We tend to learn the meaning of the vast majority of L1 words by using the surrounding context, without reference to a dictionary or teacher. The process by which this occurs is a gradual one: on first encounter we get an initial approximation of meaning based on the immediate context and then refine the meaning as we meet the word on subsequent occasions in different contexts. In some cases, when we do not meet the word very frequently, our understanding of it may be imprecise or even inaccurate and it is these words we might eventually look up in the dictionary to reassure ourselves. However, in the majority of cases we are able through extensive reading to assimilate meaning from context.

Nuttall (1996: 72) gives an example of an exercise that promotes the conscious use of inferencing which can be used to illustrate this process to students. Students are shown the sentences below, one at a time. After reading each of them, they make a note of the information they have about the meaning of the word 'tock', before going onto the next sentence:

This exercise can be readily adapted to your own particular target language, and indeed will be even more effective in L2. But it is still a good idea, especially with less fluent L2 learners, to do the exercise in L1 first.

Students can gain a number of key insights from doing an exercise such as the one above. They can:

• acknowledge that, depending on their purpose for reading, certain unfamiliar words are less crucial to the text and can be ignored;
• recognize that reaching for the dictionary every time is counter-productive and unnecessary;
• learn that working out meaning from context, especially on first encountering a word, is about getting at probable meaning or gaining a rough idea of what a word means;
• come to accept probability and not want absolute certainty every time they meet a new word;
• see that context clues can help them make basic guesses about the sort of meaning an unfamiliar word might have (ie whether it is a verb or a noun; whether it is a positive or a negative attribute, etc);
• realize they can achieve an acceptable approximation of meaning based on context and that they should resist any temptation to stop reading when they meet unfamiliar words since valuable clues are frequently found later in the sentence or in the following sentence;
• learn that the more often they meet a word, the more precise their understanding will become and that this is the way to move from probability to certainty.

One way to train students to get at meaning from context is to give them practice on text extracts containing unfamiliar words and to offer them possible definitions to help them exclude those for which there is no textual evidence. For example:

Alternatively, one can provide a text in which a key word is repeated and replace it by a meaningless word. Students have to choose the most likely meaning. For example:

See Grellet (1981: 32-42) for a range of exercises of this type.

A similar guided approach to inferring meaning from context is to present students with a blanked text and to offer them alternatives for each missing word so they can draw on contextual clues to choose the most appropriate alternative. For example, consider the first paragraph in Text 6 ('Destination Gridlock'):

To help develop students' ability to infer meaning, it is a good idea to give them a cloze exercise in English and then to try something similar in L2. Such an exercise forces learners to draw on whatever contextual clues are available to them. For example, mother tongue English students would cope easily with most of the following in which every seventh word is blanked mechanically:

Once they have done this, learners could be given a similar text in L2 with the regular gaps replaced by deliberately difficult L2 vocabulary. For example, to use a German example from Text 17 ('Karla'):

Students at intermediate level will struggle with most of the highlighted words and the contrast with how they access meaning in the first (L1) text with their problems understanding the second can be extremely instructive. Nevertheless, the teacher can first point out how much of the German text can still be understood and can prompt a few strategies to get at the meaning of the 'difficult' lexical items.

All these exercises are best done with a teacher, as students need to focus on the reasons for the choices they are making, not just the answers. They need to be critical and questioning in their approach to texts, to learn to interrogate the context and eventually to transfer this approach to their own independent reading.

Guessing effectively from context is also influenced by readers' ability to recognize linking techniques, since clues to meaning are often not restricted to the clause or sentence in which the word occurs, and students need to get used to reading ahead to the following sentence for help in 'attacking' an unknown word. Reference back and forward within a text can be achieved by any of the following:

• demonstratives;
• pronouns;
• comparison;
• synonymy, especially in apposition;
• summary words;
• hyponymy;
• nominal and verbal substitution.

There is no doubt these phenomena frequently represent a barrier to comprehension but given the wide variation of ways in which a writer can achieve backward and forward reference, it is not clear to what extent formal practice can help L2 readers. Those interested in pursuing the theme are referred to Grellet (1981: 44-7) and Nuttall (1996: 86-94), although of course the examples presented there will need to be adapted to the characteristic referencing conventions of your particular target language.