ENGLISH 8

Name of Learner : _________________________ Grade Level : ______________

Section : ________________________________ Date : ____________________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

DETERMINING MEANING OF WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS THAT
REFLECT LOCAL CULTURE
THROUGH CONTEXT CLUES

Background Information for Learners

Context clues are hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader can use to
understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words. Learning the meaning of a word
through its use in a sentence or paragraph is the most practical way to build vocabulary, since
a dictionary is not always available when a reader encounters an unknown word.
Even without a dictionary, you can determine the meaning of a new or difficult word through
the clues or hints provided by the surrounding words and as aided by your prior knowledge.
In other words, how the word is used in context helps you understand it thereby getting its
meaning.

Authors also tend to use words or expressions that reflect the local culture usually in personal
narratives, stories, and poems. Local color, a writing device that depicts local culture, makes
use of the raw qualities of a particular locality/region or time and the characteristics and
language of its inhabitants to lend authenticity to a literary piece. Through the writer’s choice
of words and expressions as well as style of writing, readers get glimpses of the culture of the
place from which a piece of writing originates. Interestingly, some of these words have even
made it into the mainstream English language. As a reader, you can always decode or extract
the meaning of these words and expressions that reflect local culture by studying how they
are used in context through the clues provided by the surrounding words in the sentences or
in the text. Consider the following examples :

Sentence 1. Could she not, alone among all women, dance like a bird tripping for
grains on the ground, beautifully timed to the beat of the gangsas?
-From The Wedding Dance by Amador T. Daguio
Sentence 2. The woman was soaking her sparse gray hair with the gogo suds.
-From The Witch by Edilberto K.Tiempo

After studying carefully the contexts in which the words gangsas and gogo are used, you
would understand that gangsas (in sentence 1) refers to a kind of musical percussion
instrument as hinted clearly by the words dance and beat and that gogo (in sentence 2) is

Note : Practice Personal Hygiene protocols at all times.

used to cleanse the hair as indicated by the words soaking and hair. Both words gangsas and
gogo are strongly reflective of the distinct local culture of the places in which the texts they
are used in are written.

Here are specific steps that you can do to build your skill in using context clues in reading :
 Skim the context of an unfamiliar word-words or phrases surrounding the word that might
provide clues to its meaning.
 Search for explanations or descriptions that include details or examples.
 Consider the ideas presented in the sentences before or after an unfamiliar word or phrase.
Determine a meaning consistent with the entire passage.

Can you determine words and expressions that reflect local culture, get their meanings
through context clues, and also use them in your own sentences? Develop this vocabulary
skill as you work on the exercises below.

Learning Competency with code

Determine the meaning of words and expressions that reflect the local culture by noting
context clues (Quarter 1, Week 1) EN8V-If-6

Directions :

Exercise 1. Guess What?

Read the short excerpts below taken from Afro-Asian narratives. Then, study the words or
expressions written in bold. Using context clues, give your guesses as to the meanings of the
words or expressions. Write your responses in the table provided.

1. She was smiling at him, and I stopped in the act of tying the sinta across Labang's
neck to the opposite end of the yoke because her teeth were very white, her eyes were
so full of laughter, and there was the small dimple high up on her right cheek.
-From How My Brother Leon Brought Home a
Wife, Manuel E. Arguilla
2. “Give us one of your fat dumalaga,” she would shout. “We will have chicken for
dinner.”
“The fat one ---it will cost you eighty centavos,” Piring would shout back.
-From Chicken For Dinner, Consorcio Borje
3. There was an urgent order for ten dozens of suman she had to deliver the next day,
for the judge’s daughters who were leaving right after the anniversary. There was
already a pile of pandan leaves on the kitchen table, waiting to be washed and
warmed, for wrapping the sweet sticky rice rolls with.
-From Preludes, Daryll Delgado
4. Tokyo was a long way off and the roads were rough. The father would have to walk
every step of the way for he had no horse. There were no railways or even jinrikishas
to travel on.
-From The Happy Mirror, A Japanese Folktale
5. “I know it,” she said. “I will pray that Kabunyan will bless you and Madulimay.”

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 From The Wedding Dance, Amador Daguio

Words that Reflect Culture Extracted Meaning(through context

clues)
1. sinta
2. dumalaga
3. suman
4. jinrikishas
5. Kabunyan

Exercise 2. Google It!

Using the internet, look for more information about the given words that reflect culture. List
key ideas about them and copy your sources of information. Then, use the given words in
your own sentences.

Words that Reflect Culture What I Searched About Sources

Them
1. sinta
2. dumalaga
3. suman
4. jinrikishas
5. Kabunyan

Now, let’s see how well you can use those words in your own sentences!

1. sinta
___________________________________________________________________
2. dumalaga
___________________________________________________________________
3. suman
___________________________________________________________________
4. jinrikishas
__________________________________________________________________
5. Kabunyan
__________________________________________________________________

Note : Practice Personal Hygiene protocols at all times.

Exercise 3: Look Inside!

