Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET)

General Education:
VOCABULARY and READING
 COMPETENCIES

VOCABULARY: Using context clues, structural

analysis, and other word formation techniques
READING:
* Noting details to discover the central theme of
a passage
* Pointing out the organizational structure of a
passage and determining how the parts are
related to the whole * Drawing
inferences and implications on reading texts
 THREE TYPES OF VOCABULARY

GENERAL: everyday words with widely

acknowledged meanings in common usage

SPECIAL: words from everyday vocabulary

that take on specialized meanings

TECHNICAL: words that are used only in a

particular subject matter
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: the study
of word parts to get the meaning of words.
ROOT WORDS
PREFIXES
SUFFIXES
 ROOT WORDS
Meaning Example
act do, move ACTive
bio life BIOgraphy
dict to speak DICTate
grad to step GRADuation
logy study of bioLOGY
man hand MANual
port carry PORTage
temp mix, time TEMPorary
 PREFIXES
Meaning
a- not Amoral
anti- against ANTIbody
dis- reverse action DISconnect
in-, il-, INsensitive,
im-, ir- not Illegal, IMmoral,
IRregular
mal- bad MALformed
mis- wrong MISprint
non- without NONstop
re- again REminiscence
un- not UNcover
 Vocabulary Development
mal = bad
PREFIXES mis = wrong
non = not
pre = before
sub = under, below

bene = good equi = equal

circum = around extra = outside
com = with inter = between, among
con = together intra = within
col = together intro = into
 Vocabulary Development

PREFIXES with more than one meaning

ab-, a = not, away,up, out

dis = opposite of , depriving of
In- (ir, il, im) = not
pro = in favor of, forward, ahead

re = again, back
super = over and above, very large
trans = across, beyond
un = not, the opposite of
 SUFFIXES
Meaning Example
-able capable of being availABLE
showing national ChinESE,
-ese origin LebanESE
-ful full of meaningFUL
-hood state or condition stateHOOD
-ive having the quality of explosIVE, massIVE
-like having the quality of childLIKE
-ly having the quality of motherLY

-ous, -eous, virtuOUS,

-ious having the quality of courtEOUS
-y full of hairY
 Vocabulary Development
SUFFIXES one who does something

ant accountant
eer electioneer
er stenographer
ist typist
ian physician
or inventor
Vocabulary Development
SUFFIXES abstract words

ance reluctance
ence dependence
hood childhood
dom freedom
ment improvement
ness shyness
ship authorship
Vocabulary Development
SUFFIXES full of

ous hazardous
ose grandiose
acious sagacious
ful painful
 Vocabulary Development
SUFFIXES related or pertaining to

ive creative
ative talkative
ant defiant
ic Arabic
ical philosophical
al lyrical
Vocabulary Development
SUFFIXES abstract words

ation determination
tion correction
ice cowardice
ism socialism
tude gratitude
ty loyalty
ity equality
CONTEXT CLUES. words, phrases, sentences
surrounding an unfamiliar word may give clue to
its meaning.

1. Synonym or Antonym: clues that indicate an

unfamiliar wordis similar or opposite in meaning to
an unfamiliar word or phrase

Many memoirs describe the feeling of camaraderie

between people, the friendship they felt when they
shared what little they had with others.

During the drought, many farmers abandoned their

unproductive fields in search of arable farmland.
SYNONYMS
His guilt and regret shows that his
remorse was real.
The mountain pass was a tortuous road,
winding and twisting around the trees of
the mountainside.

ANTONYMS
Abigailes remarks are generally not
cryptic, but straightforward.
The twins Abby and Joshua are really
different. Abby is lively and talkative
while Joshua is reserved and taciturn.
2. Cause and Effect: clues that indicate an
unfamiliar word is the cause of and or the
result of an action, feeling, or idea

Constant drought and windstorm conditions

caused the erosion of fertile topsoil that
crops needed to grow.
3. Comparison and Contrast: an unknown
word may be compared or contrasted with a
more familiar word or concept

Impromptu camps of squatters would spring

up like mushrooms in vacant lots of city
subdivisions.

