DEDUCING MEANING FROM THE CONTEXT

The reading purpose of teaching English is understanding of the content of the

reading itself. But in fact, there are still many students who have difficulties in understanding
the English reading even though in school they have repeatedly received reading
comprehension lesson. On the other hand, as the educated people we are required to be able
to communicate in a foreign language (English) both orally and written language. The
students’ difficulties are caused by several factors, one of them is the lack of the use of
student vocabulary (Yusri et al, 2018). This matter happened due to the limited textbook,
dictionary, English reading sources, and the lack of awareness and motivation of students to
memorize the vocabulary that has been obtained in class, and lack of vocabulary they used in
everyday life.

Besides, in the learning process teachers should be expected to use English as the
language introduction, lack of initiative and creativity of teachers and the lack of time for
students to practice vocabulary on each meeting. In addition, teaching techniques of the
teachers do not support the students’ activity and communication in analyzing the passage
that is being taught. In efforts to understand the passage, the students tend to translate the
reading in word by word. This is surely not a good solution because translating word by word
will make the meaning of the sentence is blurred. Interpreting word by word means that we
try to connect unrelated words with the context of the sentence. Also, always opening the
dictionary every single time will waste a lot of time.

One way to improve students' understanding towards English reading text is through
“Deducing meaning from context". This technique will help students understanding the
reading without opening the dictionary if they find difficult vocabularies they can't translate.
Those difficult vocabularies can not be translated through images or other mediabut can only
be guessed through the context of the sentence.

Reading is a complex language skill. Readers do not only just read and identify the

symbols in a reading text, but the reader are also able to associate with their understanding

and apply reading ideas in daily life (Jufri, 2007; Jufri 2017). “Reading Skills" need to be

taught to students because between mother tongue (Indonesian) and foreign language

(English) have differences, for example in structure (grammar), word recognition

(vocabulary), and so on. Therefore, students need to get guidance. In terms of reading

purpose, namely understanding, is one way that can be used to achieve that goal. It is

necessary to be done because it is proven that a good reading text is a reading text that 60%

of the vocabulary is understood. In fact, the reading text in the book package or in a

vocabulary support book there were many students did not understand. Way intended is to

use the "deducing meaning" method from context” especially for vocabulary that is

impossible to explain in a way others, for example demonstration, real object or use pictures.

In deducing meaning from this context, the teacher uses a sentence context in which there is

the word in question.

According to Johan (1996), to find the meaning of words in the context of reading is

by looking at the words or phrases that precede or follow the word itself so that it can be

known the functions, types of words, and finally the meaning of the word. This selection

should show several aspects, including:

a. Sentences that used for lead students to answer questions should use vocabulary that

familiar to the students.

b. The content of the sentence should not make students actually feel confused and

finally the target vocabulary is not achieved at the end.

c. Vocabulary that is being the target of solving is easier vocabulary to be known when

you use it in the context of the sentence.

d. Vocabulary that is being the target of solving must be the "key word" in the reading.

Williams (1996) said that to help students find the meaning of the words or phrases from

the context of the sentence, teacher guidance is needed. Therefore, the context of the

given sentence must use comprehensible vocabulary for the student. Next, Johan (1996)

said that in certain context, the meaning of a vocabulary is found without need to open the
 dictionary, for example by paying the attention to the use of the form of equation

(synonym), resistance (antonym), etc.

In reading comprehension, deduction is the act of drawing logical conclusions based on

the information given in a text, using one’s personal experiences and knowledge of the

world. Deduction is often taught alongside inference, which is defined as any

interpretation of the text that goes beyond the literal information given. Although there is

a large amount of overlap between the two terms, deduction can be thought of as a more

concrete/factual variation of inference, as the conclusions drawn using deduction must be

based on the given information, while inference leaves more room for guesswork.

“Deduction” means using the information available to make a guess or draw a

conclusion about the facts, but what are some examples of deduction in English grammar?

Here are some examples of deductions that you can share with your students.

 Sally's shoes are untied, she might have been in a rush to get here.

 Tony is a pilot, he must travel a lot.

 They are not here, they could be in the kitchen

 Sam's hair is wet, it can't be sunny outside.

 Harry is out of breath, he must have been running

 Susan has been very busy at work, she may not be able to come this evening.

Children are taught to deduce hidden meanings in the texts they read throughout Key

Stages 1 and 2, with the deduction challenges growing more difficult as students’ reading

comprehension skills improve. In KS1 (Years 1 and 2), students are given passages of text,

often with accompanying pictures or auditory clues, and asked to make deductions and other

types of simple inference based on what is being said and done in the text. In KS2 (Years 3,

4, 5 and 6), students move on to make more complex deductions, such as deducing

characters’ thoughts and feelings. They must also then justify those deductions with
evidence from the text. One important thing to note is that students will not be able to

deduce hidden meanings in texts until they are first able to understand the literal meaning.

As such, deduction is always one of the later reading comprehension skills focused on at

every reading level.

Learning how to deduce hidden meaning in reading texts is important for a number of

reasons, including:

 It makes children better able to understand hidden meanings in other areas where

information is presented to them, including pictures, music, and spoken or

written conversations.

 It gives students the ability to extract more meaning from a text, which creates

more potential for learning.

 It helps students develop an appreciation for literature as an art form, because a

big part of being a writer is creating meaning that goes beyond the words on the

page. A reader who can deduce that information is able to see the ‘whole picture’

in any piece of writing they come across.

