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Reading

A. Dealing with Difficult Words

Task 1

Discuss:

What do you do when you come across a word that you do not know when you are reading?Discuss the possible steps you could take to help you understand more of what you arereading.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

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Dealing with Difficult Words

When you are looking for meaning, you often get it despite an unfamiliar word. Sometimes,

however, a strange word makes you slow down or even stop because you have lost the author's

meaning. Such a word deserves attention. How much attention it deserves depends mostly on your

reading purpose.

The first step is to note the word mentally, or make a pencil mark in the margin, and read

on. Going on prevents further interruption of the author's thought. It also gives you a chance to

find out whether the rest of the passage makes the meaning clear enough for your purposes. When

reading for pleasure, you can usually learn enough about a word from its context. It is more

important to go on enjoying the book than to find out how the dictionary defines every new word.

The second step is to return to troublesome words after completing a passage, and try to work

out what each one means; the need for this step increases with the amount of comprehension

required. Saying the word aloud may help you to recognise it as one you have heard and then to

recall how it was used. If this fails, you can often make an intelligent guess based on what you

have learned from reading the whole passage; another look at the context may confirm or improve

upon the guess.

A knowledge of common prefixes, roots and suffixes helps too. By analysing the parts of a

word, you can often work out the whole meaning. With practice you can learn to recognise new words

as 'relatives' of familiar ones: e.g. familyfamiliarand dictionarydictatepredict contradict.

When you make a real effort in these various ways to work out the meaning for yourself, you

not only understand the word better, but you remember it better too along with the way it has

been used. Even if you decide to look up the word, the thinking you have done will help you to get

maximum benefit from consulting the dictionary.

The third step, using the dictionary, is important for two kinds of words. The first group

consists of words which must be understood to understand the rest of the passage adequately. Basic

terms in a textbook belong to this group. The second group consists of words you know you have met

before but still do not fully understand. If you come across a word three times, then clearly it is a word

you should master.

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Your first aim when you have located the word is to find the meaning which fits the context

in which you have met it. You should compare this with your own definition and note the

difference. Having looked up the word, however, you should learn all you can about it. This small

extra effort may save you the trouble of looking it up again, and may yield information which will

help you attack other words.

For example, note other meanings of the word. Check on the pronunciation, for you may

hesitate to use the word if you are unsure of how to say it. If the word has synonyms you know, try to

discover the slight differences in meaning. Note how the word can be changed to form some

other part of speech, e.g. appropriateappropriately.

Finally, record important words and terms, with sample phrases or sentences using each

one correctly. You can keep a glossary at the back of each subject notebook, or a set of

cards / slips. Use odd moments to test yourself on what you have recorded. Improving your

vocabulary and word attack skills in these ways should bring significant improvement also in

reading speed and comprehension.

From: Floyd, J. (2007). Study Skills for Higher Education: English for Academic Success. Selangor August Publishing

B. Dealing with Difficult Words

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Understanding Prefixes and Suffixes

In the English language, you can change the meaning of some words by adding prefixes (extra

letters at the beginning of words). There are 14 prefixes which are very important. Why are

these 14 prefixes important? According to Richard E. Hodges of the University of Puget Soundin a booklet titled: "Improving Spelling and Vocabulary in Secondary School" published by the

NCTE in 1982; page 30:

"If you were to examine the 20,000 most used English words, you would find that about 5,000

of them contain prefixes and that 82% (about 4,100) of those words use one of only fourteen

different prefixes out of all the available prefixes in the language."Therefore, understanding

how the prefixes change the meanings of words will help you to be able to work out the

meanings of words with these prefixes.

In this section, you will be gradually introduced to these prefixes, after which you will

practice through a series of quizzes which will help you to apply your knowledge contextually.

Task 2:Fill in the blanks with the correct meaning of the prefixes.

over means ______toomuch_________

excited (adj.) overexcited

spend (v.) overspendconfident (adj.) overconfident

super means _____more thanusual__________

market (n) supermarket

natural (adj, n) supernaturalhero (n) superhero

multi means_____many__________

layered (adj) multilayered

tasking (n) multitaskingpurpose (n) multi-purpose

out means ____over than whatu expect_____________

run (v) outrunsell (v) outsellgrow (v) outgrow

non means ____not________

verbal (adj) non-verbalsmoking (adj) non-smokingreturnable (adj)- non-returnable

in means_______not_____________

competent (adj) incompetentconvenient (adj) inconvenientexpensive (adj)- inexpensive

im means ____not________

possible (adj) impossiblepatient (adj) impatientperfect (adj)- imperfect

il means ____not_________

legal (adj) illegallegible (adj) illegiblelogical (adj) - illogical

ir means_____not____________

replaceable (adj) irreplaceableresponsible (adj) irresponsiblerelevant (adj) - irrelivant

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This exercise is based on the nine prefixes of the previous exercise.

For each of the six questions choose the correct words to complete the sentence:

1. She can talk on the phone, type an email and listen to music all at the same time.

She's good at (multitasking / supertasking /out-tasking )

2. He's difficult to work for. He makes loads of silly mistakes and loses his tempereasily. He is (impatient / unpatient ) and (incompetent /imcompetent)

3. The hotel is a long way from the city centre but it's so cheap we think we'll book it. It's(nonconvenient / inconvenient ) and (inexpensive / outexpensive).

4. I took this toothpaste back to the (multi-market / supermarket) where I bought it but they told meit

was (non-returnable / irreturnable ) and wouldn't give me my money back.

5. You can't smoke in this building which can be used for business meetings or as a (super-purpose

multi- purpose), (non-smoking / unsmoking) community hall.

