Article
Methods of Teaching Inferring
Meaning from Context
JoDee Walters
University of Nottingham, UK
[email protected]
Abstract Ŷ Second language researchers and trainers have met with some success in
teaching language learners the skill of inferring meaning from context while reading,
using a variety of teaching methods. This paper describes a study that attempts to
compare the effectiveness of three teaching methods, on ESL learners’ ability to infer
from context and reading comprehension. The study investigated the effectiveness of
(1) a general strategy, (2) recognition and interpretation of specific context clues, and
(3) practice with feedback. Some limited effects for teaching method after six hours
of instruction were found, but replication of the study is urged, with a greater number
of participants, over a longer time period, and with the training incorporated into regular language teaching lessons.
Keywords Ŷ inferring from context, reading comprehension, teaching methods,
vocabulary.
Introduction
It is widely acknowledged that native speakers of a language are able to
infer the meanings of unknown words from context, and that this ability
accounts for a large part of a native speaker’s considerable vocabulary
size. Second language learners are also apparently able to infer from context while reading (Horst, Cobb and Meara 1998). Several researchers,
working with both native speakers and with second language learners,
have investigated whether this skill can be trained, with varying but generally positive results (Huckin and Jin 1986; Kern 1989). Curiously, however, in spite of the fact that a variety of methods of instruction are used
in training this skill, little attention has been paid to which method is the
most effective (Walters 2004). The study reported here seeks to answer
that question.
Vol 37(2) 176-190 | DOI: 10.1177/0033688206067427
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Methods of Teaching Inferring Meaning from Context
Methods of Teaching Inferring from Context
Researchers attempting to discover whether the ability to infer from context can be trained have tended to use one of three methods of training:
teaching the use of an overall strategy to be used when encountering unknown words in text, instruction in recognizing and interpreting specific
context clues found in text, and developing awareness of context through
practice with cloze exercises. A selection of studies employing these three
methods will be reviewed. Most of the research in this area has been conducted in L1 settings, a situation which is reflected in this review.
Strategy Training
Carnine, Kame’enui and Coyle, working with L1 children, provided instruction in using a simple strategy, consisting of the rule ‘When there’s a
hard word in a sentence, you look for other words in the story that tell
more about the word’ (1984: 197). Both the rule-plus-practice group and
a practice-only group performed better on post-tests than a no-intervention
group. However, no difference was seen between the rule-plus-practice
group and the practice-only group, suggesting that explicit statement of
the rule did not contribute to these subjects’ performance. Jenkins, Matlock
and Slocum (1989) also looked at the effects of instruction in a general
strategy. Their strategy involved substituting a word or expression for the
unknown word, checking for context clues that confirm the substitution,
asking if the substitution is supported by all context clues, considering
the need for a new idea, and revising the original guess to fit the context.
A group of L1 children instructed in this strategy performed significantly
better on measures of ability to derive word meanings from context. In
an L2 setting, Kern (1989) integrated reading strategy instruction into
the normal curriculum of a semester-long university-level French class,
focusing on word analysis, sentence analysis, and discourse analysis,
which included explicit instruction in inferring meaning from context
using a general strategy. A strong positive effect on reading comprehension was seen as a result of reading strategy training, with lower level
students receiving the greatest benefit. The study also found a positive,
although not significant, effect on ability to infer meaning from context.
Context Clue Instruction
Askov and Kamm (1976) looked at instruction in two categories of context clues, ‘cause-effect’ and ‘direct description’, with L1 children. The
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experimental group demonstrated a significantly more positive change in
the ability to infer meaning from these two types of context clues than did
the control group. Baumann, et al. (2002) compared two types of inferential strategies, morphemic analysis and contextual analysis using specific context clues. The eight context clues presented in the contextual
analysis condition were word definitions, synonyms, appositives, antonyms, examples, summary, figurative language, and mood, tone or setting. Comparison of L1 elementary students’ performances revealed a
strong effect for both strategies for lesson words and for unknown words,
although the latter was not as strong. Comprehension of text with
inferable words was not enhanced by either form of instruction or by the
combination of instruction methods. Although all treatment groups performed better than the control group on the measure of ability to infer
word meanings, neither treatment condition emerged as more effective. In
a lone example of L2 research into training in the use of context clues,
Huckin and Jin (1986) provided brief (15 minutes) training, consisting of
pointing out the context clues that had been available in a pre-test, and
saw improved performance in guessing from context in a post-test, in
comparison to a control group.
