UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI
Maiduguri, Nigeria
CENTRE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
ARTS
ENG 201: READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY
DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
ENG 201 –
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Published
2007©
UNIT: 2
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by
mimeograph or any other means without prior permission in writing from the
University of Maiduguri.
This text forms part of the learning package for the academic programme of the
Centre for Distance Learning, University of Maiduguri.
Further enquiries should be directed to the:
Coordinator
Centre for Distance Learning
University of Maiduguri
P. M. B. 1069
Maiduguri, Nigeria.
This text is being published by the authority of the Senate, University of
Maiduguri, Maiduguri – Nigeria.
ISBN:
978-8133-
ii
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 201 –
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
PREFACE
This study unit has been prepared for learners so that they can do most of the
study on their own. The structure of the study unit is different from that of
conventional textbook. The course writers have made efforts to make the study
material rich enough but learners need to do some extra reading for further
enrichment of the knowledge required.
The learners are expected to make best use of library facilities and where feasible,
use the Internet. References are provided to guide the selection of reading
materials required.
The University expresses its profound gratitude to our course writers and editors
for making this possible. Their efforts will no doubt help in improving access to
University education.
Professor J. D. Amin
Vice-Chancellor
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CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 201 –
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT
You are welcome to this study Unit. The unit is arranged to simplify your
study. In each topic of the unit, we have introduction, objectives, in-text,
summary and self-assessment exercise.
The study unit should be 6-8 hours to complete. Tutors will be available at
designated contact centers for tutorial. The center expects you to plan your work
well. Should you wish to read further you could supplement the study with more
information from the list of references and suggested readings available in the
study unit.
PRACTICE EXERCISES/TESTS
1. Self-Assessment Exercises (SAES)
This is provided at the end of each topic. The exercise can help you to
assess whether or not you have actually studied and understood the topic.
Solutions to the exercises are provided at the end of the study unit for you to
assess yourself.
2. Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMA)
This is provided at the end of the study Unit. It is a form of examination
type questions for you to answer and send to the center. You are expected to work
on your own in responding to the assignments. The TMA forms part of your
continuous assessment (C.A.) scores, which will be marked and returned to you.
In addition, you will also write an end of Semester Examination, which will be
added to your TMA scores.
Finally, the center wishes you success as you go through the different units
of your study.
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CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 201 –
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
In this study unit, you will be introduced to reading comprehension and
vocabulary development. This course is designed to equip you with advanced reading
and comprehension skills as well as vocabulary development.
The main aim of teaching you
reading comprehension and vocabulary
development is to enable you acquire functional vocabulary and effective
comprehension skills in order to equip you with the English proficiency necessary
for self- fulfillment as writers of articles, speeches and other original outputs that
facilitate self- employment. For this reason, the course is organized around three
topics:
TOPIC 1: Reading comprehension, preparing to read, understanding written
information and use of connectives in English.
TOPIC 2: Reading skills, focusing on the types of reading as well as how to
avoid impediments to fast reading.
TOPIC 3:
Reading and vocabulary development, focusing on the use of
dictionary as the last report for finding the meaning of a word , understanding word
meaning and collocation, using word analysis as well as recognizing word relations.
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READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
ENG 201 – READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT UNIT: 2
T A B L E O F C O N T E N TS
PAGES
PREFACE
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HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT -
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1:
READING COMPREHENSION -
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2:
READING SKILLS
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3:
READING AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT -
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INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
TOPIC
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SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES
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READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
TOPIC 1:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
1.0
TOPIC: READING COMPREHENSION
1.1
INTRODUCTION
1.2
OBJECTIVES
1.3
IN-TEXT
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1.3.1 WHAT IS READING COMPREHENSION?
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1.3.2 PREPARING TO READ
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1.3.3 ANTICIPATING CONTENT -
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1.3.4 PREDICTING KEY WORDS AND MEANING -
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1.3.5 UNDERSTANDING WRITTEN INFORMATION
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1.3.6 RECOGNIZING THE WRITER’S ORGANIZATION
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1.3.7 USING DIAGRAMS FOR UNDERSTANDING TEXTS -
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1.3.8 USE OF CONNECTIVES IN ENGLISH
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1.4
SUMMARY -
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1.5
SELF- ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
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1.6
REFERENCES
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1.7
SUGGESTED READING
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1.0
TOPIC: READING COMPREHENSION
1.1
INTRODUCTION:
UNIT: 2
In this study unit, we shall learn about reading comprehension
1.2
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
Define and explain what is reading comprehension.
ii.
Know how to prepare to read
iii.
Understand written information and
iv.
Use of connectives in English
1.3
IN-TEXT
1.3.1 WHAT IS READING COMPREHENSION?
According to Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997), reading is an essential
implement for the acquisition of all kinds of human knowledge. Reading is also a
means where by information stored in books can be obtained and used for a variety
of purposes.
Every academic work, for instance, involves reading. Reading is therefore a
characteristic of every
academic work. As students, you must learn to read
efficiently in order to acquire knowledge and skills in your chosen fields of study.
Reading has also been described as a process of recreating texts in readers’ minds
(Walter 1982). In other words , the reader modifies his world view based on the view
presented in texts.
The word comprehension is an abstract noun formed from the verb “to
comprehend” and which means “to understand”. Comprehension according to
Otagburuagu et al (1996), therefore, entails understanding written information.
Comprehension may take place at three different levels. These are the level of
basic information or fact, the level of interpreting relationships or inference and the
level of projection in which the understanding of the text goes beyond the
immediate. Pryse (1984) says that a reader must use his or her power of
comprehension whenever he or she reads anything, whether it is a word or just an
advertisement.
1.3.2 PREPARING TO READ
Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997), observe that one of the problems
associated with reading comprehension is failure to define clearly the purpose for
reading a text or a book before the actual reading is done. Before starting to read a
text, it is necessary that you should be certain about the purpose for reading it. As a
reader, you should clearly define the reason for reading it. Generally, students seek
information from written texts in order to obtain answers to specific questions,
develop lecture notes , write examinations, essays , projects and laboratory reports.
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Defining the purpose for reading a particular text enables you to determine
the relevance of the text, thus saving yourself a lot of time that might have been spent
in reading irrelevant material. By setting a definite purpose you will be able to
determine how to read a chosen text. For example, to obtain specific information
from classified advertisement in a local newspaper, you need not study the whole
material. What you should do is to scan the text to locate the required information.
On the other hand, if you set out to write a research paper, you will have to study
carefully the text you have chosen to read.
1.3.3 ANTICIPATING CONTENT
After defining your purpose for reading a text, the next thing to do is to
preview the text so as to anticipate the content by means of questioning. Prequestioning the text enables you get the hint of what to expect, in a text . It gives you
a sense of purpose too.
1.3.4 PREDICTING KEY WORDS AND MEANING
Another pre-reading activity is to predict key words and meanings in a text
before reading it. You can also visualize the content and the method or approach
adopted by the writer before actually reading the text.
The British council in 1979 observed that predicting as much as you can about
what you are reading will help you read more fluently. For example, the title of a
book, article or passage tells you the topic of what you will read. You should use
your own knowledge of subjects in texts to predict as much as you can about the
contents. As Grellet (1981) mentions, predicting is a skill which involves guessing
what is to come next making use of grammatical , logical and cultural clues.
1.3.5 UNDERSTANDING WRITTEN INFORMATION
Reading for academic purpose implies reading a particular piece of information and
understanding it. According to Grellet (1981) , understanding a written text means
extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible . For example,
you apply different reading techniques when looking at a notice board for an
advertisement of a particular type of flat and when carefully reading an article of
special interest in a scientific journal. Reading therefore will not be successful if you
do not understand the information in a given text.
1.3.6 RECOGNIZING THE WRITER’S ORGANIZATION
In trying to understand written information fully, you should recognize the
writer’s intention , the subject mater , and the strategy used for organizing the text.
You can use questions such as the following as means of recognizing a writer’s
method of organizing a text:
a)
What is the writer’s intention?
b)
Does he set out to give scientific information or to express an opinion?
c)
Does the passage have an introductory part, development, a
conclusion?
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d)
e)
f)
1.3.7
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
What are each of the parts contributing to the whole material?
How many ideas are developed and where can these be located in the
text?
How is each developed?
