The second scenario involves instances in which the meaning of the word simply is not known. Context analysis involves using the context in which the word appears to guess what the unknown word is or means. The major limitation is that it is content-specific. Table 3.2 presents these guidelines. When the context clues suggest several meanings and you must know which 4.
Semantic analysis is an extension of context analysis.
Structural analysis is useful for decoding unrecognized words that already are in the reader's listening vocabulary but provides little in the way of promoting understanding of unknown words. Special problems arise when students with LD have difficulty decoding polysyllabic words that require the use of not only simple sound-symbol phonics but also related syllabication skills. Morphological analysis is similar to structural analysis in that it also involves analyzing the unknown word for its components but is more appropriate for determining the meaning of unknown words. When encountering a word to which the student does not know the meaning, morphological analysis is used, usually in conjunction with context analysis, to determine the meaning of the word. Although the processes just described are technically different, their distinction is largely academic.