Word guessing is a method of reading in which a beginner reader does not know what a word is in a sentence, so they guess what the word is and read the rest of the sentence to confirm their guess.[1][2]
Example
In the English pangram, "The quick brown fox jumped over a lazy dog", if the reader is unfamiliar with the word jumped, then they might read it as "joom-ped". After reading the rest of the sentence, they may realize that the word was actually the past tense of jump.
Pictures can be used to offer clues to the meaning of a word.[3] If the sentence is illustrated, the reader may use that information to deduce the meaning of the sentence.
Reception
Word guessing has been suggested as a method for teaching English-language learners (ELL) that fosters semantic mapping.[4] Primary-school teachers, on the other hand, have criticized the strategy for creating bad habits and not teaching young readers about phonics.[3]
References
- Alderson, J. Charles (2000-02-24). Assessing Reading. Cambridge University Press. pp. 346–347. ISBN 978-0-521-59000-6.
- Kojima, Hideo (2004-03-31). "The Effects of Word Guessing Strategy Instruction on Reading Comprehension". 弘前大学教育学部紀要 (91): 75–83.
- Starter), Holly (Teach (2021-07-15). "Why 'Word Guessing' is Not a Reading Strategy". Teach Starter. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- Colombo, Michaela; Furbush, Dana (2009). Teaching English Language Learners: Content and Language in Middle and Secondary Mainstream Classrooms. SAGE. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-4129-5965-0.