USING DIAGRAMS FOR UNDERSTANDING TEXTS
Writers often use Diagrams, Pictures and tables to convey information or to
illustrate the idea being developed. Diagrams and other illustrations form part of
reading matter when they accompany texts. Diagrams often used in academic texts
include cross- sections, graph lists, flowcharts , and illustrative drawing . This meets
your need as a reader to visualize and summarize written information.
It is important that as students you should make use of diagrams pictures and
other forms of illustration that accompany academic texts. You need to study them
carefully until every detail is understand.
1.3.8 USE OF CONNECTIVES IN ENGLISH
When reading, you should pay attention to the types of connectives the writer
uses in a paragraph or passage and how he uses them connectives are linking words
or devices that help the reader to understand the subject which the writer discusses
because they indicate logical relationship between ideas in a paragraph or passage
(Otagburuagu et al, 1996 and Chukwuma and Otagburuagu, 1997). They also
provide smooth flowing continuity and coherence of ideas in a paragraph or
passage. Connectives in English also referred to as textual connectors act as
signposts to help the reader find his way through a passage. Examples of the
functions of connectives in English are:
1)
a)
Listing (indicates a cataloguing of what is said) e.g first, firstly,
secondly, thirdly, furthermore, finally, one, two, three, above all, first
and foremast etc.
b)
Addition (to what has been previously indicated) e.g also, again,
moreover, besides, in addition, etc.
2)
Transition (can lead to a new stage in the sequence of thought) e.g now, with
reference to, with regard to , etc.
3)
Summary (indicates a generalization or summing-up of what has preceded)
e.g in conclusion, to conclude, to sum up, briefly, to summarize, altogether ,
overall, then, therefore , thus.
4)
Apposition (used to refer back to previous sentences or to parallel or related
references) e.g that is , ie, that is to say, VIZ, namely, in other words, or, or
rather, or better, and, as follows, for example, for instance , such as, including,
especially, particularly, in particular, mainly, notably etc.
5)
Result (expresses the consequence or result of what was said before) eg. So,
therefore, as a result, consequences, the result/accordingly, consequently,
now, then, because, because of this /that , thus, hence, for this/that reason.
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6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
1.4
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
Inference (indicates an inference from what is implication of the preceding
sentences) e.g. then, in other words, in that case, else, otherwise, if so/not,
that implies, my conclusion is better , rather etc.
Reformulation (to express as another way) e.g to put it more simply etc.
Comparison (to indicate similarity to what was said before) e.g similarly, in a
similar vein, in the same vein etc.
Contrast (to indicate contrast to the preceding idea e.g. on the contrary, in
contrast to, on the other hand, conversely, etc.
Concession (to indicate agreement to the preceding idea) e.g However, all the
same, etc.
SUMMARY
Reading is an essential tool for the acquisition of knowledge and a
characteristic feature of every academic work. Comprehension implies understanding
written information and takes place at the levels of basic fact, inference and
projection.
Preparing to read involves setting purpose and selecting relevant texts,
previewing the text by questioning to anticipate content, guessing key words and
meaning in the light of grammatical, logical and cultural clues as well as visualizing
the content and the method employed by the writer in writing the text.
Understanding written information means extracting the needed information
from the text as efficiently as possible. You can achieve this by recognizing the
writer’s intention, the subject- matter, the strategy for organizing a text as well as by
understanding diagrams, pictures and tables to illustrate the idea being developed in
the passage.
The use of connectives in English helps you in understanding a text because
they indicate logical relationship between the ideas in a passage as well as produce
smooth flowing continuity and coherence.
1.5
SELF- ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
1.
2.
Write down the kind of reading material which the following activities
would probably involve:
a)
A school leaver seeking information on available jobs and
academic opportunities
b)
A postgraduate student planning to do research in his field
c)
A student preparing for an examination
d)
A student preparing a report on an experiment in his field
e)
A student seeking information about the meaning of some key
words occurring in reading material
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow it:
“The nation is the most important form of society in existence
today. The men of very early times had family societies, Greece
had town societies, but these days the world is broken up into
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nations like the British , the Indians, the Americans and the
Nigerians.
“All the men and women of a nation are under the
authority of one Government.
“A Government makes laws and comes to decisions on
public questions. It does the nation’s political business. Part of
this business- and possibly the most important part- is to say
what is to be done with the nation’s money. In most countries
men make money chiefly for themselves, but some of this money
has to be taken by the Government for public purpose such as
road building and supporting public services such as hospitals,
libraries, and schools as well as for maintaining an army for
defense. The Government gets its money through taxation.
“When more money is needed by the government it puts
on a new tax or makes the old taxes higher. Sometimes goods
such as sugar , tea and tobacco are taxed and this naturally puts
the price up. Sometimes the amount of money people earn in a
year is taxed. We are generally not very pleased to hear that
there is to be a new tax.
“In some countries more money is used for public
purposes than in others. In Britain, for example, every child is
offered a free education from the primary school to the
University , if he shows that he has the ability for higher
education. So a child can go through his or her entire
educational life without having to pay one penny. This is not so
in many other countries where higher education is possibly only
for those who can pay for it.
“In Britain too, there is a National Health Service by
which every citizen can obtain free medical treatment. The
doctors and hospitals are then paid by the Government, but every
working citizen has to pay money to the Government to help pay
for this service.
“A country where education, medical services and all
branches of social welfare are provided free for all citizens, is
called a Welfare state.”
a)
Explain what is meant by
i)
a family society
ii)
a town society
b)
Give the names of three nations not mentioned in
the passage.
c)
What do all men and women have in common?
d)
name some of the functions of a government.
e)
Describe one of the most important function of
government
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f)
g)
h)
i)
J)
3.
UNIT: 2
On what services should a good government
spend most of its money?
How does a government get the money?
name one of the social services in Britain which is
free to its citizens.
Is the national Health Service in Britain completely
free?
Would you call Nigeria a welfare state?
Read the passages below and answer the questions on them.
PASSAGE A:
One day when working in the mine, Booker T.
Washington heard two miners talking about a great school in
Virginia, and he crept up to listen. One man said that if any boy
was poor, he could work at this school to pay for his board.
Booker decided at once to go, but he had almost no money of
his own and it was a long way to Hampton. The older
coloured people were very generous and they gave Booker all
the money they could spare. One gave a shilling, and one six
pence, and one a handkerchief. Hampton was five hundred
miles away and he did not have enough money to get there. He
walked, he begged for rides in wagons that came by, and one
night he passed out of doors, walking about to keep warm. At
last he reached Hampton, and it seemed a grand place. He
resolved that he would learn all he could, and then do all the
good he could with what he learned.
When he went to see the teacher, he had no chance to
take a bath or get clean, and she looked at him doubtfully. At
last she said, “The next class room needs sweeping. Take a
broom and sweep it.”
Booker determined to make that room as fine as a new
fiddle. He swept the floor three times. He went over the wood
work, the benches, tables and desks four times. He cleaned
every cupboard and corner thoroughly. Then he went back to
the teacher. She came into the room and looked carefully at the
floor and the cupboards, then she rubbed her handkerchief on
the woodwork and over the benches. When she was unable to
find one speck of dirt anywhere she said, “I’ m sure you’ll do to
enter this school.”
PASSAGE B
About eighty years ago, a humble Scotsman strolling
near his home in Darwell rescued a boy who was dangerously
mired in a bog. The lad turned out to be the son of a nobleman
who wished to reward the rescuer. The Scotsman refused the
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gratitude for himself but agreed that the nobleman might help
him to educate his own son. This the nobleman did.
The Scotsman’s son ultimately was graduated from St.
Mary’s Hospital Medical School. His name? Fleming- Sir
Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.
There is a sequel. During World War II, when Britain
faced its darkest hour, the nobleman’s son was stricken with
pneumonia. He lived because of penicillin. His name?
Winston Churchill.
PASSAGE C
Casabianca was the son of the French Captain of the
warship, The Orient, in the battle of the Nile, between French
and the English. The Captain had ordered him to remain in a
safe place in the ship and not to move from there. During the
battle, the Captain was killed and the ship caught fire.
Soon the boy was surrounded by fire. He called aloud, “
Father, may I go away?” But there was no reply. Louder and
louder he cried out, “father, must I stay?” nearer and nearer
came the fire. Alas! The poor boy did not know that his father
was dead. The brave and noble boy remained there and died at
his post, while all others escaped in a boat.
PASSAGE A
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Washington thought of joining the school in Hampton because..
Washington ‘s journey to Hampton was……
The teacher looked at the boy doubtfully because…………
What was the teacher testing by making Washington sweep the room?
