Abstract:
Top-down models of reading emphasize methods and techniques that promote active reading
which involves utilizing contextual clues to guess vocabulary meaning. This study aims at
analyzing the correlation between EFL students’ general reading proficiency and guessing
patterns, and identifying the types of contextual clues actually used by EFL readers of various
proficiency levels. Sixty freshman students from two Palestinian universities participated in the
study, and two separate tests were conducted to measure the students’ reading proficiency and
their guessing patterns. Statistical analyses of the results showed that there is a high correlation
between correct guessing from context and text comprehension. Readers of all levels tend to rely
on local, rather than global or general, contextual clues. Moreover, although high-level readers
seem to guess correctly more often than low-level readers, they all seem to favor reading
backward in the text for comprehension rather than reading forward.