Practice and Feedback with Cloze Exercises
Sampson, Valmont and Allen (1982) investigated the use of a ‘quasicloze’ instructional procedure with L1 third-graders, and its effect on
vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Cloze exercise
completion was followed by a teacher-led discussion of possible answers.
Comparisons of post-test performance between the experimental group
and a control group showed no significant difference between the groups
in vocabulary; however, the experimental group performed significantly
better than the control group on a reading comprehension measure and
on a cloze-comprehension measure. Bissel (1982) compared the effects
of a forced-choice (multiple choice) cloze task on reading comprehension and vocabulary to those of a traditional cloze task and multiplechoice questions. No effect of task-type was seen on global reading
comprehension, but gains were seen in tests measuring words-in-context
and vocabulary for the forced-choice cloze task. Cox (1974) also investigated the use of cloze exercises to enhance the skill of deriving meaning
from context, but incorporated a training variable. One cloze condition
included some guidance for completing cloze exercises, while the second
cloze condition had no training; both conditions included a teacher-led
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discussion of the clues used by the subjects. A traditional instruction condition began with the intact reading passage, followed by comprehension
questions and a teacher-led discussion. No significant difference was seen
among the groups for reading comprehension or vocabulary in context,
leading the author to conclude that there is no one best method of teaching
reading comprehension and vocabulary.
Meta-analyses of Context Instruction Studies
Two teams of researchers (Fukkink and De Glopper 1998; Kuhn and Stahl
1998) have conducted meta-analyses of L1 studies examining instruction
in the use of context to infer meaning. Both meta-analyses found a positive effect for instruction in the use of context, although Kuhn and Stahl
caution that in studies employing a practice-only condition, no difference
was seen between treatment and practice groups, suggesting that students
benefit as much from repeated practice opportunities as they do from
specific instruction. Kuhn and Stahl found that context clue instruction
was just as successful as either cloze exercises or general strategy instruction, while Fukkink and de Glopper found that context clue instruction
was superior to other forms of instruction.
This review of the literature demonstrates that, with the exception of
the previously described meta-analyses, no attempt has been made to compare the three methods of teaching this important reading skill, to discover
which, if any, is the most effective. The review also highlights a significant lack of research in this area in L2 settings. The study described in
the following section attempts to compare the three methods of instruction
with L2 students.
The Study
For this study, a pre-test/post-test design was employed, to investigate the
effects of training in the skill of inferring meaning from context. Participants took pre-tests for ability to infer from context and reading comprehension. Following six hours of training, post-tests were administered.
Participants
The participants were 44 ESL students at San Diego State University (California, USA), in the midst of an intensive English language programme at
the American Language Institute, at various levels of proficiency. There
were 12 different countries represented among the participants: Thailand
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(13), Korea (12), Taiwan (7), Turkey (3), Japan (2), China (1), Indonesia
(1), Khazakstan (1), Spain (1), France (1), Mexico (1), and Peru (1). The
ages of the participants ranged from 17 to 47 years, and the average age
was 26.7 years. There were 36 females and 8 males.
Testing Instruments
A number of tests were administered, both to measure the effects of the
teaching methods and to discover potential sources of individual differences among the participants. Ability to infer from context was measured using researcher-developed rational deletion (as opposed to random
or fixed-word method) cloze tests. These tests (three versions) were
created from passages taken from the introductory sections of textbooks
used at a British university, covering a variety of topics. The tests were
piloted on both native speakers and non-native speakers. Reading comprehension was measured using two versions of the reading section of
the International English Language Testing System ESOL Examination
(IELTS 2002). Language aptitude was measured using a test adapted by
Schmitt, et al. (2004) from Ottó (2002, cited in Schmitt, et al.2004). This
test consisted of a language analysis task using an artificial language.
