DETERMINING MEANING FROM CONTEXT

BE AN ACTIVE READER

Active reading is one of the most important vocabulary and reading comprehension skill-building strategies you can employ, and it is a skill you can practice every day. As you read the daily newspaper, your favorite magazine, or a good book, have a dictionary handy. Look up as many unfamiliar words as you can so that your bank of vocabulary words becomes as large as it can be.

This may sound like a contradiction, but if you make a habit of taking the time to read carefully and actively, you will actually spend less time learning the meaning of new vocabulary words. By reading carefully, you will often be able to determine meaning from context. By reading actively, you will continually expand your bank of vocabulary words—and the bigger your word base, the more you will comprehend, and the less time you will spend looking up words.

Ever since you were learning your first words, you have been determining meaning from context. Context refers to the words and sentences that surround a particular word and help fix its meaning. For example, notice how the context of the sentence below helps give the word candor its meaning:

I admire Arun’s candor, but sometimes he can be a bit too honest.

Candor means:

a. attitude.

b. frank, sincere speech.

c. readiness to judge or criticize others.

d. comfort speaking in front of people.

e. irritability.

CONTEXT the words and sentences that surround a word or phrase and help convey its meaning Based on the context of the sentence, only b can be the correct answer. The speaker tells you that Arun is sometimes too honest, thus signifying that candor means frank, sincere speech—Arun tells people exactly what he thinks.

Exercises:

برای دیدن تمرینات و جوابشان ادامه را بزنید.

ادامه نوشته

A FEW FUN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR READING COMPREHENSION

Play word games

Today, crossword puzzles and other types of word game puzzles entertain native and non-native English speakers of all ages. If you’re looking for a way to improve your vocabulary and have fun at the same time, these types of puzzles can be of immense help to you. If this is something that interests you, you might also consider Scrabble, word searches and other similar games.

Take a speed reading course

If you aren’t interested in word games, you might want to try taking a course in speed reading. These lessons will teach you how to pick key words out of a paragraph and understand the message without having to read each sentence word for word. That is, if you’re having difficulty isolating nouns and verbs, you may need to practice more before you try taking these courses.

Take notes on subjects that interest you

If you’re reading a book on a topic that you enjoy, take some notes. These can be verbatim samples from the text or you can try putting sections in your own words. As you write, you’ll also have an opportunity to think about the sentence structures and see how ideas are conveyed. This will help you learn to discuss these topics in a way that sounds more natural.

Select materials that will challenge you

Just like physical exercise, you need to constantly set new goals for yourself so that you continue to progress and improve. For example, if you’re able to work your way through a 100 page children’s book, it’s time to start tackling a longer book or one on a more difficult topic. Regardless of which subjects interest you the most, you’ll be able to find some books that are harder to comprehend than others. By applying yourself to the ones that are more difficult, you’ll gain increased mastery over written English.

Read materials from many different authors

Considering the number of people that have websites, it’s easy to sample a wide range of English writing styles. This will help you to learn about the flexibility of the English language, as well as the means of expression that most people are comfortable with. If you already know a great deal about  a certain topic in your native language, you can use that background to help you read websites in English that focus on similar concepts.

For the most part, once you know the basic elements of the English language, practice and time will be your most valuable teacher. It’s important to spend time reading materials that interest you in as many forms as possible – and to spice up your practice with things like word games and speed reading classes. Over time – and with hard work – you’ll see dramatic improvements in your comprehension of written English.

روشهايي براي تقويت مهارت شنيداري

Listening Tips

Does this situation seem familiar to you? Your English is progressing well, the grammar is now familiar, the reading comprehension is no problem, you are communicating quite fluently, but: Listening is STILL a problem!

First of all, remember that you are not alone. Listening comprehension is probably the most difficult task for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. So, now you know you are not alone....! OK. The most important thing is to listen, and that means as often as possible. The next step is to find listening resources. This is where the Internet really comes in handy as a tool for English students. First you need to:

• Download The RealPlayerfrom RealMedia.com

The RealPlayer allows you to listen to RealAudio and use the Internet like a radio station. Many sites now also provide listening using the Windows Media Player - or even have their own players on the site. Once you have the RealPlayer you can begin to listen to English as it is used in everyday life. The possibilities are almost unlimited. You can:

• Listen to All Things Considered news stories on NPR
• Listen to the BBC.

Strategies

Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated by limited understanding. What should you do?

Here is some of the advice I give my students:

• Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.
• Keep cool when you do not understand - even if you continue to not understand for a long time.
• Do not translate into your native language
• Listen for the gist of the conversation. Don't concentrate on detail until you have understood the main ideas.

Translating creates a barrier between yourself and the person who is speaking

While you are listening to another person speaking a foreign language, the temptation is to immediately translate into your native language. This temptation becomes much stronger when you hear a word you don't understand. This is only natural as we want to understand everything that is said. However, when you translate into your native language, you are taking the focus of your attention away from the speaker and concentrating on the translation process taking place in your brain. This would be fine if you could put the speaker on hold. In real life however, the person continues talking while you translate. This situation obviously leads to less -not more- understanding. I have discovered that translation leads to a kind of block  in the brain which sometimes doesn't allow one to understand anything at all!

Most people repeat themselves

Think for a moment about your friends, family and colleagues. When they speak in your native tongue, do they repeat themselves? I don't mean literally, I mean the general idea. If they are like most people I have met, they probably do. That means that whenever you listen to someone speaking, it is very likely that he/she will repeat the information, giving you a second, third or even fourth chance to understand what has been said.

By remaining calm, allowing yourself to not understand, and not translating while listening, your brain is free to concentrate on the most important thing: Understanding English in English.

Tips

• Listen to something you enjoy

Probably the greatest advantage about using the Internet to improve your listening skills is that you can choose what you would like to listen to and how many and times you would like to listen to it. By listening to something you enjoy, you are also likely to know a lot more of the vocabulary required!

• Listen for Keywords

Use keywords (noun=principal words) or key phrases to help you understand the general ideas. If you understand "New York", "business trip", "last year" you can assume (verb=to take for granted, suppose) that the person is speaking about a business trip to New York last year. This may seem obvious to you, but remember that understanding the main idea will help you to understand the detail as the person continues to speak.

• Listen for Context

Let's imagine that your English speaking friend says "...I bought this great tunerat JR's. It was really cheap and now I can finally listen to National Public Radio broadcasts." You don't understand what a tuner is. If you focus on the word tuner you might become frustrated. However, if you think in context (noun=the situation explained during the conversation) you probably will understand. For example; bought is the past of buy, listen is no problem and radio is obvious. Now you understand: He bought something - the tuner- to listen to the radio. A tuner must be a kind of radio! This is a simple example but it demonstrates what you need to focus on: Not the word that you don't understand, but the words you do understand.

Summary

It might seem to you that my ideas on how to listen encourage you to not understand everything. This is absolutely correct. One hundred percent understanding is something to work towards(phrasal verb=to have as a goal, a plan for the future) and not to expect of yourself now. Listening needs a great amount of practice and patience. Allow yourself the luxury of not becoming nervous when you do not understand, and you will be surprised by how quickly you do begin to understand.

Listening often is the most important way to improve your listening skills. Enjoy the listening possibilities offered by the Internet and remember relax......