What does the sentence I m sure you’ll do to enter this school”
means?
PASSAGE B
6)
7)
8)
Why did the nobleman wish to reward the rescuer ?
What help did the Scotsman accept?
Which of the following statements is true?
a)
Alexander Fleming graduated from St, Mary’s medical school
b)
The Scotsman’s son is not the discoverer of penicillin.
PASSAGE C
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
Who was casabianca?
What did the captain asked his son to do?
What did the boy do when he was surrounded by fire?
The captain did not reply because….
What happened to the boy at last?
Why is the boy called brave ?
What characteristics in casabianca do you notice in this passage?
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1.6
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UNIT: 2
REFERENCES
Chukwuma, H. and E. Otagburuagu (1997) English for Academic Purposes.
Onitsha: Africanan-FEP Publishers limited.
Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills: A practical Guide to Reading
Comprehension Exercises. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Otagburuagu, E.J., T.Y. Obah, S.M. Onuigbo and A.E. Virginia (1996) English
for the certificate Year: A Revision Course. Onitsha: Africana-FEP Publishers
Limited.
Pryse, B.E. (1984) English without Tears. Glasgow: William Collins sons and
Company Limited.
The British council (1979) Reading and Thinking in English: Discovering Discourse:
Teacher’s Edition. Great Britain: Oxford University press.
Walter, C. (1982) Authentic Reading: Teacher’s Book and key. Cambridge :
Cambridge University press.
1.7
SUGGESTED READING
Greenall, S. and M. Swan (1986) Effective Reading: Reading skills for Advanced
Students. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Byrne, D. (1977) Functional Comprehension Through Texts to Skills.
Kingdom: Longman.
United
James, K., R.R. Jordan and A.J. Matthew (1979) Listening Comprehension and
Note-taking Course. London and Glasgow: Collins.
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TOPIC 2:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
2.0
TOPIC:
READING SKILLS
2.1
INTRODUCTION
2.2
OBJECTIVES
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IN-TEXT
2.3.1
FAST READING 2.3.1.1 CO-ORD INATED EYE MOVEMENT
2.3.1.2 FLEXIBILITY
2.3.2
IMPEDIMENTS TO FAST READIING 2.3.2.1 SUB-VOCALIZING
2.3.2.2 FINGER- POINTING
2.3.2.3 REGRESSION
2.3.2.4 UNNECESSARY USE OF THE DICTIONARY
2.3.3
READING FOR REQUIRED INFORMATION
2.3.3.1 PICKING THE MAIN IDEAS 2.3.3.2 INFERRING MEANING FROM CONTEXT 2.3.3.3 PICKING UP DETAILS 2.3.4
INTENSIVE READING 2.3.4.1 SCANNING
2.3.4.2 SKIMMING
2.3.5
EXTENSIVE READING 2.3.5.1 READING FOR PLEASURE AND RELAXATION
2.3.5.2 ACQUISITION OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
2.3.5.3 INCREASE IN READING SPEED
2.3.5.4 IMAGINATIVE SKILLS 2.4
SUMMARY
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2.5
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
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2.6
REFERENCES
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2.7
SUGGESTED READING -
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2.3
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2.0
TOPIC: READING SKILLS
2.1
INTRODUCTION:
UNIT: 2
In this study unit, we shall learn about reading skills.
2.2
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
Know what are reading skills,
ii.
Know the different types of reading,
iii.
Acquire skills in reading by employing reading types.
2.3
IN-TEXT
2.3.1 FAST READING
In the words of Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997) “Speed or fast Reading
involves the ability to read a certain amount of material within a short time , and yet
understand what you have read” . To acquire the skill of fast reading , you need to
know how long you have taken to read a given text and the number of words the
text contains. For example, you are given a text of 1600 words and you took 8
minutes to read it. Your reading speed in words per minute (WPM) will be the
number of words in the text multiplied by the number of seconds in a minute
divided by the number of seconds taken to read the text. For instance:
200
(seconds in of minute)
(No of words) 1600 x 60 = 200 WPM
(No of seconds) 480
1
(reading speed)
8
Reading the text speedily to the end is not enough . You must show evidence
that you can interpret the text by being able to answer questions based on it . A score
of 70% and above in the comprehension test on the text is usually considered as
evidence of adequate understanding.
Two factors facilitate ones reading speed. These are co-ordinated eye
movement and flexibility.
2.3.1.1
CO-ORDINATED EYE MOVEMENT
Co-coordinating the movement of the eyes is one of the very useful
techniques that facilitate speed reading. It has been shown through research that a
fast reader makes faster eye movement than a slow one, and that a fast reader’s eyes
take in several words at a time. Therefore, a faster reader’s characteristics are his
ability to chunk a text into meaningful planning of sense groups, each taken by one
fixation of his eyes. Such sense groups are more easily turned into coherent messages
which make reading and understanding faster.
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2.3.1.2
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility is another important factor for achieving good reading speed. It
means matching your reading speed with reading purpose. If your purpose is to
study and understand a text thoroughly in order to interpret and make a critical
analysis and evaluation of its content, you certainly have to read it fairly slowly.
Researchers have indicated that study reading speed ranges from 60 to 3000 words
per minute, depending on how complex the text is and the reader’s background
knowledge. On the other hand, if your purpose is merely to understand the main
points of a text or to search for specific information, you find that you have to read
fast, between 3000 and 8000 words per minute.
2.3.2 IMPEDIMENTS TO SPEED READING
Since it is your desire to acquire the techniques of fast reading and
comprehension in order to facilitate your studies, you need to get rid of any
hindrances to your goal. Habits such as sub-vocalizing, finger- pointing, regression,
and unnecessary use of the Dictionary are impediments to your silent reading speed
and understanding because they make you slow or poor readers
2.3.2.1
SUB-VOCALIZING
Sub-vocalizing means to form the sounds of the words you are reading with
your lips or to murmur the words to the hearing of the person next to you
(Chukwuma and Otagburuagu 1997). It is a mark of poor reading. Beginners in
reading do this as a means of support of the spoken language which they are used to.
Advanced readers do not have to suvocalize, as it slows down their reading speed
and comprehension. Similarly, Mosback and Vivienne (1976), say that sub-vocalizing
means saying the words letters to themselves in a low voice. They maintain that
sometimes the learner makes no sound though his lips may move to form the words.
Sometimes no movement of the mouth is seen at all but the learner is still using the
muscles of his throat to “say” the words slightly to himself. No matter how slight the
extent of vocalizing may be, it will still not be possible for such a reader to reach a
reading speed of more than 280 W.P.M.
2.3.2.2
FINGER-POINTING
Finger- pointing refers to the use of the finger or any form of pointer such as
pen or pencil to direct the reader’s attention to the words he/ she is reading .
Children and beginners in reading tend to engage in this habit. The effect is that it
makes you read word by word which is a sure way to slow your reading and
understanding.
2.3.2.3
REGRESSION
Regression means to let your eyes move forwards and backwards over what
you are reading in stead of pressing steadily forward. It hinders comprehension and
interrupts progress in thought. It should be avoided as much as possible, unless, of
course, it is done for the purpose of trying to discover the answer to a particular
question in the process of an active search.
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2.3.2.4
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
UNNECESSARY USE OF THE DICTIONARY
As a prospective reader, you should avoid the habit of interrupting your
reading each time you come across an unfamiliar word by trying to look it up in the
dictionary. This will break the trend of your thought and slow down your reading
speed. You should rather infer the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context.
Avoid looking up unfamiliar words until you come to the end of your reading –
unless the understanding of the text completely depends on your immediate
comprehension of the meaning of such words.
2.3.3 READING FOR REQUIRED INFORMATION
Reading for required information involves picking the main ideas, inferring
meaning from the context and picking up details.
2.3.3.1
PICKING THE MAIN IDEAS
The most important task in reading is to understand the main ideas and
thoughts that the writer is trying to convey. The paragraph is very important for
identifying and picking information in a text. The main idea of a paragraph is
usually found in a topic sentence which summarizes the whole idea in the paragraph.
In picking the main ideas, you should look for the topic sentence of each paragraph.
In many texts, a common practice by writer’s is to place the topic sentence at the
beginning of a paragraph. A paragraph may end with the topic sentence as a means
of summing up the main idea that is developed.
2.3.3.2
INFERRING MEANING FROM THE CONTEXT
Frequent use of the dictionary to check for meaning of difficult words and
expressions affect reading speed and undermines comprehension of the text.
