ELT365 · D176 — Handling vocabulary during reading — to pre-teach or not

Idea — Pre-teach only vocabulary that will block comprehension entirely. Leave the rest: inferring from context is a reading skill, not a failure.

Example — ‘Deforestation’ in a climate text may need pre-teaching. ‘Rapidly’ does not — context and word shape carry enough meaning for most learners.

Try — Go through your next reading text. Highlight only words whose absence prevents any understanding. Pre-teach those. Leave the rest for inference.

Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.