MASTERING TEST-TAKING READING SKILLS WITH CONTEXTUAL GUESSING: THE CASE OF UNIFIED ENTRANCE EXAM

Oct 15, 2026

A study addresses low unified entrance examination (UEE) performance in 2021, focusing on the reading strategy of contextual guessing. It evaluates how contextual guessing is used during extra-curriculum EFL classes to enhance students’ UEE results, and whether word formation instruction strengthens this strategy. A quasi-experimental design with 24 third-year students compares a strategy-focused, vocabulary-platform-supported approach against grammar-translation instruction. Mann–Whitney U results indicate statistically significant improvement for learners using contextual guessing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Unified Entrance Examination and Reading Requirements

Contextual Guessing as a Reading Strategy

Motivation for the Study and Research Gap

Methods

Quasi-Experimental Design and Participants

Measurement and Test Statistics

Results and Conclusions

DOI: 10.20535/2410-8286 .252372 MASTERING TEST-TAKING READING SKILLS WITH CONTEXTUAL GUESSING: THE CASE OF UNIFIED ENTRANCE EXAM Olha Chaikovska 1, Alla Bodnar2, Valentyna Spivachuk3 1,2Higher Education Institution “Podillia State University”, Ukraine 3Khmelnytskyi National University, Ukraine [olgachaikovskaya@ukr.net](olgachaikovskaya@ukr.net) A high percentage of bachelor test-takers who failed the unified entrance examination test in 2021 demonstrated the lack of adequate reading strategies such as contextual guessing for improving exam performance. The study aims at evaluating the use of contextual guessing strategy during extra-curriculum EFL classes as a way to improve students’ unified entrance examination performance. The present study also examines the impact of word formation as a component of contextual guessing strategy and the effectiveness of contextual guessing with online vocabulary application in exam preparation. A quasi-experimental design was employed which involved 24 third-year students from different departments of Higher Educational Institution "Podillia State University" in 2020- 2021. The quantitative research method was employed to assess the effectiveness of using contextual guessing to improve students’test performance using the mean score formula. Additionally, we produced a test statistic based on the ranks (Mann–Whitney Ucriterion) . The results showed that the experimental group that was taught the strategy of guessing unknown words with the help of word-formation processes, and contextual clues, in particular, and applied the vocabulary platform for fixing and retaining guessed words had higher results than those who were taught unified entrance examination tests with the help of the grammar-translation method. Based on Mann–Whitney U-criterion we have statistically significant evidence to conclude that contextual guessing significantly affects EFL learners’ test performance in experimental and control groups. The guide on word formation was designed during the experiment. Keywords: reading; contextual guessing; extra-curriculum; clues; on-line dictionary Introduction Currently, the reading skills gained new emphasis in the context of the unified entrance examination (UEE) that is used for admission into the Master's programme in Ukrainian universities. Administered by the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (NAQAHE) UEE tests the level of candidates' ability to independently read and understand authentic texts for a certain period (60 min.) . Except for different reading skills the candidate should be able to set the meaning of unfamiliar words based on guess and similarity to the native language. In 2021 unified entrance examination test results showed that almost 25 per cent of entrants (21,939 people) did not score the minimum required number of points. New words and long texts are seen by the students who participated in the experiment as a major obstacle to comprehending a reading text. Therefore, we find it important to employ efficient reading strategies to read English texts more effectively with non-English speaking readers. We consider contextual guessing a valuable reading strategy that can benefit successful passing the unified entrance examination. Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that most university students follow the grammartranslation method in reading: starting by reading word by word, and stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item in the dictionary. Such an approach takes a lot of time and yields no results. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behaviour to deal with different reading purposes. So the teacher's responsibility in the context of exam preparation is to teach reading strategies that enable the students to read at higher levels of proficiency and, respectively, increase the number of Master's degree applicants. Most researchers claim such reading str

FAQs

What problem does the study target regarding the unified entrance exam?

Many bachelor test-takers failed the 2021 unified entrance examination due to insufficient reading strategies, especially contextual guessing, needed to improve exam performance.

How does the intervention in this research work?

Students were taught to guess unknown words using word-formation processes and contextual clues, supported by an online vocabulary platform for retaining guessed words.

What conclusion does the study draw from the results?

Statistically significant evidence shows that contextual guessing significantly affects EFL learners’ test performance in both experimental and control groups.

Oct 15, 2026

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