Competent readers do not refer to the dictionary each time they come across a new
or strange word. Instead, they infer or work out the meaning from the context. In
order to read efficiently, you also need to learn to do this.
2.3.3.3
PICKING UP DETAILS
In order to read efficiently, one must also be able to recognize the function of
the details that help to support the main information. Writers employ supporting
details such as definition, repetition, and the use of examples and illustrations. You
also need to understand and recognize relations such as the use of connections like
because although, since , though, yet, still to show relations within or between sentences in
the text. You must be able to recognize the words which announce the function of
the sentences that expand or amplify the topic sentence (eg, indicators announcing an
example, a consequence, restriction , etc). You also need to recognize words used to
refer back to a preceding idea (eg determiners such as the , those, this and pronouns
such as “it”).
2.3.4 INTENSIVE READING
Intensive reading refers to the detailed and careful reading of written material
for the purpose of obtaining or locating specific information.
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2.3.4.1
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
SCANNING
Scanning (which is some times referred to as search- reading) means glancing
rapidly through a text, diagrams, table, graphs, etc. in order to:
a)
Search for a specific piece of information,
b)
Find out if a text is suitable for a given purpose,
c)
Select what you want to read from a book, newspaper, magazine or
report,
d)
Find the meaning of a word in a dictionary or encyclopedia
e)
Find where a word can be found in a book from an index, or the
position of a place in a map in an atlas.
2.3.4.2
SKIMMING
Like scanning , Skimming is the process by which you rapidly glance through
a text to:
a)
get a gist or a little idea of what the text is all about,
b)
see how the author organized the text and
c)Identify the main points.
Skimming also involves a thorough reading of an introductory paragraph and
subsequent reading of the topic sentence of each paragraph.
2.3.5 EXTENSIVE READING
Extensive reading is an important means of developing your vocabulary. It is
the type of reading that you do usually during leisure to familiarize yourselves with a
wide variety of reading materials such as newspapers, magazines, novels, shorts
stories, biographies, autobiographies etc. Extensive reading involves increasing the
amount of material you read. In order to broaden your intellectual horizon, you
should read texts outside your discipline. There are several benefits that you can
obtain from reading widely or extensively. These are: pleasure and relaxation,
acquisition of general knowledge, increase in reading speed, imaginative skills and of a
very rich vocabulary.
2.3.5.1
READING FOR PLEASURE AND RELAXATION
For pleasure and relaxation, you need to read interesting materials outside
your discipline. You may read a magazine, novel or even a poem to relieve tension or
stress from work.
2.3.5.2 ACQUISITION OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Apart from reading for the purpose of passing your examination, you can also
derive additional knowledge from reading texts outside your subject area. You need
to go beyond your discipline. If you are a science student, you can choose books
from history, psychology, sociology or literature while arts student should also read
materials from the sciences and social sciences.
2.3.5.3 INCREASE IN READING SPEED
By reading extensively, you learn to increase your reading speed. The more
you read, the greater your speed becomes. It is necessary that you practice reading a
little faster every day. There is the need to adapt reading speed to material. Mosback
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UNIT: 2
and Vivienne (1976), say that a higher reading rate , with no loss of comprehension,
will help you in other subjects and English. Naturally, you will not read every book at
the same speed. For example, you would expect to read a newspaper much more
faster than a physics or economics text book.
2.3.5.4 IMAGINATIVE SKILLS
Reading of literacy texts such as novels, short stories and poems develops
your imagination as well as vocabulary. Acquiring good imagination is beneficial
because it enables one to solve problems quite quickly by fast thinking as well as
identifying complex logical relationships in texts.
2.4
SUMMARY
Fast reading involves the capability to read and understand a certain amount
of material within a short time. You acquire fast reading skills by knowing the
duration you have taken to read a given text and the number of words the text
contains. Fast reading also involves eye movement and flexibility. You should also
avoid sub-vocalizing, finger-pointing, regression and unnecessary use of the
dictionary because they are habits that hinder fast reading and comprehension as well
as make you a slow reader.
Reading for required information involves picking the main ideas inferring
meaning from context and picking up details. Intensive reading is done with the
purpose of scanning and skimming a text to locate specific piece of information and
identify the main points, respectively. Pleasure and relaxation, acquisition of general
knowledge, increase in reading speed and imaginative skills are the benefits that can
be obtained from extensive or wide reading.
2.5
SELF- ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
1.
Scan through the following Nigerian Airways domestic harmattan time
– table and answer the questions below in one minute.
Lagos days
Sun, Mon,
Sun.,
Tues,.
Tues, Fri.
to Abuja
wed, Thurs
Mon,
Thurs,
Sat
Wed, Fri.
Sat.
Flight No
WT472
WT500
WT470
WT502
Departs Lagos
1430
0715
0715
1430
Aririves Abuja 1530
0930
0815
1625
Air Craft Type B737
A310
A310
B737
Class
Y
F/Y
F/T
Y
a)
At what time does WT500 arrive at Abuja on Mondays?
b)
Which Flight Leaves Lagos at 1430 on Sundays ?
c)
Which flight arrives at Abuja at 0815 on Tuesdays?
d)
Which flight leaves Lagos at 0715 on Saturdays?
e)
What class of Passengers does flight No. 470 carry on
Wednesdays?
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2.
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
Skim through the following article, and from the list of titles given
below, choose the one that is best suited to the passage. (Do not take
more than one and a half minutes).
A wealthy businessman in Oyo state is giving N500,000
to help gifted children in parts of the state capital to go to
private schools.
Multi-Millionaire, Bob Alade, 42, whose father was a
cocoa farmer, is sharing the cash among five Ibadan schools 22
years after he won a scholarship to the city’s manufacturers
Association college of commerce.
The money will provide places for able children whose
parents cannot afford the fees.
Ironically, Mr. Alade’s son, Ajayi, who
received
N1,500,000.00 from his father in 1989, went bankrupt three
weeks ago.
Ajayi, 24, blamed his failure in business on “Bad choice
of career, bad judgment and lack of business acumen”
Daily times, march, 15, 1990.
Titles
a)
b)
c)
d)
2.6
Businessman gives half a million naira for the education
of gifted children .
Help private schools
An unfortunate son
A gifted businessman.
REFERENCES
Chukwuma, H. and E. Otagburuagu (1997) English for Academic Purposes.
Onitsha: Africana - FEP Publishers Limited.
Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills: A Practical Guide to Academic
Comprehension Exercises. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Mosback , G. and M. Vivienne (1976) practical Faster Reading: A course in reading
Vocabulary for Upper intermediate and more Advanced students.
2.7
SUGGESTED READING
Hillman, L.H., and B.B. kissel (1986) Thinking , Reading and Writing Integrated.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
TOPIC 3:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
3.0
TOPIC: READING AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
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3.1
INTRODUCTION -
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3.2
OBJECTIVES
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3.3
IN-TEXT
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3.3.1 WHAT IS VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT? -
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3.3.2 USING DICTIONARY INFORMATION
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3.3.2.1 SPELLING -
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3.3.2.2 PRONUNCIATION
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3.3.2.3 GRAMMAR (WORD CLASSES/PARTS OF SPEECH)
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3.3.2.4 DEFINITIONS (MEANINGS)
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3.3.2.5 UNDERSTANDING WORD MEANING
(DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION)
3.3.2.6 UNDERSTANDING COLLOCATION
(WORD ASSOCIATION) -
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3.3.3 USING WORD ANALYSIS
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3.3.4 RECOGNIZING WORD RELATIONS -
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3.3.4.1 GENERAL- SPECIFIC WORD RELATIONS -
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3.3.4.2 SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
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3.4
SUMMARY -
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3.5
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
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3.6
REFERENCES
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3.7
SUGGESTED READING -
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3.0
TOPIC: READING AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
3.1
INTRODUCTION:
UNIT: 2
In this study unit, we shall learn about how vocabulary is developed through
reading.
3.2
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
Understand what is vocabulary development.
ii.
Know how to develop your vocabulary through reading.
3.3
3.3.1
IN-TEXT
WHAT IS VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT?
By vocabulary development it is meant the development of certain vocabulary
skills that you need to master So that you can acquire a substantial number of new
words for effective study and communication. Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997)
say that “vocabulary means the word-stock of a language available to its users”. In
other words, vocabulary is the list of words that are contained in a language. For
example, there is the vocabulary of general communication and specialized
vocabularies of various academic subjects such as biology, mathematics, Linguistics
etc.