A. Read an excerpt from the poem, “I am an African

Child “ by EkuMcGred . Let’s try to look into the
underlined words used in it. Choose among the given
choices in the box the closest meaning of the
underlined words. Write the letter of your choice.

I am an African child
Born with a skin the 1colour of chocolate
Bright, brilliant and 2articulate
Strong and3bold; I’m gifted
Talented enough to be the best
I am an African child. Often the target of pity
My future is not confined to 4charity
Give me the gift of a lifetime;
Give me a dream, a door of
opportunity;
I will 5thrive
I am an African child.

A. express ideas fluently D. prosper

B. brown E .brave
C. bright F. donations

B. Use the underlined words in sentences.

C. Based on the excerpt, pick out the words that you think are related to one another. Write
these words in the Bubble Chart.

D. Using the following words, construct sentences using context clues to identify their
meanings.

1. Articulate Sentence: ______________________________________________

2. Bold Sentence: _____________________________________________
3. Charity Sentence: ______________________________________________
4. Thrive Sentence: ______________________________________________

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Exercise 4. LOOK FOR THE CLUES

The following sentences are taken from the story, “Footnote To

Youth” by Jose Garcia Villa. Read the sentences carefully.
Underline the words or groups of words that give hints or clues
to the meaning of the words in bold.

1. Dodong’s mother removed the dishes when they were

through, and went out to the batalan to wash them.
2. Dodong stood in the sweltering noon heat, sweating
profusely, so that his camiseta was damp.
3. Dodong saw Teang, his girl wife, asleep on
the papag with her black hair soft around her
face. He did not want her to look that pale...
4. There was interminable work to be done. Cooking. Laundering. The house. The children.
5. He stood in the moonlight, tired and querulous. He wanted to ask questions and somebody
to answer him.

Exercise 5. Write the Right Word

A. Complete the passage by supplying the appropriate word from the WORD POOL below
which means the same as the word/words in parentheses. Write your answers in the blanks
provided.

heralds garland ashram dynasty

hesitate apparently curse blurs

(1)An _________(abode, refuge) is the home of the family- the basic unit of society. It is
from the family that individuals come to birth and it is within the family that they find the
first school of the social virtues that are important to build a society. (2)
__________(obviously) parents are the first teachers.
Every child is a gift to its brothers, sisters, parents, and the entire family. They say a good
child is a (3) ________(wreath of flowers) that brings honor to the parents while a black
sheep is a (4) ___________ (damnation), nevertheless, the child is loved and cared for.
In most cases the family (5) __________(announces) progress and strives to contribute to
national development. Family members don’t (6) ____________(waiver)to pursue fields of
endeavor that would bring them honor and glory. Take for example the political (7)
_________(ancestry lines of hereditary rules) we have in the country.

B. Read the words in the box below. Write each word where it belongs.

engaged vague distinguish regret right

procession unselfish impress guilty understand

1. The wedding ___________________involved many family members.

2. I could not _________________the difference between the two siblings.
3. I played hard so that I could_______________ the coach.
4. I do not______________any decisions I have made.

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 5. I felt __________________ for not telling the truth.
6. The couple get __________________after dating many years.
7. If you are _________________ you will have many friends.
8. I could not understand the _______________ directions.

Exercise 6: Local Words Into the Global World

Read the narrative below about Nelson Mandela. The sentences used several South African
words that reflect the local culture. These words have already been adopted into the English
language. Use context clues to determine the meaning of the underlined words. Complete the
grid that follows.

1. Mandela was born in the Transkei region of South Africa, in the small village of
Qunu- a collection of beehive-shaped huts with thatch roofs, known as rondavels.
2. Mandela and his three sisters lived in the family kraal of whitewashed huts not far
from Umtata in the Transkei.
3. Their diet was simple, mainly maize, beans, and pumpkins grown in fields outside the
village, and amasi, fermented milk stored in calabashes.
4. Much of Mandela’s time was spent in the open veld in the company of members of
his own age group, stick-throwing and fighting, gathering wild honey and fruits
trapping birds and small animals that could be roasted, and swimming in the cold
streams.
5. He hunted buck and when hungry, stole mealie cobs from the maize fields.

Word What do you think it What were your clues?

means?
1. rondavels
2. kraal
3. amasi
4. veld
5. mealie

Exercise 7: Riddle Challenge!

A. Read each sentence carefully. Think about what the highlighted word means. Write the
meaning and its clue in the blanks provided.

Riddle 1
Since it was raining outside, I used my Bumbershoot to keep from getting wet.
_______________ _______________ _______________
Word Meaning Clue

Riddle 2
Unlike Kyle, who is a conformer and a follower, Jeremy is a maverick.
_______________ _______________ _______________
Word Meaning Clue

Riddle 3
The ranivorous hawk, an animal that eats frogs, is found in Central and Eastern Africa.
_______________ _______________ _______________

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 Word Meaning Clue

Riddle 4
In class, Julia was so cantankerous that her grumpy behavior negatively affected everyone.
_________________ _______________ _______________
Word Meaning Clue

B. What is the meaning of the make-believe word that is underlined in each sentence? Circle
the correct meaning. Then circle at least two clue words that helped you figure out the
meaning of the word.

