2do Medio >Inglés Reading Comprehension: Implicit information Hi, I m George. I m 14 years old. One week ago I chatted with Emily. She was not feeling okay, but after our conversation, she stopped talking to me. She said I was rude and insensitive and that I didn t understand a thing! This is the conversation we had. Can you help me understand what I did wrong? 1. Are George and Emily friends? 2. How is Emily feeling? Is she sick? 3. Based on the information provided, who is Spencer? 1
What is implicit information? Implicit information is any idea implied or understood though not directly expressed. As the information is not present in the text, the reader must analyze the explicit information given, understand the message behind the words and then extract the implicit information hidden in the message. In the previous experience, George chatted with Emily. As he was just paying attention to the explicit information provided, in this case, Spencer, who was 15 years old, was gone; he was unable to understand the hidden message behind Emily s words that she had lost her pet. George failed in finding the implicit information of the sentence read as he was neither analyzing nor understanding and extracting the correct ideas from the online conversation. Online conversation between George and Emily Spencer is gone, he is 15 and Emily has some of his toys Emily is talking about a being that is 15 years old. He can play with toys. A being who was 15 years old but is considered old. He is dead and could play with toys. That cannot be John Spencer, Emily s neighbor. 2
Strategies to extract implicit information Step 1: Identify key explicit information Step 2: Analyze the explicit information Step 3: Understand the hidden message behind words Step 1: Identify key explicit information To identify key explicit information is to find specific relevant information in a text. Names, actions, dates, places, feelings, etc can be considered as explicit information. Step 2: Analyze the explicit information When you read a text especially those where an opinion, feeling or something personal is described, you have to examine in detail the explicit information provided in order to discover or understand the message intended. Step 3: Understand the hidden message behind words When you analyze a message, you can understand or discover ideas that are not explicitly said on it but are very important in order to fully understand what the writer wanted to express. In poetry they are called metaphors. Nevertheless, hidden information can be present in any type of text and those ideas are widely called as implicit information. 3
1. Identify key explicit information After the online conversation, George was really disappointed. He decided to read the conversation again in order to understand it better and discover why Emily didn t want to talk to him again. 1. Read the conversation While reading the online conversation, he found some pieces of explicit information. Look at the pieces of information that he discovered. Spencer: is gone Was 15 Emily considered him old. Could play with toys (bone) While reading the conversation, George found the most important or key explicit information in order to understand why Emily does not want to talk to him again. 2. Analyze the explicit information Using the previous information, George started analyzing (breaking down into smaller components) the ideas in the conversation. 1. Read the following chart about the key explicit pieces of information and George s analysis of them. 4
Spencer is gone: Spencer is a being really loved by Emily and now is dead. Spencer was 15: this being was 15, quite young, but Emily considered him/her as old. Spencer could play with toys: Spencer is a being that even though he or she was 15 she/he could play with toys, especially a bone 3. Understand the hidden message behind words Using the analysis, George highlighted some ideas that allowed him to understand who Spencer was and why Emily was so angry at him. 1. Look at the chart and read George s conclusions Spencer is gone: Spencer is a being really loved by Emily and now is dead. Spencer was 15: this being was 15 quite young but Emily considered him/her as old. Spencer could play with toys: Spencer is a being that even though he or she was 15 she could play with toys, especially a bone. A being that is 15 years old and considered old can t be a human being as John Spencer, Emily s neighbor. Spencer is dead and Emily is really sad. She still has some of his toys, especially a bone. Therefore, Spencer must be a pet, may be a dog - as dogs tend to live around 15 years and they play with bones. George found out that Emily was angry at him because he misunderstood the ideas of the conversation. He was not paying real attention to metaphors or implicit information; he was unable to say that Emily was explaining to him that she was sad because her pet Spencer had passed away. 5