The vocabulary of English is problematic for foreign learners of the language.
When you read, you often encounter difficult or specialized terms and expressions
whose meaning you do not easily understand. You also find that some words often
acquire specialized meanings in different subject areas. There is also the problem of
strange word combinations (collocations) in different disciplines.
3.3.2
USING DICTIONARY INFORMATION
There is the need for you to know how to use the information that is given in
a dictionary. There is also the need for you to know the kinds of information that are
provided and how you can use such information in understanding communication.
Using dictionary information is one of the techniques for tackling difficult or
unfamiliar vocabulary in texts. Dictionaries basically, give information about words
and phrases by focusing on pronunciation, spelling, grammar (parts of speech),
definitions (meanings) and usage.
3.3.2.1 SPELLING
You need the help of a good dictionary when you are not sure of how a
word is spelt . The spelling system of English is rather problematic for foreign
learners and users. There are certain English words that are confusing and are often
misspelt, for example, pairs of words such as
“Piece” and “ peace” “stationery” and “ stationary” “complement”
and “compliment” often cause problems for learners. There are also certain
English words whose initial letters often prove difficult , for example, “
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pneumonia” and mnemonic”. You need to recognize spelling difference
between British English and American English. Some of these are:
British English
American English
Labour
Labor
Colour
Color
Travelling
Traveling
Behaviour
behavior
Metre
meter
Centre
Center
Theatre
theater
Consistency is required in the use of these spelling forms. Once you have
chosen a spelling system such as the one used in British English , you need to stick to
it in your writing. You should also pay close attention to how words are spelt in
reading materials.
3.3.2.2 PRONUNCIATION
As learners of English as a second or foreign language, you need a good
dictionary for knowing how words are pronounced in English. For this purpose, you
need to be familiar with the set of phonetic symbols that are used for the sounds of
English.
3.3.2.3 GRAMMAR (WORD CLASSES/PARTS OF SPEECH)
Most dictionaries provide you with information on the grammatical class and
function of a word. An essential feature of words is that they belong to specific word
classes according to the way they function. It is always necessary to recognize how a
word functions in a particular context before assigning it to a class. The word classes
(Parts of speech) are nouns adjectives , verbs, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions,
conjunctions, and exclamations/interjections.
Words in English can function in different ways when they occur in different
contexts without changing their form. The word Singing in the following sentences
illustrates this point:
a)
Mary is Singing (Verb)
b)
The Singing voice is Mary’s (adjective)
c)
Singing is my hobby (nominal )
It is therefore necessary to be able to recognize the function of a word
according to the context in which it occurs .
3.3.2.4 DEFINITIONS (MEANINGS)
The primary function of a dictionary is to give the definitions of a word which may
be a range of general meanings of the word. For example, the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English gives the definitions of the word “ plant” as
follows:
1)
Any form of vegetable life (noun)
2)
All the machinery tools, fixtures, etc. used in an industrial process
(noun)
3)
Put in the ground? (figurative) cause ( an idea) to take root in the mind
(verb)
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UNIT: 2
4)
Fix firmly in position (verb)
In addition, a dictionary may also cite sentences to illustrate the usage of a
word in context. However, you must bear in mind that a dictionary may not supply
all possible meanings and usages that a word may be associated with. You should
also note that competent language users do not use their dictionary for every word
they do not understand. Instead, they work out or infer meanings from the text.
Before you use a dictionary therefore, you must first of al examine the context in
which the difficult word occurs. This is because context has a great influence on
determining the meaning of words or expressions.
3.3.2.5 UNDERSTANDING WORD MEANING (DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION)
The terms denotation and connotation refer to the two kinds of meaning at word
level. Denotation according to Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997), refers to the
core or essential meaning of a word-the relatively stable hard core of meaning. To
them the denotation of a word is also said to be its literal (real) meaning which is
usually defined in a dictionary. For example, the denotative meaning of the word
plant may refer to “ any form of vegetable life”. To discuss scientific ideas, we
usually employ the plain denotative sense (meaning) of a word as we can see in the
following text:
The first step in drawing of an accurate profile is to lay a straight edge
of paper along the chosen line on a map, then mark accurately with sharp
clean ticks all contour interactions, spot – heights, rivers, summits and other
defined points.
(Adapted from: Monkhouse and
Wilkinson: Maps and diagrams)
Similarly, Ogunyemi (1972), writes that denotation is the exact thing indicated by a
word. For instance, a word may be used in different senses, but for any of the senses
the word means or refers to a particular object, an idea, or a quality. This particular
thing the word refers to is the core of its meaning . It is the Exact thing that the
word means e.g “ red” denotes a particular colour.
On the other hand, connotation of a word according to Chukwuma and
Otagburuagu (1997), refers to the associated meaning of a word beyond its
denotative value. A word may be used to trigger emotive or evaluative overtones.
We often express our feelings and attitudes by exploiting the connotative resources of
words. Literary texts such as poems are highly connotative. For example, the word
Branch is used connotatively by Marloure in the following lines:
“Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight And burned is
Apolo’s laure bough.
That sometime grew within this learned man”.
(From: Marloure, Doctor Faustus)
The word Branch as used in these lines above, moves away from its purely
denotative sense or meaning (part of a tree) to evoke other ideas and feelings of the
writer. Many words acquire associated meanings when their original denotative
meanings are transferred to a different context. For example, the names of certain
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parts of human body such as “ hand of the clock” “leg of the table” and “ eye of
the needle”, acquire transferred or metaphorical meanings.
Connotation can be positive or negative. Sometimes a word evokes a negative
connotation based on the context in which it is used. Words take on positive or
negative connotations in texts by association with other words. The underlined
words in the sentence below illustrate this point:
a)
Her heritage is Swallowed by commerce (negative).
b)
We are in need of your Tribal loyalties (Positive)
Also defining the term connotation, Ogunyemi (1972), says that connotation
refers to the thing or things suggested by a word, or associated with it. For instance,
we have said “red” denotes a particular “Colour” but the same word “red” connotes
more than one thing. It connotes: “blood”, revolution”, “danger”, “anger”, etc.
Thus, a word may have One denotation but have Many connotations.
3.3.2.6 UNDERSTANDING COLLOCATION (WORD ASSOCIATION)
Some words in English habitually go together. The word teacher, for example,
normally goes with Student or Pupil. Other words that go together include Illegal trade,
illicit gin etc but not Illegal gin. Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997), use the term
Collocation to refer to the tendency of certain words to associate habitually in texts.
Collocation is significant for understanding meaning as words take on associative
meanings when they occur with other words in context.
Collocations therefore, are certain terms and word combinations which are
used for basic concepts that we often come across when we read textbooks on our
special subject areas. As students, you need to understand the use of such specialized
terms and collocations. Examples of collocations found in some academic subjects
are:
a)
adjective-noun, e.g critical notions, neutral axis, bending moment,
principal stress, perpetual motion, civil rights etc.
b)
Noun-noun, e.g stress concentration, energy supply, technology
transfer etc.
c)
adverb-verb, e.g vastly complicated, uniformly distributed, vary greatly
etc.
Writing in the same vein, Otagburuagu et al, (1996), say that words in the
English language combine naturally with one another . According to them, of all the
collocation problems, the prepositional collocation seems to be the most tricky. The
underlined words are examples of prepositional collocations which are illustrated in
the following sentences:
1)
The UME Consists of three papers
2)
I Congratulated Alhaji Ibrahim on his success at the polls.
3)
Every student should abide by the University regulations.
4)
We all approved of Musa’s suggestion.
5)
I have never travelled by ship.
6)
Strike actions Militate against progress in the University system.
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UNIT: 2
Otagburuagu et al , (1996), also say that some times, collocations may be
based on the various sounds made by animals, birds, and objects. Examples are the
underlined group of words in the following sentences:
1.
The Monkey Chatters at the sight of the zoo attendant.
2.
The dog barks when it is frightened.
3.
Children are usually excited by the Gibbering of An ape.
They in addition, point out that one may also stretch the idea of collocation to
further express group terms and special places connected with groups. The
underlined examples in the following sentences illustrate this:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
I have the bunch of Keys to the chest of drawers.
The shepherd lost almost a whole hard of cattle because of the drought.
Mallam Haruna attended a meeting of the board of directors of the
company.
I have always seen the Galaxy of starts as a wonderful manifestation of
Allah’s creation.
The Cow was taken to the abattoir to be slaughtered.
The patients were taken to the theatre for operation.
