Differing views on context cues

Abstract

The indispensable role of context cues has been acclaimed over the years by a great majority of reading experts. It is obvious, for example, that the resolution of the intended connotation of a word depends on the context in which it resides. Of late, the “whole language” approach to reading development has adopted the use of context cues as one of its basic tenets. Some recent experimental research has questioned the extent to which context cues serve as a means of written word recognition. This evidence suggests that observations that beginning readers depend heavily on context cues for word recognition should not be interpreted to mean that this practice should be reinforced in children learning to read. On the contrary, the modern evidence notes that able, mature readers recognize written words automatically, and thus make little use of context cues. Nonetheless, the finding that small but reliable gains in children's knowledge of word meaning is made through the use of context cues indicates that there is some limited place for instruction in context cues in reading programs.