One particular dimension of learning styles, global v. analytic thinking,
was measured using the relevant section of the Style Analysis Survey
(Oxford 1995). Language proficiency was not measured, but for data
analysis purposes, participants were labelled as advanced, intermediate
or beginning, based on recent TOEFL or TOEIC scores and the participants’ placement levels in their language programme.
Training Conditions
This study looked at three training conditions: training participants to use
a general strategy for inferring meaning when they encountered unfamiliar words while reading; training participants to recognize and interpret
specific context clues to help them infer meaning; and providing practice
opportunities with cloze exercises followed by feedback. Each training
condition consisted of six hours, split into three two-hour sessions. In
two training conditions, the context clue and strategy groups, training was
provided by the researcher; the cloze condition was led by another experienced ESL teacher. All training was conducted outside of the participants’ regular language programme. A brief description of the training
programmes follows:
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Methods of Teaching Inferring Meaning from Context
• Strategy condition. The strategy condition presented the same strategy
suggested by Clarke and Nation (1980), which consists of five steps: first,
determining the part of speech of the unknown word, second, focusing
on the grammar of the sentence, in order to determine the role of the
unknown word in the sentence, third, focusing on the sentence before
and after the sentence with the unknown word, fourth, making a guess,
and fifth, checking the guess. For the students’ benefit, this was termed
‘the Ripple Strategy’ in order to convey the image of focusing first on
the word, and then widening the focus to include more and more of the
context. Each step of the strategy was presented in turn, with exercises
to support each step. For example, the first step was reinforced by practicing identifying the parts of speech of underlined words in a series of
sentences. The second step, focusing on the grammar of the sentence,
was practiced using Clarke and Nation’s (1980: 212) ‘who does what
to whom’ analysis of the sentence (see Figure 1 below). The third step
involved presentation of clause and sentence connectors, such as because,
after, however, etc. The fourth and fifth steps, guessing and checking the
guess, were practiced together, using cloze exercises in conjunction with
the aid of a worksheet designed to remind students of each step in the
strategy.
Step 2—Look at the grammar of the sentence where the word is.
This can be done by asking yourself—who is doing what to whom?
Typhoon Vera killed or injured 218 people and crippled the seaport city of
Keelung.
We can analyse the sentence in this way:
Who
Typhoon Vera
Typhoon Vera
does what
killed or injured
crippled
to whom?
218 people
seaport city of Keelung
If typhoon is the unknown word, we can ask, ‘what would kill or injure so
many people, and cripple a city?’
If cripple is the unknown word, we can ask ‘what would a typhoon do to a
city?’
Figure 1. Exercise for Step 2
•
Context clue condition. In the context clue training condition, ten context clues were presented (see Table 1 below), which were chosen after
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examining the context clues present in academic texts, trying to identify
the most common and the most useful.
x Reference—pronouns,
definite articles, demonstratives, etc.
x Contrast
x Adjective clauses,
adjective phrases and
adjectives
x Punctuation
x Restatement in the same
clause
x Inference
x Restatement in another
clause
x Grouping
x Examples and
illustrations
x Description
Table 1: Context Clues Presented
In the training sessions, the context clues were presented one at a time,
with many sample sentences for each context clue. Periodically, review
worksheets were given, which included all of the context clues presented
thus far, so practice was cumulative. Practice worksheets consisted of
both sentences and paragraphs, and included both teacher-created and
authentic sentences, to provide a range of difficulty in interpreting available context clues. Figure 2 below shows some example sentences, used
as review sentences at the beginning of the second session.
x Review
x Unlike the ____________, none of your cells could live for long on its own.
