Initial encounters with unfamiliar words in independent reading

摘要: As part of an investigation vocabulary learning and teaching in a seventh-grade, literaturebased reading classroom, I examined the strategies two proficient readers employed to understand unfamiliar words their self-selected reading. Based on constructivist view learning, this report focuses nature incidental word during independent provides detailed descriptions what middle-school did initial encounters with self-selected, unknown Methodological tools for probe were verbal protocols, formal informal interviews, written questionnaires. Both participants multiple gain knowledge new words, including making use distant local context, drawing different types content connections, doing word-level analysis, using syntactically appropriate synonyms, as last resort, dictionary. However, they differed substantially kinds connections upon which drew.