III. Some strategies for Reading 3.1 Understanding vocabulary A good vocabulary is the most essential to read effectively.

The more words and their shades of meaning you know the more effective your reading will be. (Knight, 1992, p.3) 3.1.1 Using contextual meaning According to Lin (2005, 5 strategies to determine meaning of new words Section 1), when encountering an unfamiliar word, its meaning can be figured out from helpful clues in the context. He also suggested some ways to identify cues and clues such as synonyms and antonyms, verbs and punctuation. Baumann, J.F, Font, G., Edwards, E.C, & Boland, E. (2005) showed a brief chart to list the different types of clues
Figure 88 Types of Context Clues Type of Context Clue Definition What To Look For A definition in the sentence Signal Words Is, are, is called, means, or Signal punctuation: Set off by commas Sample Sentence Brick made of sundried clay is called adobe. The Native Americans used adobe, or bricks made of sun-dried clay, to build their homes. The Zuni built their homes with brick made of sun-dried clay. The Hopi also used adobe to build their homes. The Hopi lived in single-family houses, but the Iroquois lived in longhouses.

Synonym

A word with a similar meaning to the unknown word

Also, as, like, same, similarly, too

Antonym

A word or phrase with the opposite meaning of the unknown word

But, however, in contrast, on the other hand, though, unlike

3.1.2 Analyzing word parts Hall (2002, p.71) mentioned that parts of word including prefixes, roots and suffixes can be analyzed to decode the meaning. An example of the word conventional was also given to illustrate the possibility of this method. Prefix Contogether Root ven come Suffix -tion act of

Three lists of 20 common prefixes, suffixes and roots demonstrated by Carroll, J. B., Davies, P., & Richman, B. (1971) are helpful for learners to understand word meaning:
Figure 83. Common Prefixes. PREFIX UnReim-, in-, il-, ir% of All Prefixed Words 26 14 11 MEANING Not, opposite of Again Not EXAMPLES Unaware, unbelievable, unsure Redo, replay Impossible, incapable, illogical, irregular Dishonest, disgraceful, discover Enable, emblaze Nonstick, nonfiction, nonexistent Inject Overtime, overeat Misunderstand, misuse Subsurface, subway Prepay, preschool International, interact Forethought Decaffeinated, dehydrate Transatlantic

DisEn-, emNonIn-, imOverMisSubPreInterForeDeTrans-

7 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2

Not, opposite of Cause to Not In, into Too much Wrongly Under Before Between Before Opposite of Across

SuperSemiAntiMidUnderAll others

1 1 1 1 1

Above Half Against Middle Too little 3

Superhero, supermodel Semiannual, semicolon Antiwar, antisocial Midyear, midnight Underweight, underpaid

Figure 84. Common Suffixes. SUFFIX % OF ALL SUFFIXED WORDS 31 20 14 7 PART OF SPEECH Plural of noun Past tense of verb Progressive tense of verb Usually an adverb; sometimes an adjective Noun (agent) Noun Adjective Adjective Adjective Abstract noun Noun Noun Adjective Adjective Verb Adjective EXAMPLES

-s, -es -ed -ing -ly

Cats, boxes Sailed Jumping, racing Slowly, lovely

-er, -or (agent) -tion, -ation, -ition -able, -ible -al, -ial -y -ness -ity, -ty -ment -ic -ous, -eous, -ious -en -er (comparative)

4 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Runner, professor Action, transition, vacation Lovable, incredible Global, logical, partial Funny Kindness Activity Merriment Historic Hideous, spacious Quicken, thicken Bigger

-ive, -ative, -tive -ful -less -est

1 1 1 1

Adjective Adjective Adjective Adjective

Alternative, pensive Wonderful Effortless Strongest

Figure 85. Common Latin and Greek Roots. ROOT aud Latin ORIGIN Hear MEANING EXAMPLES Auditorium, audition, audience, audible, audiovisual Astronaut, astronomy, asterisk, asteroid, astrology Biology, biography, biochemistry Intercept, accept, reception Dictation, dictate, predict, contradict, dictator Conduct, induct Geography, geology, geometry, geophysics Autograph, biography, photograph Eject, reject, projectile, inject Thermometer, barometer, centimeter, diameter Miniature, minimum, minimal Mission, transmit, missile, dismiss, submit Pedal, pedestal,

astro

Greek

Star

bio cept dict

Greek Latin Latin

Life Take Speak or tell

duct geo graph ject meter

Latin Greek Greek Latin Greek

Lead Earth Write Throw Measure

min mit or mis

Latin Latin

Little or small Send

ped

Latin

Foot

pedestrian phon Greek Sound Telephone, symphony, microphone, phonics, phoneme Transport, portable, import, export, porter Disrupt, erupt, rupture, interrupt, bankrupt Scribble, scribe, inscribe, describe, prescribe, manuscript, prescription, script, transcript, scripture Inspect, suspect, respect, spectacle, spectator Construct, destruct, instruct, structure Telephone, telegraph, teleport Traction, tractor, attract, subtract, extract Reverse, inverse

port rupt scrib or script

Latin Latin Latin

Carry Break Write

spect

Latin

See

struct tele tract

Latin Greek Latin

Build or form From afar Pull

vers

Latin

Turn

3.1.3 Using dictionary The most effective and necessary tool for English learners is obviously the dictionary. Dowling (2001, Why should we teach dictionary skills ) mentioned some advantages of using dictionary

It gives students greater control over their own learning, and shifts the responsibility of learning to the student. It helps students to disentangle information in the dictionary by making things explicit to them. Dictionaries naturally generate a great deal of thinking about meaning and language. If they can use dictionaries well, there will be minimal classroom disruption because teachers can rely on students to get the correct meaning. Dictionaries can provide useful support not simply when teachers are in doubt about something but when they want students to confirm their own suppositions about something in English. Dictionaries can serve as a focus for communication and classroom interaction.

Dictionary training can help students explore personal preferences and learning styles and may also lead students to new modes of study. Knight (1992, p.17) added that an effective reader needed to explore all of the features in dictionaries.

Entry word: English learners often find words broken into syllables in dictionaries and followed by phonetic transcription and parts of speech. For example, shave verb / ev /

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary Spelling: Most dictionaries offer not only the common spelling of words but also show some other accepted spellings. They even provide learners with the forms of plural, irregular verb forms and also comparison forms. Several examples can be found in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, for example: hoof noun hoof / hu:f $ hf, hu:f / plural hoofs or hooves / hu:vz $ hvz, hu:vz / A sentence or phrase showing how the word is used: the following example is originated from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. handle verb handle / hndl / DO WORK [transitive] to do the things that are necessary to complete a job Ex: The case is being handled by a top lawyer.