Method 9 Word Clearing is a simple, yet very effective method of Word Clearing. One student can do it with another or it can be done by a professional Word Clearer on a student. It does not require the use of a Meter and is thus easier to do than many of the other methods of Word Clearing and easier to get widely applied.

It can be applied among students of any subject. With the fundamental training covered they can be twinned up and do it on a turn-about basis. The basic set-up is simply a student and a Word Clearer (often another student) sitting across from each other, each with a copy of the same materials in front of them. The student reads aloud to the Word Clearer and the Word Clearer pays great attention to any non-optimum reaction of the student as that is an indicator of misunderstood words or symbols. The types of non-optimum reactions to look for, such as stumbling, mispronouncing, adding or leaving out words, etc. are listed at length in this chapter. The misunderstoods are found and cleared and the reading aloud continues from the point where the misunderstood was found. Doing this kind of Word Clearing on a regular basis also has the effect of teaching the student by example to look up any suspected misunderstood word or symbol when he studies on his own.

Misunderstood Words
When a student is studying on his own he does not always know when he has gone past a misunderstood word. Yet, the bypassed misunderstoods will give him all kinds of trouble in duplicating and understanding the materials. You could say the communication formula goes out as there is no "duplication with understanding". Words can be misunderstood in a number of ways as covered in the section, "Misunderstood words - and How to Clear Them".

The ten principal types of MUs are:
1. A false definition: The person has a definition that has no relationship to the actual meaning of the word. Example: The person reads or hears the word "dog" and thinks that "dog" means "pillow". You can't get a more incorrect meaning. Another example: A person sees a multiplication sign (x) and thinks it means to cross something out.

2. An invented definition: An invented definition is a type of a false definition. The person made it up himself or he was given somebody else's made up idea. This can be difficult to find as he is certain he knows it - after all he invented it himself. But usually it does read on a Meter.  
Example: A gang talks about 'goop' all the time. A new member does not know what it means, but take it to mean 'beer'. To the gang it means 'drugs'. The new member is very confused.

3. An incorrect definition: A definition that is not right but may have something to do with the word or symbol. Example: A student reads the word 'image' (like how an actor is perceived by the fans) and takes it to mean painting or drawing. The two meanings are related but lead to MU's and confusion in the student's mind.

4. An incomplete definition: A definition that just isn't precise enough or is insufficient. Example: The person reads the word "office" and thinks it means "room." The definition of the word "office" is: "a room or building which holds an administrative business activity." 

5. An unsuitable definition: A definition by itself is correct, but does not fit the context in which it is used. It causes the student not to be able to understand the sentence correctly. Example: The person hears the sentence: "he is dressing a turkey." The person understands "dressing" as "putting clothes on." That is one definition of "dressing" but it is not the definition used in the sentence. The definition of "dressing" that applies is: "making ready to cook." 

6. A homonymic definition:  One word which has two or more clearly different meanings. A homonym can also be two (or more) words that sound the same ("piece" and "peace" for example). This can cause the student not to understand the text right. Examples: to box (sport); a box (container). Piece (a part of something). Peace (opposite of war).

7. A Substitute Definition: A substitute definition occurs when a person uses a synonym for the definition of a word. A synonym is not a definition. A synonym is a word having a meaning similar to that of another word. Example: The person reads the word "portly" and thinks the definition of the word is "fat." "Fat" is a synonym for the word "portly." But "portly" means: "of a stately appearance; impressive, especially because of size." One needs to learn the full definition of a word as well as its synonyms.

8. An omitted (missing) definition: An omitted definition is a definition of a word that the person is missing; it can be omitted from the dictionary he is using. In other words, the word is used in a meaning the student doesn't know, but he thinks he does. This can often have to do with slang or humor. 
Example: to 'borrow' something may mean to steal it. 

9. A No-definition:  A no-definition is a "not-understood" word or symbol. 
Example: The person reads the sentence "The business produced no X%&$." The student obviously don't have a definition for 'X%&$' as it simply is a misprint and he or she can't understand the sentence.  