Wild animals are usually kept in the Zoo for special attention.
3.3.3
USING WORD ANALYSIS
Word analysis is a technique that can be used in working out the meaning of a
strange (difficult or unfamiliar) word in written material. In word analysis, you need
to know how to analyze the components of a complex word in order to identify its
meaning. You will be able to build up new words if you understand the use of roots
(the core of a word) and affixes (certain word parts which are added at the beginnings
or endings of a root word). Affixes that appear before roots are called prefixes
whereas those that appear after roots are called suffixes. An example of the root in
the word examination is the verb Examine. The analysis of the meaning of the word
inescapable can be done as follows:
Prefix
Roof
Suffix
InEscape
-able
Not
Escape
Able to be
You need to be familiar with the uses of a good number of prefixes and roots
that are used in English which come from latin and Greek and are commonly used
in academic and non- academic texts . According to white (1986), a list of such
common Greek and latin prefixes used in English are:
Latin Prefixes.
Prefix
Meaning
English Derivative
BiTwo
Bicycle, bilateral
CoTogether Cohesive; cooperate
ExOut of
Exclude
ExtraOut of
Extraordinary
InIn
In equality
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PostReRetroSubSupraSuperSur-
After
Back,
again
Back;
again
Below
Above
Above
Above
UNIT: 2
Postmortem
Recharge
Retroactive
Subtract
Supreme
Superstructure
Surcharge
Greek prefixes
Prefix
aAntiDiDysEcEpiEuExProSymSyn-
Meaning
Not, without
Against
Two
Not, fail
Out (side)
Upon
Well, good
Out (side
Before; ahead
Together; with
Together; with
English Derivatives
Atypical; asymmetric
Antidate; antibiotic
Dissect; dichotomy
Dysfunction
Eccentric
Epilogue; epitaph
eulogy; euphoria
External
Prognosis; proceed
Sympathy; symphony
Synthesis
Latin Roots
Root
Alt
Annum
Capit
Corpus
cru
Ego
Fac
Fil
Hum
Lac
Mal
Os
Ped
Sec
Sol
Spir
Terra
Meaning
High
Year
Head
Body
Cross
Self
Do; make
Thread
Earth; soil
Milk
Bad
Bone
Foot
Cut
Sun
Breadth
Earth
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English Derivatives
Altitude
Annual
Capital; cap
Corpse
Crucify
Egocentric
Factory
Filament
Humus; exhume
Lactate
Malaise; malady
Ossify
Pedestrian
Bisect
Solar
Inspire; respiration
Terrain
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Vor
Vox
Eat
Voice
UNIT: 2
Voracious
Vocalize
Greek Roots
Root
Meaning
anthropo Man; human
Bios
Living
Chroma Colour
Chron
Time
Eidos
Image; shape
Eikon
Image; shape
Erg
Work
Gam
Marriage
Ge
Earth
Gen
Be born
English Derivatives
Anthropology, philanthropy
Biology; symbiosis
Chromatic
Chronology
Eidetic (memory)
Icon
Energy; erg
Bigamy; gamete
Geology
Genesis; gene
Below is a list of some suffixes used to derive other words in English:
suffix
Examples
-ize
Criticize (verb)
-fy
Purify; solidify (verb)
-ity
Ability; agility (noun)
-tion
Connotation; denotation (noun)
-able
Manageable (adjective)
-ment
Management (noun)
Another process of forming new words in English is known as compounding.
This is a process in which two words are joined together to form a new word. In
word analysis, this process helps you to determine the class of a complex word. The
process of compounding can be exemplified thus:
Noun + noun
e.g. bookcase (noun)
Noun + Verb
e.g. bloodshed (noun)
Adjective + noun
e.g. bluebird (noun)
Adjective + verb
e.g. widespread (adjective)
Verb + adverb
e.g. takeaway (noun)
Adverb + verb
e.g. downfall (noun)
3.3.4
RECOGNIZING WORD RELATIONS
It is important to know that words are not isolated elements. They relate to
one another in certain ways. The vocabulary of a language is organized into different
areas of meaning that are called Semantic fields. Semantic fields include social and
human relations (e.g, kinship) activities (e.g, cooking, walking) plant life (e.g, flower),
animal (e.g dog), etc. For examples of an activity such as cooking, we use such words
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as cook, boil, fry, deep fry, and broil and in the field of movement, such words as walk,
saunter, run, hop are used.
3.3.4.1 GENERAL- SPECIFIC WORD RELATIONS
Words that belong to the same semantic field share some general meaning
within the field usually represented by the superordinate term (the general term for
the field). Other words in the field denote specific entities. As members of a
particular field, specific entities are included in the general term. For example, the
general term Flower includes in it the specific terms rose, hibiscus, etc. Also, the specific
words walk, gallop, and Saunter have meaning relations with move. Writers exploit
general- Specific word relations as a significant feature of the vocabulary to enhance
the quality of cohesion in texts. The following example illustrates this point:
Once he gets started he prattles endlessly about nothing. That single fault I detest in
him is that he talks too much without ever considering others.
If you do not know the meaning of the word prattle, you can discover its
meaning in this context. Think of its relation to the word talk.
3.3.4.2 SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
Synonyms and antonyms are two other important terms that are used in
distinguishing and understanding relations holding among words. Words that have
similar meanings are called synonyms while words that have opposite meanings are
antonyms ( Chukwuma and Otagburuagu (1997). For example, “broad”- “wide” and
“weak”- “feeble” are synonymous pairs whereas “borrow”- lend” and “ happy”“sad” are antonymous pairs. It is worth noting that no two synonyms have exactly
the same meaning.
In the pair of sentence below, deep and profound are synonyms and they occur
in the same context:Please accept my deep sympathy.
Please accept my profound sympathy
In the pair:
The river is deep.
The river is profound.
The second sentence is unacceptable in English as profound does not collocate
with the word river. You need to be aware of the similarities and differences in the
usage of synonyms in English.
Some antonyms in English can easily be recognized by their form. Such
antonyms make use of certain negative prefixes as in:
Dis - eg disagree; disorganize
In - eg inexplicit; inordinate
IL - eg illegal; illegible
mis – eg misrepresent; misinform
Sometimes, a negative suffix is used, eg
-less eg. Mannerless
Also talking about oppositeness of meaning, Otagburuagu et al, (1996), say
that for one to choose a word that is opposite in meaning to any given word, one
must give due attention to the context of use of the particular word in question. It is
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therefore necessary to consider the context because the word you will choose must fit
the context in which the original word is used to create a contrary impression. You
should also consider the form of the word under consideration. If for instance, the
word is a singular verb, the word to be chosen must also be a singular verb. If the
word under consideration is a plural noun, the word to be chosen must also be a
plural noun. The words in brackets in the following sentences are opposite to the
ones italicized:1.
Iron expands when it is subjected to heat:- (contracts)
2.
The prefect was praised for encouraging the riot (indicted)
3.
Ojo is a very reckless driver:- (Careful)
4.
many expected some profit at the end of the sales (Loss)
5.
The problem is not as Simple as I though- (complex).
Similarly, to choose a word that is nearest in meaning to a given word, you
must consider the form of the word and the context under which it is used.
3.4
SUMMARY
Vocabulary development is the development of skills that you need to master
meanings of many words and expressions for effective study and communication.
One of the techniques of understanding new words in a text is the use of dictionary
information. Generally, dictionaries provide information on spelling, pronunciation,
grammar, definition and usage. Other ways of enhancing vocabulary include
denotation and connotation. Denotation is the relatively stable hard core or real
meaning of a word. It is the exact thing indicated by a word e.g “red” indicates
colour. On the other hand, connotation refers to the associated meaning of a word
beyond its denotative value. It refers to the thing or things suggested by a word e.g
“red” also connotes “blood” “danger”, etc. Collocation is a term which refers to the
tendency of certain words to associate habitually in texts. Examples of words that
collocate with other words are “illegal trade” “bread and butter, and tea and sugar,
petrol and engine etc. Word analysis helps you to analyse the parts of a complex
word in order to identify meaning. In word analysis, compounding helps you to
determine the number of words or units in a complex word. The process of
compounding can be exemplified as noun + noun e.g bookcase , adjective + verb
e.g wide spread etc.
In word relations, we recognize general and specific word relations. Words
that belong to the same semantic field share some general meaning within the field
usually represented by the superordinate term for the field. Other words in the field
which denote specific entities are included in the general term. For example, the
general term flower includes the specific terms rose, hibiscus , etc.
