AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014 Pp.503- 520
Guessing from Context: A Saudi EFL View
Faisal A. Al-Homoud
College of Languages and Translation,
Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The present paper reviews and discusses a number of studies that have been conducted in the Saudi context tackling the issue of guessing from context. More specifically, factors affecting the process of guessing as well as issues related to training EFL learners on this skill are discussed. Furthermore, the current review considers a range of studies that investigated guessing from context with ESL/EFL learners. A much deeper scrutiny was dedicated to studies carried out in the Saudi EFL context. In addition, the implications of these studies for both emerging research tendencies and classroom practices are embarked upon, bearing in mind the scarcity of studies, especially on issue of training learners on this central skill to both reading comprehension and vocabulary intake increase.
Keywords: guessing, context, clues, vocabulary learning, incidental learning, strategy training.