ELC121 Listening | Predicting Meaning When you are listening, it is not compulsory to know the meaning of every word in the text. Do not be panic or become frustrated if there are many unknown words in the listening text. Focus only on words that are important for comprehension of the text. You can use several strategies to help you predict vocabulary from the text and decode meaning of the words. Guessing or Predicting Vocabulary from Context 1. Definitions The unknown word that you hear may be defined in the next sentence (s). It may be restated or illustrated further. Example: I am always prudent with my monthly expenses in that I spend my money with lot of caution and care when buying items for my studies as well as food and transport. 2. Examples You may find examples to support the meaning of word. Example: Many students like to procrastinate doing their assignments on time and spend the whole day playing computer games, chatting with friends or browsing social networking sites, instead of spending time on their books. 3. Synonyms The synonym is a very useful clue, when you are able to find the meaning of the word by listening to another word with the same meaning. Example: Ruth is an amiable girl and is friendly with everyone. 4. Antonyms These are words with the opposite meaning to the unknown word. Example: My rich uncle is really modest about his wealth and does not boast about his properties and investments to anyone. 5. Comparisons and parallels Comparisons or parallels are clues which show that two or more things are alike. When you listen, pay attention to words such as like, similar, similarly, as well as, both and likewise, as they indicate comparisons between two things or ideas. Example: A sponge is very absorbent. Likewise, as soft cloth can also soak up a lot of water. 6. Contrast In showing contrasts, words such as however, yet, on the other hand, instead of, but, while and although are used to show opposite meanings of unknown vocabulary. Example: Although many old people abhor change, they do like and enjoy new experiences in their lives. (‘Abhor is the opposite of ‘like and enjoy’, and it means ‘dislike’) 7. Connotations For many words, knowing the positive or negative connotations of the word is sufficient to help you guess the general meaning, without the need to know the exact meaning, as the main goal of listening to a text is for comprehension. Example: The problem of oil pollution is aggravated by the presence of many other toxic materials in the seas. (Negative connotation for the word ‘aggravated’.) Herbal medicines use natural substances and can stimulate the body’s own healing power. (Positive connotation for the word ‘stimulate.’) 8. Malay language parallels Another useful strategy is to recognize English words which are also used in Malay language, with the use of suffixes. Example: English emotion session imagination fantasy party initiative Malay emosi sesi imaginasi fantasi parti inisiatif English alternative effective academic drastic ticket ironic Malay alternatif efektif akademik drastik tiket ironis 9. Affixes Recognising affixes, such as prefixes and suffixes can help you to decode the meaning of some words Example: Negate meaning: un-, dis--, mis-, -less, mal-, -ill, de-, imunable, unhelpful, disagree, disrespect, mismanage, misuse, useless, tasteless, malfunction, malnutrition, ill-effects, ill-prepared, demerit, defrost, impossible, impractical Show repetition: reredo, replay Dual/two : bi bicultural, bifocal Many: multi-, polymultipurpose, multistorey, polyglot 10. Fragmenting Some compound words can be digressed further and broken up into smaller parts to understand their meaning. Example Within: with + in Newborn: new + born However, do remember that this rule may not work all the time as many compound words give distorted meanings when the words are broken up. Example Honeydew : honey + dew Heartthrob : heart + throb Butterfly : butter + fly Daydream : day + dream Predicting the Speaker’s Communicative During the listening activity, we can also predict the speaker’s purpose or intention for communicating a message or thought. For example, an announcement on avoiding low lying areas during the monsoon season is intended to warn the listeners (the public) about the dangers of heavy rain which can cause floods. Advertisements on the radio or televisions are mean to persuade listeners or viewers to use the products and services which are advertised. The tone and vocabulary used help us to determine the purpose of communication. The speaker’s communicative purpose can be: To inform To explain To educate To warn To remind To persuade To entertain To advise