Synonyms and antonyms are important terms that indicate word relations.
Synonyms are words that have similar meanings e.g broad and wide”, while
antononyms are words that have opposite meaning e.g “ happy and sad”. To choose
a word that is similar in meaning to a given word, one must consider the form of the
word and the context in which it is used. To choose a word that is opposite in
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meaning to any given word, one must give due regard to the context of use of the
particular word in question.
3.5
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISES
1.
Read the following passage and answer the questions on it
If present trends continue, the world will face a major
crisis by the end of this century: insufficient, cheap, and
convenient energy. For without such energy, industrial production
will fall, agricultural output will drop, transport will be restricted,
and standards of living in developed countries will plummet. At
present, almost all our energy comes from fossil fuels (oil, coal,
and natural gas). The earth’s reserves of fossil fuels have been
formed from organic matter subjected to enormous heat and
pressure for millions of years. But such reserves are finite.
Because power demand is increasing very rapidly, fossil fuels
will be exhausted within a relatively short time. We can estimate
the amount of recoverable fuel under the surface of the Earth,
and we know the rate at which it is being extracted. Fairly simple
calculations can therefore determine its remaining life. If
present trends continue, gas and oil reserves will be exhausted
by the middle of the 21st century- about 70 years from now.
Similar estimates for coal reserves suggest a projected supply of
250- 300 years. Of course, long before fossil fuels are
exhausted, demand will greatly exceed supply.
For too many years, the world has consumed fossil fuels
with little thought for the future. In fact world energy
consumption increased by almost 600% between 1900 and
1965, and is projected to increase by another 45% between 1965
and the year 2000. Crude oil has been pumped out of the
ground for about 100 years, but over one- half of it has been
consumed in the past 18 years. Coal has been mined for over
800 years, but over one- half of it has been extracted in the past
37 years. In sum, most of the world’s consumption of energy
from fossil fuels throughout all history has taken place within
living memory.
Most of this energy is consumed by the industrial
countries of the world. In fact, with only 30% of the world’s
population, they consume 80% of the world’s energy – and this
gap is expected to widen. The USA alone (with 5% of the
world’s population) accounts for over 32% of the world’s
annual consumption of energy. In contrast, India (with about
15% of the world’s population) consumes only about 1.5% of
the world’s energy. Each year, 215 million Americans use as
much energy for air conditioning alone as 970 Million Chinese
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use for all purposes. And Americans waste as much energy as
116 million Japanese consume for all purposes.
(From Ray Williams, Panorama: An Advanced Course of English for
Study and Examinations, London: Longman . 1982, p. 66.).
QUESTIONS
a.
Find words/phrases which are the same in meaning and can be
used to replace the following words in the passage.
i)
Convenient
ii)
Plummet
iii)
Enormous
iv)
Simple
v)
Fall
vi)
Finite
b.
Is the author in favour of the consumption pattern of energy in
the world today?
Quote two sentences from the passage to support your answer.
c.
i)
Which country is the greatest consumer of energy
according to this passage?
ii)
Does the author support this?
iii)
Quote one word from the passage to support your
answer.
d.
List four things which the author suspects could happen in the
absence of adequate cheap energy.
2.
Read the following passage and answer the questions on it
The rapid creation of wealth within oil- rich Middle East
states and their
drive for major industrialization and
development have caused a new boom for the construction
industry. Building, as a labour-intnsive activity, has produced a
consequent demand for manpower and the growth of an
international migrant work force prepared to travel thousands
of miles for employment. Small armies of skilled and unskilled
building workers have been drafted into the states from other
less prosperous Arab nations, from Asia and the Far East.
However, it is from Europe, and particularly great
Britain, that the contractors draw their professional staff of
architects, quantity surveyors, Civil Engineers and the rest.
Estimates suggest that more than 10,000.00 highly qualified
construction workers have left Britain over the past 12 Months
or so for the Middle east.
For British contractors seeking work overseas, the
problem is not usually one of ensuring adequate professional
coverage but of making sure that the right manual labour is in
the right place at the right time, and this can be a daunting
operation. The process normally begins with an investigation of
the local labour market to ascertain the number of workers
available, their level of skill, and adaptability to training. Local
customs and regulations imposed by state authorities are
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another important consideration which can have a bearing upon
work practices and eventual productivity. Indigenous labour
supply will obviously vary from country to country. Thus Saudi
Arabia, with a native population of little more than 4 million,
estimates that in order to fulfill its current five- year
development plan, it will have to recruit up to 800,000 migrant
workers.
British contractors report that in recognition of the
growing numbers of migrant workers, national governments are
tightening regulations controlling their use, payment, and
employment rights.
In the complex operation of executing a major
construction project, preliminary activities start on the project
site before the recruitment of labour. In such a case, getting the
right quality of labour may become a fundamental problem.
However, there has been a growth of specialist agencies
approved by state governments to handle recruitment of their
nationals, and such bodies may help to get the necessary labour
permits and give guidance on passport and any special
requirements. A contractor will usually take the precaution of
sending his own representatives out to Pakistan, for example, to
administer company tests and ensure that the workers recruited
have the required level of skills. Standards demanded are
usually on a par with those expected of the equivalent grade of
workers in Europe but wages are considerably lower.
Construction companies normally sign the labour on a contract
basis and accept responsibility for the air passage and often
difficult overland journey to the site. Terms of contract will
vary but there is usually an obligation on the contractor to
provide at least minimum standards of health and medical care.
Provision of accommodation also requires considerable
planning because labour camps equivalent to small townships
may have to be set up for the major projects. An important
consideration of the camp supervisor, whose concern is with
the morale of the workers, is the catering facilities . Full board is
often part of the labour contract and contractors must ensure
that their workers can be provided with the sort of diet to which
they are accustomed.
The influx of migrant workers poses key issues of policy
to the developing nations. In some states, there are fears about
the growing proportion of migrant workers to total population
and the issue must be faced of whether it would be preferable to
slow down the pace of development. Over and above that,
there are important questions of whether new restrictions
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should be placed on the movement of the growing numbers of
labourers, how their wages and terms of employment should be
negotiated, and what safeguards and guarantees against abuse
should or could be enforced.
(From Arthur Smith: in the financial times 4 March
1977- Abridged from an article).
Questions
a)
What has caused the new boom in the construction
industry?
b)
Which continent supplies contractor’s professional
workers?
c)
State the major problem of British contractors who
bargain for work overseas.
d)
How many migrant workers are needed by Saudi Arabia
to execute its current development plans?
e)
Give alternative words (synonyms) for the following
words in the passage.
i.
Prosperous
ii.
Daunting
iii.
Indigenous
iv.
Recruitment
v.
Morale
vi.
Obligation
vii.
Influx
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
The scholar is prosperous beyond the dreams of his
equals of former generations. He is well paid, well housed,
and well supplied with eager students. Yet he has his troubles.
He operates in a world where many of the old methods have
been dissolved and old words that once described his trade have
lost their meaning . The university, instead of being a place of
learning and teaching, tends to become a vast power- centre.
Information, instead of being related to the quest of truth, is
the substance of a new, expanding industry. Research that was
the lonely pursuit of an individual vision has been converted
into a team effort often paid for by outside interests. The very
idea of a book is becoming out of date. The scholar at best
writes a monograph or a report; his output is fed into a system
where it awaits instant retrieval.
All these conditions create difficulties for the scholar. But
underlying them is something far more radical and fundamental:
the nature of the world he inhabits and seeks to understand; the
quality of the intellectual environment and of
human
experience.
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The scholar has always been a rational man; he has dealt
with solid, ascertainable , and more or less measurable things.
He has believed there is a pattern in human affairs which gives
significance to the isolated event. He has believed that growth and
development are part of life and that in the tracing out of interrelationships between things there is hope for a wider
knowledge and a truer understanding. But now all this has
changed. He lives in what may be called a nowhere world.
Here the conviction is supreme that emotionalism is more
important than thought, movement more important than
stability, flux than permanence, and that what happens now is
the only thing that counts. The spontaneous, the improvised,
the unfinished have value far above the completed and the
carefully wrought.
A few notes upon the climate in which the scholar works
may be useful. I propose a quick tour around the world of the
new people, seeing what may be the points of rapport between
this world and the scholarly vocation.
We must begin, I suppose, with the Establishment.