Unlike the displaced migrants and others who

were suddenly unemployed, the affluent were
not much affected by the socioeconomic
depression.
4. Definitions and Restatements: words that
define the term or reinstate in other words

Definition is considered the simplest and most

obvious way by which the meaning of a word is
revealed. The be verb is used to equate the
term to be defined to the familiar word in the
sentence.

Entire families often became transient, moving

from place to place in order to find work.
WORD MEANINGS. words have many
layers of meanings that change depending
on the time, place, or situation in which they
are used.

Denotation and Connotation: denotation

refers to a words literal meaning while
connotation is the emotional meaning or
association people connect to the word
Match the underlined idioms with their meanings
A) more than one can afford
B) a sunny day
C) suddenly
D) very happy
E) very ambitious

On Monday, out of the clear blue sky, the

local travel agent called up Elsa to tell her that
she had won two tickets to the International
Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. She had always
wanted to go with her husband Randy but they
thought that such a trip was beyond their reach.
She was walking in air when she told Randy the
good news.
 E) talking nonsense I) rapidly
F) temperamental J) daydream
G) disappear without K) unaware
leaving a trace
L) slowly
H) very happy
M) aspire for something

At first, Randy thought that Elsa was
joking and full of hot air. But when he realized
that she was not building castles in the air, his
annoyance vanished into thin air. As soon as
Randy came home from work, the couple talked
eagerly about the trip. Soon their plans grew by
leaps and bounds . Elsas head was in the
clouds all the time because she was looking
forward to her first balloon ride. She was in cloud
nine thinking how good it is to reach for the sky.
 FIGURES OF SPEECH
Simile - comparison of two unlike ideas
or objects, using the
word like or as
Lips like rosebuds and kisses like wine

Metaphor - a comparison of two

dissimilar things
She is an angel in disguise.
Personification - the representation of
an object or idea as human
The jovial moon smiling benignly down
at us

Apostrophe - an old-fashioned direct

address to an absent or dead person or
thing
Oh freedom! Hear our cry!
Oxymoron- a phrase linking incongruous
or contradictory terms
A wise fool

Paradox - an apparently absurd or self-

contradictory statement that may
nevertheless be true or wise
Her gentleness was too hurtful to bear.
Hyperbole - exaggeration or
overstatement for emphasis
I could eat a horse.
Irony - use of word/s to convey
something markedly different from the
literal meaning; a common component of
sarcasm, though not necessarily so
cutting

Its a secret so only half of London knows

about it.
Metonymy - use of concrete term to
refer to some wider idea that it
characterizes
The crown for monarchy

Synecdoche - use of the name of a part

to refer to the whole, or vice versa,
such as
forty sail to refer to forty ships
Allusion - refers to a literary, biblical,
historical, mythological, scientific
event, character, or place

Beware of the kiss of Judas! ;

Beware of Greeks, bearing gifts
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Onomatopoeia- use of words whose
sound suggests their meaning
Sizzle, splash, crack, buzz, zap

Alliteration - use of words with same

initial consonant sound
The furrow followed free
Assonance uses repetition of vowels
without repetition of consonants, also
called a vowel rhyme
alone, alone, all, all, alone

Consonance repeats the final

consonant sounds, also called a slant
rhyme
dreary and weary odds and ends
Anaphora repeats a word or
words at the beginning of two or
more successive clauses or
verses

Cannons to the right of

them/Cannons to the left of them!
Euphemism: indirect, agreeable terms
used in place of more direct, less appealing
ones

Euphemism More direct form

memorial garden cemetery
socially maladjusted rude
Faux imitation
misrepresentation lie
casualties dead
 Lets try these:

1. The president took the floor for his

acceptance speech. metonymy
2. Your smile is as sweet as honey. simile
3. The sanitary officer collects our
trash every Friday. euphemism
4. Blue, blue, my world is blue alliteration
Identify the figure of speech used in the following:

