Decoding is the ability to figure out unknown words, which is a true statement. It is a crucial skill for reading that involves phonetics and letter-sound relationships, and is essential for developing literacy skills taught in schools. Semantic encoding is related to how we remember and categorize information by meaning.
Decoding is indeed the ability to figure out unknown words, so the answer to the student's question is a) True. Decoding in reading is a critical skill, often taught in the primary grades, that enables students to translate written words into spoken words and derive meaning from them. This process involves using knowledge of letter-sound correspondences and phonetics to pronounce and understand new words.
Understanding the meaning of words is closely connected to semantic encoding. Semantic encoding, as demonstrated by William Bousfield in 1935, refers to the process of coding information according to its meaning, which is fundamental for memory recall. For example, when learners memorize words, they will likely recall them based on their category or meaning because that's how they process the information semantically.
Within the context of education, a manifest function of schools such as learning to read and write is directly tied to the process of decoding. Schools explicitly teach decoding as part of their curriculum to help students develop literacy skills (answer to question 13 is b).