Riddle 1
The apploga bounced really high when Jimmy threw it on the ground. Then, Cathy threw the
apploga through the net and scored two points. We like playing with the apploga during
recess.

What is an apploga? table ball orange

Riddle 2
Mary rode her camonga to school yesterday. She could not ride it today though because it
was raining. Her little sister, Alice also has a camonga, but it still has training wheels on it
because Alice is not old enough yet to ride without them.

What is a camonga? car boat bike

Riddle 3
Tommy likes to eat cheese sneitoo for lunch. His brother prefers his sneitoo to have sausage
and pepperoni on it. For dinner, their mom took a frozen sneitoo out of the freezer and
cooked it for dinner. It was yummy!
What is a sneitoo? milk pizza apple

Riddle 4
My dibek is living with us in the spare bedroom. He just moved back to town. He is my dad’s
brother and sometimes teases him. When my brother is not there, he says that I am his
favorite nephew.
What is a dibek? uncle grandpa mom

Challenge: Write your own riddle with a made-up word. Give clues so that your friends can
figure it out.

After going through the previous exercises, you surely have grasped already the idea on how
to use context clues in unlocking the meaning of words especially those that reflect local
culture. Moreover, the use of local color or words/expressions that reflect local culture is
effective in expressing distinct meanings, experiences and scenarios about life in a particular
place or region. Expectedly, you will find this helpful in carrying out your final activity.

Final Task :

Note : Practice Personal Hygiene protocols at all times.

People around the world are still in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are
tasked to stay at home to help combat the disease. Think of your favorite dish or your comfort
food. Through a 5-10 minute vlog, give significant details about it especially in your local
culture. Share how it has become your favorite food. Then, enumerate the ingredients and
with the help of your mother (only if necessary), show how it is prepared and cooked. Use
words that reflect a local culture in your vlog.

Rubric for Scoring:

Needs Fair(2) Satisfactory(3) Very

Improvement(1) Satisfactory(4)
Content The vlog The vlog The vlog presents The vlog presents
presents little presents the moderate thorough and
information necessary information and substantial
about the dish. information insight about the information,
about the preparation and insight, and
preparation and cooking of the understanding of
cooking of the dish and its the preparation
dish. personal and cooking of
significance to the the dish as well
vlogger. as its significance
to the vlogger
and in the local
culture.
Language There are many There are a few There is a Good command
and Fluency errors in errors in consistent effort of the language is
grammar; there grammar; there in observing rules evident; there is
is no attempt to is an attempt to of grammar; the strong use of
use words that use words that presentation is words that reflect
reflect local reflect local peppered with local culture and
culture and the culture and the words that reflect the vlogger is
vlogger sounds vlogger keeps local culture and spontaneous and
choppy in the an effort to keep the vlogger is enthusiastic
presentation. the presentation spontaneous. indicating that
going despite s/he enjoys the
some dead air. activity.
Organizatio It is difficult to A part or two of The vlog shows The vlog shows
n follow the flow the vlog is clear transition clear and
of the vlog. comprehensible. from beginning to engaging
end. transition from
beginning to end.
Creativity The vlog shows The vlog shows The vlog shows The vlog boosts
no attempt at an attempt at creativity with the viewing
creativity. creativity with a use of props, experience with
minimum use of screen texts and maximum
props. background creativity in the
music. use of props,
screen texts,
background

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 music and
efficient slide
transitions.

Guide Questions :

1. What are context clues?

2. What is meant by local color?
3. How can context clues help the reader in getting meanings of words or expressions
that reflect local culture?
4. How does the use of local color promote the culture of a particular region or locality?
5. What specific steps can a reader do to build the skill on using context clues in
understanding word meaning?

Reflection

Complete this statement :

I have learned in this activity that

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________.

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References for Learners

Cruz, I., Sabanpan-Yu, H. et.al. (2019). Reading the Regions: Teaching Philippine Literature
from
Multi-Perspectives. National Committee on Literary Arts. Intramuros, Manila:
National Commission on Culture and the Arts
Gonzales, C., Francisco, N., De Vera, E., Yu, P. (2018). English for 21 st Century
Learning(Afro-Asian)
DepEd Textbook. Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Uychoco, MT. A. (2016). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World.
Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Sandicho, J., Santos, F., Saulo, C., Tumaneng, L. (2014). EnglishTek 8 African and Asian
Literature. Techfactors, Inc.
English 8 Learner’s Material
2010 Secondary education Curriculum(English II)

Zorfass, J., Gray, T. PowerUp WHAT WORKS. Using Context Clues to Understand Word
Meanings. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/using-context-
clues-understand-word-meanings
Context Clues. Retrieved from
https://www.mdc.edu/kendall/collegeprep/documents2/context%20cluesrev8192.pdf

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