(contrast clue)
x Although revered by the ancient Egyptians as the living image of the goddess Bastet, the Kaffir Cat is now thought to have first been domesticated in
Mesopotamia some 8000 years ago. (punctuation clues)
x ___________-like structures, which we now call nerves, bring sensoryinformation by physical means into the brain, … (adjective clause clue)
x In 1962, in the Rocky Mountains, near Denver, Colorado, water was forced
through pipes into a layer of rocks 4000 meters below the surface of the
ground. Shortly after this _________________ of water, there was a small
number of earthquakes. (reference clue)
x Shrimp, clams, oysters and _________________ are all at risk during certain
months of the year from a certain bacteria in the water called ‘the Red Tide’.
(grouping clue)
Figure 2. Example Clue Sentences
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• Cloze practice condition. The practice condition consisted of a series
of cloze exercises, which were completed by the students either as a large
group, led by the teacher, or in small groups or pairs, followed by feedback and correction by the teacher. The cloze exercises were rational
deletion cloze passages, created from both academic and newspaper texts.
Results
Gain Scores for Inferring from Context and Reading Comprehension
The main aim of the study was to see which of the three conditions, general strategy, specific context clues, or practice, was more effective in
improving the ability to infer from context and/or reading comprehension.
To this end, the gain scores for the test of ability to infer from context and
the reading comprehension test for each group were compared, including
a testing-only control group. Each group’s gain scores for the context test
are presented in Table 2, below.
Table 2. Mean Gain Scores, Ability to Infer from Context
Group
Clues (n = 14)
Strategy (n = 11)
Cloze (n = 10)
Control (n = 9)
Mean Gain
Std. Deviation
2.71
9.00
3.80
-.44
15.097
12.876
8.025
19.597
Table 2 shows that the control group appears to have performed slightly
worse on the post-test, while the three experimental groups appear to have
performed better on the post-test, with the largest improvement seen in
the strategy group. However, the differences among the groups are not
significant. This is probably due to large variations within the groups, as
revealed by the large standard deviations. Another way of looking at the
effectiveness of each training condition is to compare each groups’ pretest and post-test performance, in order to see which groups in fact
improved their performance. Paired-samples T-tests were performed,
which revealed that only the strategy groups’ post-test scores were significantly higher (p<.05) than their pre-test scores on the context test. This
may be suggestive of the effectiveness of the strategy approach over context clue instruction or simply practice.
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Table 3 below presents the gain scores for the reading comprehension
tests.
Table 3. Mean Gain Scores, Reading Comprehension
Group
Clues (n = 14)
Strategy ((n = 11)
Cloze (n = 10)
Control (n = 9)
Mean Gain
11.00
9.00
8.00
.44
Std. Deviation
14.390
9.359
13.968
8.531
It can be seen from Table 3 that all groups appear to have improved their
performance from pre-test to post-test on the reading comprehension test,
although the improvement by the control group is negligible. One-way
ANOVA reveals that the only significant difference (p<.05) among the
groups is that seen between the context clue and control groups, with the
context clue group showing a greater gain in reading comprehension.
When paired-samples T-tests are used to determine which groups significantly improved their performance from pre-test to post-test, both the
context clue and strategy groups show significantly higher (p<.02) posttest scores, again suggestive of the effectiveness of these two methods
over practice only.
Effects of Individual Differences
Wide variation within the groups, particularly on the test of ability to
infer from context, leads to speculation about the influence of individual
differences in participants’ responses to training. An attempt was made
to discover any interaction between the training conditions and individual differences among the participants. Table 4 shows the composition of the groups, in terms of three variables that were also considered:
language proficiency, language aptitude, and the global vs. analytic dimension of learning styles.
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Group
Context clue
group
Strategy group
Cloze group
Testing only
group
Language proficiency
Beginning (1)
Intermediate (2)
Advanced (3)
No.
0
8
6
Language Aptitude
Low (1)
Medium (2)
High (3)
No.
