Inferencing Activities for ESL Reading Comprehension

Inferencing activities for ESL reading comprehension are some of my favorite reading activities to do in my ESL class. Once students get the hang of it, they become more fluent and confident readers. Plus, there are so many fun practice activities you can do with this skill!

So, why is making inferences important, and what are some fun ways you can teach this skill in your class? Read on to find out.

Why is Inferencing Important?

• 1. Language Empowerment and Confidence

• First, this skill empowers students to take control of their own learning because they will realize that they have the tools and knowledge to guess the meaning of many unknown words without using their translators or dictionaries. As a result, they will feel more confident when reading. Go brain power!

• 2. Faster Reading Comprehension

• Sometimes, language learners get into the habit of looking up or translating every unknown word in a reading passage. As a result, this can really slow them down – and it is not necessary! Instead, show them that they don’t need to look up every word because they have the skills necessary to guess.

• 3. More Accurate Vocabulary Learning

• Too often, students will stop to look up or translate a word and they will encounter the wrong definition of the word for the context. This is because many English words have multiple meanings, and sometimes they have very different meanings! However, if students are trained to guess the meaning of the word from the context, they can avoid this problem.
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4 Great Inferencing Activities for English Learners

1. 1. Discuss the Meaning

2. First, put students into pairs or groups. Then give students 5-6 short passages, each with a bolded word they likely don’t know. Then have them discuss what they think the word means and the context clues that led them to the meaning. Next, have them write down the following information about the word: the part of speech, a synonym, an antonym, and an example sentence. Finally, when they finish, they can compare answers with other pairs/groups, and the teacher can check for accuracy.

3. 2. Bring in a Text

4. Once you’ve taught students how to infer meaning from context, have them bring in an example text with words and meanings that they’ve guessed. This can be any text in English; for example, a magazine article, a Tweet, or even song lyrics. If your students are interested in different academic or professional fields, have them bring in a text that pertains to their field. 
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6. 3. Types of Context Clues

7. Another idea is to teach students about the different types of context clues. For example, look for context clues that signal examples, cause and effect, synonyms, antonyms, and word formation (prefixes and suffixes). Then they can do an activity where they identify the types of context clues in texts.
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9. 4. Choose the Best Definition

10. This activity is great for dictionary work and parts of speech practice. First, give students reading passages with bolded words that have multiple definitions. Next, have them grab a dictionary (I prefer to hand out physical dictionaries to avoid distractions from their devices). Then they can look up the word in the dictionary and choose the part of speech and best definition for the context of the word. Finally, they can discuss the answers and the other meanings of the words.

You and your students will love these inferencing activities for ESL reading comprehension!

For fun, no-prep inferencing activities, check out my ESL Reading Comprehension Inferencing Activities, Worksheets, and Task Cards Bundle. Click the image below to check it out!