VOCABULARY AND READING

85% COVERAGE Americans have been making _______ since the first European settlers found wild ________ on the East Coast. But until recently the results of their efforts often came closer to ________ than they did to ________ _________. American ______ make good eating, but disappointing _______, so planters including Thomas Jefferson experimented with ____ ______.

100% COVERAGE Americans have been making wine since the first European settlers found wild grapes on the East Coast. But until recently the results of their efforts often came closer to vinegar than they did to premier cru. American grapes make good eating, but disappointing wine, so planters including Thomas Jefferson experimented with traditional vinifera.

VOCABULARY THRESHOLD Marks the boundary between having and not having enough language knowledge for successful language use. If the learner has not crossed the threshold, adequate comprehension is not possible.

VOCABULARY SIZE (NATION, 2006) Novel 8,000 to 9,000 words Newspaper 8,000 words Graded reader level 3, 3,000 words Academic article around 5,000 words

GUESSING WORDS FROM CONTEXT Critical factor: 98% threshold. Learner skill It’s a cumulative procedure. Context has to be rich enough to offer clues for meaning

IDEAL THRESHOLD Minimum coverage – 95% : 1 in every 20 words. To read for pleasure 98%-99% coverage.

DIFFICULTY OF INFERENCING It is the purpose of many presidential trips abroad to raise vague hopes and obscure intractable local realities, so it should come as no surprise if Clinton has made a vow that he cannot fulfill. What is the meaning of “intractable”?

Sandra had won the dance contest and the audience’s cheers brought her to the stage for an encore. “Every step she takes is so perfect and graceful,” said Ginny ______________, as she watched Sandra dance.

Sandra had won the dance contest and the audience’s cheers brought her to the stage for an encore. “Every step she takes is so perfect and graceful,” said Ginny grudgingly, as she watched Sandra dance.

AIDS IN GUESSING Local clues close to the unknown word are more helpful than global clues. Background knowledge of the topic helps guess Learners may mistake an unknown word for one they already know – misinterpretation

HOW MUCH VOCABULARY IS LEARNED FROM CONTEXT? Research studies show incidental learning from context is very low. A study showed 1 in 5 words learned (Horst, Cobb, Meara, 1998) Other studies show if learners don’t have the concept in their L1 – they can’t guess the word.

LEARNING FORM AND ATTENTION DRAWING ACTIVITIES. Pre testing Pre teaching Seeing a list before reading Highlighting the words in the text

Glossary Defining through pre-teaching Defining while students listen to the text. Look up in dictionary Hyper text look up