1. The train click-clucked, and click-

clucked, click-clucked monotonously
over the rail joints. Onomatopoeia

2. I have been to all places looking for

you. Hyperbole

3. Your senseless chats are tinkling

cymbals to my ears. Metonymy
4. The wind whispered its secret to the
bamboos. Personification
5. Congratulations! You lost the ball
game again. Irony
6. I hate love for all the pains it cause
me. Oxymoron

7. We live in one roof. Synecdoche

8. Beware of Judas in your group.

Allusion
9. O sweet woods, the delight
of solitariness! Apostrophe

10. Fair is foul and foul is fair.

Alliteration
UNDERSTANDING THREE LEVELS OF IDEAS

MAIN POINT

Major Detail Major Detail Major Detail

minor detail minor detail minor detail

minor detail minor detail minor detail

The main focus of reading is getting the main point the

core, the message, the thesis, the main idea, the central
focus, the controlling idea, and the central thought.
The TOPIC is the general subject of the
material. It answers questions like,
Who or what is discussed in the text?
or Who or what is the content of the
material?
Cost-cutting measures have to be practiced if a
company or even the country as a whole has to
survive. Cost-cutting takes different forms. A
plain housewife can best cost-cut on expenses
by recycling leftover food, turning off electricity
and water faucets when not in use. Going to
supermarket only once instead of water trips.
These practices also help prevent panic buying
which results in shortage of food supplies.
Indeed the hardship that is felt nowadays can be
reduced by observing some cost-cutting
measures.
The MAIN IDEA is the chief point an
author is making about the topic. It
sums up the authors primary message.
It is also called the central idea or
thesis. It is usually found in the
beginning of the paragraph.
Cost-cutting measures have to be practiced if a
company or even the country as a whole has to
survive. Cost-cutting takes different forms. A
plain housewife can best cost-cut on expenses by
recycling leftover food, turning off electricity and
water faucets when not in use. Going to
supermarket only once instead of water trips.
These practices also help prevent panic buying
which results in shortage of food supplies. Indeed
the hardship that is felt nowadays can be reduced
by observing some cost-cutting measures.
DETAILS develop, explain, and prove the
main point or main idea. These are facts,
descriptions, examples, and reasons that
convince the reader and make the
material interesting.
Cost-cutting measures have to be practiced if a
company or even the country as a whole has to
survive. Cost-cutting takes different forms. A
plain housewife can best cost-cut on expenses by
recycling leftover food, turning off electricity and
water faucets when not in use. Going to
supermarket only once instead of water trips.
These practices also help prevent panic buying
which results in shortage of food supplies. Indeed
the hardship that is felt nowadays can be reduced
by observing some cost-cutting measures.
INFERENCING is to interpret unstated
meaning; the author provides clues so
that the reader can put together facts and
details in a logical order and draws
conclusions.
Cost-cutting measures have to be practiced if a
company or even the country as a whole has to
survive. Cost-cutting takes different forms. A
plain housewife can best cost-cut on expenses by
recycling leftover food, turning off electricity and
water faucets when not in use. Going to
supermarket only once instead of water trips.
These practices also help prevent panic buying
which results in shortage of food supplies. Indeed
the hardship that is felt nowadays can be reduced
by observing some cost-cutting measures.

TIMES ARE HARD SO IT IS IMPORTANT

FOR PEOPLE TO SAVE.
PREDICTION is made on the basis of
prior knowledge. It answers questions
such as: What do you think will happen?
and Why do you think so?
Cost-cutting measures have to be practiced if a
company or even the country as a whole has to
survive. Cost-cutting takes different forms. A
plain housewife can best cost-cut on expenses by
recycling leftover food, turning off electricity and
water faucets when not in use. Going to
supermarket only once instead of water trips.
These practices also help prevent panic buying
which results in shortage of food supplies. Indeed
the hardship that is felt nowadays can be reduced
by observing some cost-cutting measures.
IF WE DONT OBSERVE COST-CUTTING
MEASURES, WE MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY
LIVING UP WITH THE TIMES.