 It makes reading more fun! Readers who are good at deduction, and particularly

in utilising knowledge of concepts and characters in their own lives to gain

further meaning within concepts and characters in texts, have been shown to find

reading more enjoyable than those who are not so good at deduction.
The Models of Deduction

1: Must

When children learn to make deductions from a text or situation, they will use must when

they feel sure that something is true because there’s very strong evidence. For example,

 He must be around here because his car is parked there

 You have worked all day, you must be tired

 He has an expensive car, he must have some money

2. Can't

This model of deduction is the complete opposite of the above. We use can’t when we

feel sure something is not true. For example,

 It can’t be a mechanical problem, the car is new

 That can’t be James, James wears glasses

 My wallet can’t be in my backpack, I already checked there

3. Might and May

In the classroom, we use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible

or even very likely, but we’re not sure. For example,

 I heard a noise, there might be a cat on the roof

 He might be in his bedroom

 He might be in the gym, sometimes he goes there

 Jerry is very tall, so he might be good at basketball.

4. Could

Again, we use could when something is likely to happen depending on other factors, but

we can't be sure. For example,

 Don’t eat it! It could be poisoned!

 Don’t put it up there. It could fall off and hit someone.

 Peter could be at the library.

Deducing Meaning of Unfamiliar Words from The Context

The Nature of Deducing Meaning of Unfamiliar Words from the Context

Munby in Alderson (2000: 10) states that there are 19 micro skills which must be
mastered by the students to help them comprehend the text better and effective. One of those
micro skills is the context. In line with Munby, one of the micro skills for reading
comprehension proposed by Brown (2001: 306) is develop and use a battery of reading
strategies, such as scanning and skimming, detecting discourse markers, guessing the
meaning of words from context, and activating schemata for the interpretation of text. One of
the ways to guess the meanings of the unfamiliar words without having to open the dictionary
is by understanding the context that exists in the reading text. The students as the learners are
using context to gain meanings of the unfamiliar words. They are expected to predict the
meanings of the unfamiliar words from the context using clues such as knowledge of words
parts and relationship pattern.

Talking about context, Mikulecky and Jeffries (1997: 119) state that context is the
sentence or sentences around a word. The context can tell the readers a lot about a word.
Moreover, context can help them understand new words or unfamiliar words. When reading a
difficult text, the students may not know the meanings of the words find in the text. However,
they actually guess the meanings of the words from the context. With guided practice from
the teacher, the students will use context clues to determine meanings of the unfamiliar words
found in the reading text.
 According to DeLuca (2010), there are some benefits using deducing meaning of
unfamiliar words from the context in reading an English text. First, using the context of
surrounding words and sentences, students will be able to figure out the meaning of new and
unfamiliar words and to enhance reading enjoyment. Second, students will practice looking
for new and unfamiliar words in prepared sentences and use context to determine meanings
of words. Third, after reading an English text, students will choose new and unfamiliar words
and will use context to determine the meaning of these words. Fourth, students will only use
dictionaries to check if their meanings are correct. Fifth, students will be able to share
information with the class in order to improve their abilities to articulate information in a
group.

Steps of Deducing Meaning of Unfamiliar Words from The Context

According to Nation and Coady in Richards and Renandya (2002: 262), there are five
procedure steps of deducing meaning of unfamiliar words from the context. They are
described as follows:

1. Determining the part of speech of the unknown word

2. Looking at the immediate context and simplify it if necessary
3. Looking at the wider context. This entails examining the clause with the unknown
word and its relationship to the surrounding clauses and sentences
4. Guessing the meaning of the unknown word, and
5. Checking that the guess is correct

In step 5, the guess needs to be the same part of speech as the unknown word. Moreover, the
learner should try to see if the unknown word can be analyzed into part. For example, the
word unlock becomes un + lock and to check if the meaning of the parts matches the meaning
of the unknown word. Finally, the guess should be tried out in the context to see whether it
makes sense, and a dictionary may be consulted to confirm the guess.
 DAFTAR PUSTAKA

Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra Volume 2 No.1 Maret 2018

Depdikbud. 1993. Garis-garis Besar Program Pengajaran. Jakarta; Balai Pustaka

Pusat Kurikulum. 2003. Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi Standar Kompetensi

Bahasa Inggris SMP dan MTs. Jakarta; Puskur Balitbang Dediknas.

Poerwadarminta W.J.S. 1996. Kamus Umum Bahasa Inggris. Jakarta; Balai Pustaka.

Sadiman, 1986. Interaksi dan Motivasi Bealjar Mengajar. Jakarta; Rajawal.

Jufri, J. 2007. Metode Penelitian Bahasa. Sastra dan Budaya

Jufri, J., 2017. Strategi Pembelajaran Bahasa.

Yusri, Y., Mantasiah, R., & Jufri, J. 2018. The Use Of Two Stay Two Stray Model in English

Teaching to Increase Student’s Learning Outcome. Journal Of Advanced English Studies,

1(1), 39-43

https://www.twinkl.co.id/teaching-wiki/deduction (Accessed on 8th Nov 2021)

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33515725.pdf (Accessed on 9th Nov 2021)

 Makalah Literal Reading

“Deducing Meaning from The Context”

Disusun Oleh :

Kelompok 1

Anggota :

1. Aulia Sari
2. Naura Naziva
3. Anisya
4. Bella Safira
5. Taufiqurrahman Ramadani

Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan
Universitas PGRI Palembang
Tahun Akademik 2021-2022