10. A rejected definition: A rejected definition is a definition of a word which the person will not accept. This can be based on emotional reactions to it. The person finds the definition degrading to himself or his group, etc. He may have a total misunderstood on the word and still refuse to have it explained or to look it up. Example: A person runs into the musical expression "C Minor", but knows that belongs to classical music and he finds people with that interest too intellectual and the type that look down on him. He is totally unwilling to look it up. 'C minor' is a musical key, meaning the musical scale the piece of music is written in. It starts on the note 'C'. 

If a person has gone past many, many misunderstood words in his reading or education his ability to read has been lowered considerably. It will seriously affect his ability to do anything in that field and it will affect his intelligence as well. What he himself writes and says won’t be understood, what he reads and hears he won’t understand and he will generally be out of communication.  In extreme cases he will become a sort of robot or zombie. Criminal acts can often, when traced back extensively, be traced back to many, many misunderstoods. You will be amazed that somebody who appears to be a criminal idiot all of a sudden begins to look like a 'genius' after he has been given extensive  Word Clearing.

Points to Note
When a student understands all the words on the printed page he is reading he will feel bright and alert and understand the content of what he reads.

If he then passes a word or symbol he doesn't understand this will cause an interruption of his understanding. If he reads aloud, such as in Method 9, he will stumble, hesitate; he may have a facial reaction or some body-reaction. The misunderstood itself causes a blank in the student's mind and this in turn causes the mistake or reaction. If he goes on reading, he will feel duller and less interested in the subject. He will have to use more effort and self-discipline to go on. There will always be some kind of non-optimum reaction after passing a misunderstood. The most common reactions are:

1. Student adding a word or leaving out a word or changing a word in the sentence he is reading. 2. Student stumbling on a word or saying it incorrectly. 3. Student pausing or reading more slowly. 4. Student frowning or looking uncertain. 5. Student going stiff or tense in some way. He may squint his eyes, bite his lip, lift an eyebrow or show some other facial expression. 6. Student reading with effort. 7. Student reading with a glib, robotic attitude. Other manifestations can occur.

A student can of course stumble if he is trying to read in too dim a light or has eye trouble or the text is poorly printed and is very hard to make out. Thus it is necessary to do M9 Word Clearing only in bright light. If the student is supposed to be wearing glasses he should be wearing glasses and the material being Word Cleared must be clearly printed or copied and not contain deletions or corrections.

All possible reasons why he cannot read the text easily have to be removed. Otherwise, the student will simply say he couldn’t see it or the light was bad or some other wrong Why. Any time the person makes an error in his reading or reacts in some non-optimum way, a misunderstood will always be found. It may be just before that point or at that point itself.

The Glib Student has  set up a mental tape     recorder. He can give    all the correct answers  but can't apply  the materials.

The Glib Student
Glibness is a state of mind where the student does not connect the written materials with the real and physical world. It is learning by heart without really knowing what it means.

This seems to be the way of life in much schooling and education today. The student is taught to suppress any of the non-optimum reactions we are talking about here and just carry on without understanding. The written materials get more and more unreal to him. It becomes robotic memorizing with no ability to relate to the written word or apply it. Since this phenomenon is very common we need to comment on how to deal with it.

You can spot a glib student on Method 9 by the robotic way he reads and sounds. Some students change drastically when they start to read from when you were talking to them just before. This should make you suspicious. (It does not necessarily mean he is glib but it does mean his reading skills need improvement).

One step you can take on such a student is to ask, "Have you ever been told or taught to suppress any reactions to words when reading?" This takes some of the tension off the situation and makes Method 9 easier to do for real. It may take a few hours of Method 9 Word Clearing before such bad habits are broken and the underlying problem handled. But the more open and honest the student is about the reactions he experiences while reading, the faster it goes.

Another way to break the bad habits of the glib student is to have him read a paragraph, then have him make a demonstration to show he understands what he has read. This may be a shock to him at first as it never occurred to him it meant anything that had anything to do with his understanding. But little by little the bad habits leading to the glib student phenomenon are broken and Method 9 will work faster and deeper.