3
5
6
Average
2.4
Average
2.2
Beginning (1)
Intermediate (2)
Advanced (3)
3
6
2
Low (1)
Medium (2)
High (3)
2
3
6
Average
1.9
Average
2.4
Beginning (1)
Intermediate (2)
Advanced (3)
0
6
4
Low (1)
Medium (2)
High (3)
1
4
5
Average
2.4
Average
2.4
Beginning (1)
Intermediate (2)
Advanced (3)
4
1
4
Low (1)
Medium (2)
High (3)
3
3
3
Average
2.0
Average
2.0
Global/Analytic
Global
Combination
No.
8
3
Analytic
3
Global
Combination
7
2
Analytic
2
Global
Combination
7
3
Analytic
0
Global
Combination
5
0
Analytic
4
Table 4. Additional Variable
For language proficiency, the participants were identified as either
beginning, intermediate, or advanced. From this table, we can see that
mean language proficiency ranges from 1.9 to 2.4, on a scale of 1 to 3, 1
being beginning, and 3 being advanced. A one-way ANOVA reveals no
significant differences in language proficiency among the groups, although
the difference between the context clue group and the strategy group is
approaching significance (p<.07). Based on the results of the language
aptitude test, participants were identified as either low (1), medium (2) or
high (3) aptitude, and we can see that the range across the groups is
similar to that for language proficiency, and again, there is no difference
among the groups. In terms of global vs. analytic learning styles, participants responded to a series of statements, drawn from Oxford’s (1995)
Style Analysis Survey, designed to discover whether they exhibited a
preference for or tendency toward global or analytic learning. Oxford, in
the section of the Style Analysis Survey entitled How to understand and
use the results, has this to say about global and analytic learners:
‘If you are global, you enjoy getting the main idea, guessing meanings,
and communicating even if you don’t know all the words or concepts.
If you are analytic, you focus more on details, logical analysis, and
contrasts’ (1995: 215).
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In Table 4, we can see that the majority of participants describe themselves as global learners, but that each group has a minimum of three
members who describe themselves as at least partially analytic. Thus, it is
considered that both global and analytic learning styles are present in all
groups, although those with a preference for global learning are in the
majority.
The overall and group gain scores for both tests were analysed in terms
of the three variables of language proficiency, language aptitude and
global vs. analytic learning styles; the results of these analyses are presented below:
•
Language proficiency. A one-way ANOVA indicates that, for the group
as a whole, there was no effect for language proficiency level in the gain
scores for the context and reading comprehension tests. In order to determine whether there was any effect for language proficiency in the participants’ response to training, the mean gain scores for each level within
each group, for both tests, were compared. Due to the small size of the
groups, non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney) were
used.
Significant differences in gains on the context test are seen among the
language proficiency levels in the context clue and strategy groups. For
the context clue group, the advanced learners’ gains are significantly
(p<.05) larger than those of the intermediate learners, and for the strategy
group, the beginning learners outperformed the intermediate learners. In
the control group, the difference seen between beginning and advanced
learners (in favour of the advanced learners) is approaching significance
(p<.06). There are no significant differences between the two language
proficiency levels in gains on the context test in the cloze group, nor are
there significant differences among language proficiency levels in any of
the groups for gains on the reading comprehension test.
Thus, it appears that if language proficiency played a part in the participants’ responses to training in the use of context, that role was a mixed
one. Higher language proficiency appears to have been an advantage in
the context clue group, whereas it was the beginning learners who appear
to have benefited the most from strategy instruction. As might be expected, in the control group, advanced learners improved their performance from pre-test to post-test (at least on the context test), while
beginning learners’ scores decreased markedly.
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Methods of Teaching Inferring Meaning from Context
• Language aptitude. An overall effect for language aptitude level is
observed for the gain scores on the context test: High aptitude learners
achieved significantly higher gain scores (p<.04) than medium-aptitude
learners, and the difference between medium- and low-aptitude learners
approached significance (p<.07). No such effect was seen on the reading
comprehension gain scores.
To discover whether language aptitude played any part in the participants’ responses to the training, the mean gain scores were compared for
each level of language aptitude within each group. Again, because of the
small numbers in each group, non-parametric tests were used. No significant differences were found among the levels of language aptitude
within the any of the groups, for either the context test or the reading
comprehension test. Thus, while language aptitude may have emerged as
a factor in the group as a whole, it appears that it was not a factor in the
participants’ responses to the training sessions.