There is the principal enemy, the undermining or the destruction
of which gives impetus to almost everything else the new
people do. What is the establishment? I have thought that if
we could fully understand this concept we would know a good
deal about life today. I believe I have a clue. Consider the
guise in which society presents itself to the skeptical and critical
mind. It is a society composed of huge organizations. Big
government, big business, big hospitals , big law firms and of
course big universities- the list could be extended indefinitely.
And between these there seem to exist strange and hidden
relationships, so that the whole seems to proceed with a
mysterious union.
Behind the whole, moreover, some power is thought to
be acting , so that nothing is ever quite what it seems, and so
one of the spokesmen for these vast organized bureaucracies
speaks in a wholly convincing way. These leaders together form the
Establishment. And the power behind them all which another
generation might have called the hand of God to the new young
appears to be something very like the CIA.
The attack on the Establishment is not made frontally:
rather its vast powers are nullified by sidestepping them. They
are made to look ridiculous and irrelevant. What has been
called ‘the nonsense of the prevailing order’ dissolves like a
dream where the young simply refuse to follow the traditional
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steps leading to success, and indeed relegate the very concept of
success to the limbo of the absurd.
(August Hecscher: The scholar in a nowhere World).
Questions
a)
Why are present day scholars considered more
prosperous than those of former generations?
b)
Write out any two problems which the scholar of today
faces.
c)
Mention two things which the scholar has always
believed according to this passage.
d)
What is the greatest enemy of the scholar?
e)
i.
What does Establishment as used in this passage
mean?
ii)
What constitutes the Establishment?
iii)
How is the Establishment attacked?
f)
Give words/phrases which mean nearly the same thing
as the following words used in the passage:
i. Trade
ii. Instant
iii. Fundamental
iv. Unfinished
v. Principal
3.6
REFERENCES
Chukwuma, H. and Otagburuagu E. (1997) English for Academic Purposes.
Onitsha: Africana FEB Publishers Limited.
Otagburuagu, E.J, T.Y. Obah, Onuigbo, S.M and V.A Egbujor (1997) English
for the certificate year: a Revision Course. Onitsha: Africana FEB Publishers
Ogunyemi, O. (1972) Introducting Litertature: unseen poetry and prose for students.
Ibadan: Oniboneje press publishers.
3.7
SUGGESTED READING
Maciver, A. and R. Gibson (1981) The New First Aid in English. Glasgow:
Robert Gibson Publisher.
Carter, R. and M. Mc Carthy (1988) Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London
and New York: Longman.
Sim, D.D. and B. Laufer- Dvorkin (1984) Vocabulary Development: Collins study
skills in English. London and Glasgow: Collins ELT.
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SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES
TOPIC 1
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
i)
iii)
Letters of Application for job and admission.
A research dissertation or thesis.
lecture notes and information in textbooks.
A laboratory report.
Comprehension passage and dictionary
A family society is one in which all members of one family live
together in a large compound or village and are ruled by a council of
the older members, the oldest member of the family being the chief.
A town society, such as there was in ancient Greece, was one in which
each town was completely self- governing with a group of advisers
around its own king. This happened when geographical conditions
made communication difficult and each town grew up in an isolated
place.
a.
The French, Swiss and Italians.
b.
All the men and women of a nation are under the authority of a
single government.
c.
A Government is responsible for making public laws and seeing
that they are upheld. It conducts the nations business.
d.
To acquire money for the running of the country’s public
services and to decide how that money is to be spent.
e.
On public services, such as roads, hospitals, schools, libraries
and the armed forces.
f.
By levying taxes on individual earnings, i.e income tax, by taxing
imports, by making people buy licences for radios and motor
vehicles and by putting customs duty on various goods coming
into the country.
g.
In Britain a child can receive a completely free education from
primary school to University.
h.
The national Health service in British is not completely free
because “every working citizen has to pay money to the
Government to help pay for this service”.
i.
Nigeria is not a welfare state because higher education, as well
as many medical and social services have to be paid for by
individuals when they need them, but in a welfare state such as
British or Denmark, these are provided by the Government,
and are paid for out of taxes rather than by individuals.
3.
1.
2.
PASSAGE A
Washington thought of joining the school in Hampton because
poor students could work at school and pay for their board.
Washington ‘s journey to Hampton was full of difficulties and
hardships.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 2
The teacher looked at the boy doubtfully because he looked dirty and
unfit for the school.
The teacher was testing whether Washington would do his duties
properly and readily.
“I’m sure you’ll do to enter this school means I am sure that you are a
suitable pupil for admission to the school.
PASSAGE B
The Nobleman wish to reward the rescuer because the rescuer saved
the son of the nobleman.
The Scotsman accepted the money to educate his own son.
Sir Alexander Fleming was the son of the Scotsman.
PASSAGE C
The son of a French captain.
The captain asked his son not to move from a safe place.
He cried loud.
The captain did not reply because he was dead.
He was burnt to death.
because he obeyed the captain, even to the extent of losing his life.
Obedience.
TOPIC 2
1.
2.
a)
0930
b)
WT 472
c)
A310
d)
WT470
e)
FLY
a.
Title best suited to the passage in question 2 is “Businessman
gives half a million naira for the education of gifted children”
TOPIC 3
1.
a)
b)
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
No.
i)
ii)
c)
i)
ii)
iii)
Easy to use
Reduce or deteriorate
Excessive
Easy
Decrease
Limited
Most of the energy is consumed by the industrial
countries of the world.
In fact, with only 30% of the world’s population, they
consume 80% of the world’s energy- and this gap is
expected to widen.
The USA
No.
Waste
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d)
2.
3.
In the absence of adequate cheap energy, industrial production
will fall, agricultural production will drop, transport will be
restricted, and standards of living in developed countries will
Plummet.
a)
The rapid creation of wealth within the oil- rich middle east
states and their drive for major industrialization and
development.
b)
Europe-great Britain
c)
making sure that the right manual labour is in the right
place at the right time.
d)
800,000 migrant workers
e)
i)
Successful
ii)
Worrying
iii)
Local.
iv)
Employment
v)
Degree of confidence
vi)
Mandatory
vii)
Entry.
a.
Because they are well paid, well housed, and well supplied with
eager students.
b.
i)
He operates in a world where many of the old
methods have been dissolved and old words that once
described his trade have lost their meaning.
ii)
The University, instead of being a place of learning and
teaching, tends to become a vast power- centre.
c.
i)
He has always believed there is a pattern in human
affairs which gives significance to the isolated event.
ii)
He has always believed that growth and development are
part of life and that in the tracing out of interrelationships between things there is hope for a wider
knowledge and a truer understanding.
d.
The Establishment.
e.
i)
The Establishment in the passage refers to huge
organizations: big government, big business, big
hospitals, big law firms and big Universities.
ii)
The leaders of the vast organized burencracies.
iii)
The Establishment is attacked by nullifying and
sidestepping its vast powers. Its vast Powers are made
to look ridiculous and irrelevant.
f.
i)
Profession
ii)
Immediate
iii)
Essential
iv)
Uncompleted
v)
Greatest
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TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5)
Enumerate and discuss four impediments to fast reading?
Identify the word class (“ part of speech”) to which each of the
underlined words belong in the following sentences:
a)
These girls are Running the combines and hauling grains in
trucks.
b)
She is one of those Running their own farms.
c)
Seeing is believing .
d)
With increased mechanization and a shortage of skilled
labour, productivity level may drop quite sharply in most
industries.
e)
The girls run round the house twice.
Complete the table below by filling the gaps with the appropriate
affixes- ours; - ish; - ful; - tion; -able; - u; in;- etc
1
2
3
4
Educate
Education educable
Uneducable
Repair
Repairable Multiply
Inhit
Observe
Supply a word that is nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined
words in the following sentences”
a)
He proved unreliable in his dealings with the electorate but he
would want everybody to believe that he was quite….
b)
John lost a lot of things in his school days because he was
impatient but age and experience have taught him to be …..at
all times
c)
The story I heard on the radio was interesting but the one
Bimbo narrated to us in the class was rather…………….
d)
Although the events in the company showed that he was
innocent the management still insisted that he was………..
e)
His neighbours believe that he is callous but his friends certainly
know he is …………………
Provide the word that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word.
a)
Though his condition was Pathetic he was not depressed.
b)
His humour reduced my stress during the long hours of waiting.
c)
However lamentable the story is, it is gratifying to note that
victory will be achieved someday.
d)
His laudable performance was well rewarded.
e)
The principal was offended by the hilarity of the students
during the morning devotion.
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
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