Common Reading Materials
Another way to get a student started on doing Method 9 on educational materials, is to do Method 9 on materials he reads for pleasure, such as a novel, a magazine, a newspaper, or whatever. You simply do Method 9 on these materials and find misunderstoods. It may be quite a revelation to the student to realize he actually has misunderstoods on such materials. Also, it is a good gradient to handle words which should be part of his daily vocabulary before you enter more specialized texts. One of the big and lasting benefits of doing Method 9 is to raise the student's awareness of misunderstoods and their effects and get him into the routine of looking up words in the dictionary. Only if the student eventually picks this up and does it on his own are you really able to get him through a major course the correct way. Doing Method 9 on materials adds a lot of time to study on that particular piece of information. But need for it will diminish as the student's study habits improve.

Both students have a  copy of the materials.  Dictionaries and handbooks     are within reach. The Word    Clearer keeps a record of  words cleared, and other  relevant information,  on a works sheet.

Method 9 Procedure
1. Position: The student and the Word Clearer sit at a table across from each other. Each has a copy of the materials to be Word Cleared. The Word Clearer must have a free view so he is able to see the student and the page in front of him at the same time.

2. Dictionaries: A good, simple English language dictionary, and any other dictionaries the student may need, are available. (See section on dictionaries to choose the best ones for that student). Also a simple grammar and other handbooks should be at available, including an encyclopedia.

3. Student Instructions: The Word Clearer tells the student that if he sees a word he doesn’t understand he should stop and look up the word in the dictionary and clear it as that is the whole purpose of the drill. Also, the student should be encouraged throughout to find and clear misunderstood words himself. An important part of Method 9 is to educate the student in this. M9 improves the student's ability to recognize misunderstoods and teaches him by example to find and clear his own misunderstoods in the future. In a more thorough literacy program the beginning step in Word Clearing would be to use Method 8 on many basic words as this will speed up such program tremendously.

4. Student reads aloud: The student reads the text aloud to the Word Clearer. The Word Clearer follows it in his own copy of the text. He keeps an eye on any physical reactions on the part of the student and listens to any indicators of misunderstoods as well, such as hesitation, stumbling over a word, or mis-pronunciation. The Word Clearer must be able to see or hear any and all non-optimum reactions of the student while he is reading.

5. Non-optimum reactions: A non-optimum reaction by the student while reading is the first thing the Word Clearer is looking for. That is an indicator of a misunderstood word. The Word Clearer and student must now locate the exact misunderstood word or symbol. It will be found just before the non-optimum reaction. Sometimes it will be at the point where the reaction occurred.

6. Finding the misunderstood: If the student just continues reading past such a reaction the Word Clearer says, "That’s it. Is there some word or symbol there that you didn’t understand?" The Word Clearer now steers the student to the misunderstood. It is either at the point of the non-optimum reaction or before it. The Word Clearer gets the student to find it or spot-checks words until it is found. The word or symbol is then looked up. If the student has difficulties finding it the Word Clearer's duty is to help him find it. The Word Clearer guides the student by getting him to look earlier and earlier in the text from the point where he reacted until the misunderstood word is found. As mentioned, the Word Clearer can also spot-check the student. Spot-checking means the Word Clearer picks words from the text the student has already read and asks the student for the definitions of those words. If the student is uncertain about any word or gives a wrong definition then that word is taken up and cleared with a dictionary.

7. Clearing the word: Once found, the misunderstood is fully cleared with the dictionary. Most words have several or many definitions in the dictionary. The first definition of these to clear is the definition that is used in the text. This is not necessarily the first definition in the dictionary. 

Don't try to clear any other definitions before clearing the one he is stuck in as it would cause him to work over a misunderstood word. The Word Clearer goes quickly over the definitions to find the one that fits the context and clears that with the student. Once that is done the remaining definitions are cleared. 

Clearing the Word - Step by Step
The definition that fits: Find the definition that fits in the context. Have the student read that one definition and use it in sentences until he has a clear concept of that meaning of the word. This could require ten or more sentences.

Clear the other definitions for that word: Then have the student read and clear the other definitions of that word, one by one. For each word, he is made to use it in sentences until he has a conceptual understanding of that definition. 

