Reading and Vocabulary in a New Language · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Reading and Vocabulary in a New Language

Languages · Language Learning · ages 7-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. You see the French word 'orange' in a story. What is the best way to guess what it means?

    • Skip the word and stop reading
    • It looks like an English word, so guess it means the same
    • Guess it means something totally different

  2. In French, 'Le chien est petit' means 'The dog is small.' Which picture goes with this sentence?

    • A small dog
    • A big cat
    • A small bird

  3. A bilingual dictionary can help you check what a new word means.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. You want to know what the Spanish word 'perro' means for a poster about pets. What should you do?

    • Look up 'perro' in a Spanish-English dictionary
    • Guess and never check
    • Skip the word completely

  5. You read this German sentence: 'Der Hund läuft schnell im Park.' You already know 'Hund' means dog and 'Park' means park. What is the sentence probably about?

    • A cat sleeping in a park
    • A boy reading a book
    • A dog running fast in the park

  6. Four French captions sit next to four animal pictures. You read 'Le poisson nage' and pick the picture of a fish swimming. What does this show?

    • You need a dictionary for every word
    • You understood the sentence
    • The picture is wrong

  7. Tom reads a French poem and finds the word 'silencieux'. It looks like 'silent', and the sentence talks about a quiet forest. What should Tom do next to be sure?

    • Use the context clue and check a dictionary to confirm
    • Stop reading the poem
    • Ignore the word since it looks familiar

  8. Mia sees the Spanish word 'actual' and assumes it means the same as the English word 'actual'. But in Spanish, 'actual' means 'current'. What went wrong?

    • Mia should never guess from lookalike words
    • Spanish and English never share word meanings
    • The words look alike but have different meanings, a false friend
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Reading and Vocabulary in a New Language W1-mt_chlXo6jI0U-s1

  1. It looks like an English word, so guess it means the same · French and English share many words that look alike, so a lookalike word is a good first clue.
  2. A small dog · The sentence describes a small dog, so the picture with a small dog matches.
  3. True · A bilingual dictionary shows the same word in both languages, so you can check your guess.
  4. Look up 'perro' in a Spanish-English dictionary · Looking the word up in a bilingual dictionary confirms what it means before you use it.
  5. A dog running fast in the park · The words you already knew, dog and park, gave you enough clues to guess the rest.
  6. You understood the sentence · Matching a sentence to the right picture shows you understood it, even without translating every word.
  7. Use the context clue and check a dictionary to confirm · Combining a lookalike clue with a quick dictionary check confirms your guess is correct.
  8. The words look alike but have different meanings, a false friend · Some words look similar across languages but mean different things, so it is smart to check a dictionary if you're not sure.
Worksheet · LightMySky