Unit 5

Tackling Vocabulary in Comprehension

Deciphering Unfamiliar Vocabulary

• A very common problem, don’t be discouraged

• You can use a combination of techniques or
strategies to arrive at the meaning of a word
• While guessing the meaning, do pay attention
to the Word Form of the word you are
defining.
Noun > give meaning of its noun form
Verb > give meaning of its verb form
Strategy 1: Prefixes & Suffixes

• Working out the meaning of an unknown word by

looking at how the word has been formed.
• Words can be divided into three parts, and these
can often help us to understand their meaning.
These parts are called Prefix, Root and Suffix.
• Prefixes, root words and suffixes have meanings
in themselves, they can be used to understanding
the general sense of the words.
• Knowledge of the meaning of prefixes and
suffixes is extremely useful.
Strategy 1: Prefixes & Suffixes

• A prefix is placed at the start of a word to

form a new word with a changed meaning.
• A root or stem may be thought of as a base
word to which prefixes and suffixes are
added.
• A suffix is added to the end of a word to
form a new word with a changed meaning.
Strategy 1: Common Prefixes

Prefix Meaning Examples

Anti- Against, Opposite anticlimax, antiwar
Auto- Without help autobiography, autonomous
Co- Together coincide, cohabit
De-/Dis- (verb) The opposite of desensitise, discontinue
Ex- Out of; former exhale, exclude
Inter- Between inter-racial, interchangeable
Mis- Wrong; badly misconception, misbehave
Multi- Many multi-religious, multi-purpose
Over- Across; too much overheat, overindulge
Pre- Before premeditated, premature, prefix
 Strategy 1: Common Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Examples Related Noun Form

-able-/-ible able to be culpable, edible -bility

-ant, -ent quality, important, equidistant -ance, -ence
-ic, connected with economic, historic -
-ful full of playful, -fulness
-ion/-tion/- act of; state of expansion, contradiction -
sion
-less without, free heartless, restless -lessness
from
-ise (cause to) westernise, revolutionise -isation
become
-ment state of enjoyment -
-ness state of, quality humbleness, -
-hood state of, quality childhood, fatherhood -
Strategy 1: Exercising 5.1.2

We cannot allow you to resign your chairmanship,

as you are indispensable to our organisation.

Johnson and Ben are the antithesis of each other:

one is an extrovert; the other an introvert, and
people find it difficult to believe they are twins.

Immediately after World War II, the Allies protested

against the inhumane manner in which the Jews
had been treated in the concentration camps.
Strategy 1: Exercising 5.1.2

Disapprobation filled the entire board room when

the youngest member of the company threatened
to slap the experienced director with a vote of no
confidence.

One objection against capital punishment is that

should there be a miscarriage of justice, the wrong
cannot be redressed.
Strategy 2: Contextual Clueing

• If you can’t derive the meaning by looking at

the word structure due to the absence of
prefixes or suffixes, you can rely on the
context (i.e. the circumstances under which
things are said) in which the word occurs
• This involves making use of sentences
surrounding a word, as well as the sentence
in which the word itself is contained
Strategy 2: Contextual Clueing

Burger Model Paragraphs

• Expansion Techniques clarify the point being

made by the writer. They help to set the context
in which words appear, and so are useful to
examine when doing contextual clues.
• Through the study of the supporting details, you
will also be able to trace the links between the
sentences and come to a better conclusion on
what unknown words may mean.
Strategy 2: Contextual Clueing

• Definition of a term can found immediately after the word itself

• Illustration and Example

• Elaboration
• Reasons
• Cause & Effect
• Comparison & Contrast
• Restatement
• Attitude & Tone
• Key Ideas & Messages