ELT365 · Day 153 — Top-Down Processing: Meaning Comes First

Idea — Top-down processing means using background knowledge, context, and expectation to interpret a text before analysing individual words. The brain predicts before it decodes.

Example — When you see a menu, you already know roughly what language to expect — prices, dish names, descriptions. That expectation speeds reading before a word is processed.

Try — Show learners a title and image only. Ask them to predict three words they will find in the text. Then check.

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