Now let s practice Read the following passages. Then choose the best alternative Hi, I am Pedro. I live in Colombia. If I have to describe my country, I would say that in Colombia the ethnic mixture of indigenous, African and Spanish roots, have given it a strong and wide range of cultural elements that can be appreciated on many aspects of everyday life. Music clearly represents the various influences, being a very important part of the Colombian culture. Salsa, Cumbia and Vallenato are very popular styles in the whole country, and have now reached global audiences. Which of the following activities would Pedro prefer to do? a) Visit a museum of Latin American history b) Read a magazine about the Spanish influence in Latin America. c) Go to a store where CDs can be bought. Hello, my name is Maria and I am Mexican. Well, Mexican people are known for their kindness and hospitality. We are descendants of the Aztecs and Mayas. They showed great artistic skills as well as pride for their heritage. Through history, people of Mexico have shown their courage several times, including the famous Battle of Puebla, which is commemorated in the holiday of Cinco de Mayo. Which of the following activities would Maria prefer to do? a) Write a poem about the history of Europe. b) Paint a picture about Aztecs and Mayas. c) Play a Latin American instrument. 6
Hi, I am Lianna and I live in Brazil. Brazilian people are extremely diverse but we have one thing in common, we are a remarkably happy people, with a spontaneous, enthusiastic and high-spirited nature - which we eagerly demonstrate at every opportunity for a celebration, especially during the annual Carnival parades. We dance, we laugh, and we have so much fun! Which of the following activities would Lianna prefer to do? a) Go to a Latin American concert. b) Play soccer in a local female team. c) Go to a party and dance for hours. Read the following text and answer the following questions. Underline the information that you use to answer the questions. When 15-year-old Pedro Fuentealba thinks about his time volunteering in Haiti, he doesn't think about the fact that he had no running water and used a tent to sleep. Instead, he remembers the people he met, the work he did with a youth group to improve accessibility to a local library and the leadership skills he gained. "We generally did most things at a small river - bathing, hair and clothes washing, but we used to purify water to wash our face and brush our teeth. But if you needed to wash your hands quickly, you had a bucket that we took to the river, and we used a latrine as there was no toilet flushing. At the beginning, I was so tired of wasting time going to the river just for a bucket of water, that I wished to go home, but there was always someone to remind you that it was not a trip for pleasure but an experience of life. He was given the opportunity to make the trip through F.L or Friends of Latin America, an organization that trains high school students to volunteer in Latin America. The emphasis of the program is promoting leadership. Before traveling out of your country, you need to go through five months of training. When you become a volunteer, you live with a host family for six to eight weeks. During that time, you do some classroom teaching on health and environmental issues, and work with the community on sustainable projects, "The idea is that everyone works together and it's a lot of independence so you really have to be strong and set an example for others," said Pedro in his interview with a local newspaper. "I learned how to really talk to anyone about anything and now I feel more confident about who I am and what I want to do in life." So what do you think? Would you like to become a volunteer of F.L? 7
A. At the beginning of his trip, which of the following words best represents Pedro s feelings? a. Happy and exhausted. b. Surprised and tired. c. Frustrated and tired d. Angry and exhausted. B. What can be inferred from the sentence it was not a trip for pleasure but an experience of life? a. A trip is always part of any teenager s life. b. This trip was meant to be seen as a job. c. A trip is always difficult so at the end you don t enjoy it. d. This trip was not meant to be for fun but a moment to help others. C. If the emphasis of the program is leadership, what can be stated about Pedro s personality? a. After the trip, he became a shy and introverted teenager. b. Before the trip, he was the president of his class. c. After the trip, his self confidence and self esteem were improved. d. Before the trip, he used to suffer from bullying attacks. D. What can be inferred from the sentence I learned how to really talk to anyone about anything? a. Pedro improved his social skills. b. Before the trip, Pedro didn t know how to speak in Spanish. c. Before the trip, Pedro used to talk only with his family. d. Pedro discovered that it was not bad to talk to anyone. E. What pieces of information did you use to answer these questions? Why? F. Compare your answers with a classmate. Comment on the pieces of information that you used to answer questions A-D 8
Time to sum up George failed in extracting implicit information. As you have learnt here, extracting implicit information is very important when you read texts especially those that describe feelings or opinions. To summarize, complete the following chart with the strategies that you need in order to find implicit information. Strategies to find implicit information Difficulties applying it: Difficulties applying it: Difficulties applying it: 9