•
Global versus analytic learning style. A one-way ANOVA indicates
no effect for global/analytic learning styles on the gain scores for the
context test for the group as a whole, but an effect is seen on the reading
comprehension gain scores, with global learners achieving significantly
higher (p<.04) gain scores than analytic learners. In order to discover
whether this aspect of learning styles had any effect on the participants’
response to the training methods, the mean gain scores on each test for
each type of learner were compared within each group. Once again, nonparametric tests were used, and no significant differences were seen
among global, analytic or combination learners on either test in any of
the groups.
• Other variables. In order to rule out possible confounding variables,
the additional variables of gender, cognate/non-cognate language background, and learning context (academic vs. communication programmes)
were analysed. Again, no significant effects were seen for these variables.
Discussion and Implications for the Future
Clear-cut and obvious differences in the results of these three training
methods have not emerged from this study. There is, however, an indication that training has some effect on reading comprehension, specifically
training in the recognition and interpretation of context clues. There is
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also a suggestion that the strategy instruction resulted in improved ability
to infer from context, and that both context clue and strategy instruction
resulted in improved reading comprehension. A final very interesting
finding is that there may be a differential response to training, depending
on language proficiency. This is suggested by, on the one hand, the better
performance of advanced language learners on the context test in the
context clue group, in relation to that of the intermediate learners in that
group, and on the other hand, the higher gain scores of the beginning
learners in the strategy group, in comparison to those of the intermediate
learners in the same group.
These findings have several implications for classroom practice. In the
absence of a clear mandate for one or another of the training methods
examined in this study, it nevertheless seems worthwhile to make some
effort to alert students to the possibilities of context, and to give them
opportunities to practice. The results indicate that it may be worthwhile to
initiate the process of training in this skill, with beginning learners, with a
general strategy for dealing with unknown words, with specific instruction in the recognition and interpretation of context clues reserved for
high intermediate and advanced learners. Finally, because the most significant results were seen in gain scores on the reading comprehension
test, rather than on the test of ability to infer from context, it seems that
progress in this skill may not reveal itself in improved ability to infer
from context, but in improved reading comprehension.
Because of the elusiveness of a clear indication for one or another of
the training methods examined in this study, the questions addressed
warrant further study. However, any future study of this type should incorporate several changes. First, it is possible that short-term effects from
teaching this skill may be too small to be immediately obvious, but longerterm effects may still be seen. Any future study of this kind should include
a delayed post-test, occurring several months after the training. Such a
long-term study might reveal clearer differences among the groups for
ability to infer from context or reading comprehension.
Second, in this study the training was provided separate from and/or in
addition to regular language instruction. Previous research in the training
of language learning strategies has found that such instruction is more
effective when contextualized and incorporated into regular language
teaching (Oxford 1993). Ideally, these training conditions should be evaluated as they are situated within an ongoing language program. Another,
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possibly related, issue is the length and spacing of the training. It is possible that such training provided in smaller doses over a longer period of
time might have positive effects that are not obvious when the training is
provided intensively, over a short period of time.
Two more issues that should be addressed in any further study of this
question are the number of participants, and the measure of ability to infer
from context. The relatively small numbers within each group have made
it difficult to draw conclusions and make comparisons within the groups;
therefore, the study should be replicated on a larger scale. Perhaps by
increasing the number of participants, a clearer picture will emerge of
the effects of these different teaching techniques. Finally, the measure of
ability to infer from context should be refined to improve both validity
and reliability, in order to strengthen the results of any study in which it is
used.
Conclusion
This study has attempted to compare the effectiveness of three different
methods of training ESL/EFL students to infer the meanings of unknown
words from context. While the results of the study are far from conclusive, some justification for training in the use of context in general has
been found, as well as for strategy training and context clue training. It is
hoped that continued pursuit of this question will result in the discovery
of some difference between these training methods, whether it be in students’ reactions to them, or in the methods themselves.
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