6. He says he has (overnatural /supernatural) powers and can talk to ghosts but I think it's (inpossible /impossible)to communicate with the dead.

Task 3: More Exercises

Fill in the blanks with the correct meaning of the prefixes.

remeans _________repeat/again_____

count recount (v): check the results of a competition or election againdo redo (v): do something againsit resit (v): take an exam again because you failed it the first time you took it

outmeans ______more than___________run outrun (v): run faster that someone or something elsefox outfox (v): get an advantage over someone by being more clever or more cunning thathim/herdated outdated (adj): out-of-date or no longer suitable for modern purposes

minimeans ______small_______series miniseries (n): series of programmes broadcast over a short period of time

bus minibus (n): small busskirt miniskirt (n): short skirt

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micromeans ____tiny____________electronics microelectronics (n): the study, science or manufacture of very small electronicparts for computers etc.surgery microsurgery (n): medical operations that are done using very small pieces ofequipment and powerful microscopesbrewery micro brewery (n): small independent business that produces small amounts of

special beers

undermeans __less/not enough______________paid underpaid (adj): not getting enough money for the work you are doingcooked undercooked (adj): not cooked for long enoughstaffed understaffed (adj): with not enough workers to do a particular job quickly orefficiently

malmeans __wrng,not well treatedtreat maltreat (v): deal with someone in a cruel or bad wayfunction malfunction (v): not work properly or not work at allnourished malnourished (adj): becoming ill because you have not eaten enough food or the

right food

mismeans _wrongcount miscount (v): wrongly calculate a numberfire misfire (v): not work properly (about a gun or engine)fit misfit (n): a person who doesn't belong in a group because he or she acts differently toothers in the group

Exercise:This exercise is based on the seven prefixes of the previous exercise.

For each of the six questions choose the correct words to complete the sentence:

1. There are too many of us to fit in the car. I think we're going to have to hire a__________ forthe holiday.a. minibusb. microbusc. underbusd. misbus

2. A spokesperson says the spacecraft ___________ during its launch yesterday.a. misfunctionedb. misfiredc. malfunctionedd. was malnourished

3. Even though she's ___________ she stays there because she loves the work so much.a. understaffedb. underpaidc. paid underd. misfired

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4. Waiter! This food is awful. The potatoes are completely ____________ and the steak is cold.a. misfiredb. maltreatedc. undercookedd. malnourished

5. I'm glad my doctor is an expert in __________. That means I won't have much of a scar aftermy operation.a. minisurgeryb. microsurgeryc. micro brewingd. very small microsurgery

6. The election officials said there have been a _____________ and that they will be holding the_______ later today.a. undercount / recountb. miscount / recountc. miscount / malcountd. recount / miscount

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C. All in the Family

Words are learnt more easily when they are grouped according to word families (semanticgroups). The brain groups seems to group these words according to their relationships within

topical areas. In this activity, we will learn groups of words which are related topicallythrough a series of quizzes.

Task 1:Fill in the blanks with words which are related to the theme Environment

The Environment

environmental

relating to the natural world

and the effect humans haveon it

the environment

the natural world, including

the air, water and land in oron which people, animalsand plants live

environmentallyfriendly / greendesigned not to damage or

harm the environment

environmentalistperson who wants to protectthe environment from beingdamaged by humanactivities

1. We need to do more to protect ____the environment________________ from

pollution.

2. Using cars and burning coal are examples of things that may cause -

______environmental____________ problems for all of us in the future.

3. He says using ________environmentally friendly/green________________ washing

powder means that fewer chemicals go into our waterways every year.

4. She's very green, she never drives a car. She bikes everywhere.

5. She's an________________environmentalist_________. She believes that planting

trees will help slow down global warming.

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Environment Problems

the greenhouseeffectan increase in the amount ofcarbon dioxide and other

gases in the atmospherewhich the majority ofscientists think causes globalwarming

global warming /climate changehuman-caused increase in theglobal temperature. Scientists

prefer to use the term'climate change' becausesome parts of the world maybecome colder rather thanwarmer

carbon footprint

an individual's ororganisation's total output of

carbon dioxide and othergreenhouse gases caused bytheir everyday actions

pollutiondamage caused to water, air,etc. by harmful substances orwaste

1. She's been on three international flights this year, so she's worried about her carbon

footprint

2. Pollution from cars, factories and planes all contribute to what's known as the

greenhouse effect

3. We need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions so that we can reduce the threat of

global warming/climate change

4. Many of the workers complained that the pollution from the factories was making

them ill.

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Environment Solutionsrecyclecollect and treat rubbish toproduce useful materialswhich can be used again

conserve energy /electricity / powerkeep and protectsomething from waste

organicnot using artificial chemicalsin the growing of plants orraising animals for food andother products

a bottle banka large container whichpeople put empty bottles andother glass objects into sothat the glass can be usedagain

wind farma place where wind turbines (tall structures with blades thatare blown round by the wind) are used to produce electricityfrom the power of the wind

1. We use the _______bottle bank______________in town to recycle our green, brown

and clear bottles.

2. It's possible to _______recycle_______________plastic drink cups to make pencils.

3. Even though _________organic_____________food is a bit more expensive I think it

tastes so much better because they don't use any chemicals in making it.

4. To______conserve energy/electricity ________________, he turned his central

heating down and wore more clothes instead.

5. Everyone says they think _______wind farm__________ are a good idea but no-one

actually wants them near their house because they make such a racket.

Adapted from:http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode182/index.shtml

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