្យ A word that has the same linguistic origin as a word in another language. The C1 Inference Toolkit When you encounter a difficult word, become a detective. Look for these four types of clues. 1. Morphological Clues (Word Parts) Look at the…