Clear Derivation: Next is to clear the derivation; that is the explanation of where the word came from originally. This will help him gain a basic understanding of the word. 

Skip specialized definitions: Don’t clear the technical or specialized definitions (Math., Biology, etc.) or obsolete (no longer used) or archaic (ancient and no longer in general use) definitions unless the word is being used that way in the text being Word Cleared. 

Clear Idioms: An idiom is a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the ordinary meanings of the words. For example, 'give in’ is an English idiom meaning 'yield’. Quite a few words in English have idiomatic uses and these are usually given in a dictionary after the definitions of the word itself. These idioms have to be cleared.

Clear Synonyms and Info: The Word Clearer also clears synonyms and any other information given about the word, such as notes on its usage etc. If the student runs into a misunderstood word or symbol in the definition of a word being cleared this must be cleared right away using this same procedure and then return to the definition he was clearing. Among things that routinely has to be cleared in the dictionary are symbols and abbreviations used. Definitions of abbreviations are usually given in the front of the dictionary.

Read it again: The Word Clearer now has the student read the sentence in the text again in which the misunderstood word or symbol was found. The Word Clearer makes sure the student now understands the sentence/ paragraph that contained the misunderstood word. The Word Clearer asks the student to tell him what the sentence or paragraph means unless the student tells it by himself. Never just let the student continue reading with no comprehension of the text that contained the misunderstood. 

If the student still doesn’t understand the sentence or paragraph there will be another misunderstood word or symbol that needs to be found and cleared. This will most likely be earlier. 

Only when he fully understands the section or the text that contained the misunderstood is the student allowed to continue. He picks it up from the sentence that had the misunderstood in it. This may be earlier than the point where he had the non-optimum reaction. Any further non-optimum reactions are handled by finding the next misunderstood word or symbol and clearing it, as above.

Completing Method 9: This method is continued until the text to be Word Cleared is completed.

Examiner: The student should be sent to the Examiner after a Method 9 session. An Examiner has a Meter. He has the student on the Meter for a brief moment. No conversation is encouraged. The Examiner simply notes Meter reactions and student's indicators (if he looks pleased or upset) and notes it down. In case the student seems upset or has a non-optimum reaction it is assumed that the Word Clearing session didn't go well and should be reviewed. What the examiner wants to see is a Floating Needle and Very Good Indicators (F/N VGIs). He will say: "Your needle is floating", if it does. That means the session went well and is the Examiner's acknowledgement of that  all is well.

Common Reactions and Their Handling

Here is a list of the most common student reactions and the correct handlings by the Word Clearer:

Student Stumbles or says a word incorrectly
Example: The text says: "He considered going fishing." The student says: "He co-consid…" The student stumbles and stops reading. The Word Clearer says, "Is there some word or symbol there that you don’t understand?" The student says, "Well, it just doesn’t quite make sense to me." The Word Clearer asks, "What doesn’t make sense?" The student says, "I don’t see why it says 'considered’." The Word Clearer says, "All right. Let’s look up 'consider’ in the dictionary."

'Consider’ is now looked up, but the student can’t seem to get the meaning, even though he understands all the words in the definition. The Word Clearer asks, "Tell me, what part of speech is 'consider’ in that sentence?" The student says, "I am not sure." The Word Clearer says, "Okay; the dictionary says 'Verb’. What does that mean to you?" Student: "I am not sure". The Word Clearer gets a grammar book and says, "Here is a definition of 'verb’." 'Verb’ is then cleared with the grammar book. At some point the student says, "Hey, I always thought you could only have one verb in one sentence and this sentence has two verbs in it. That is what confused me." It all gets straightened out and the M9 can continue. He uses 'consider' in several sentences until he fully understands it. Then they go over the next definition of 'consider’ in the dictionary. After all the definitions of 'consider’ are cleared the Word Clearer has the student re-read the sentence. The student can now do it without error. The Word Clearer now asks him what the sentence means and the student can now tell him accurately.

Student Hesitates, Pauses or Reads More Slowly
Example: The page says: "The dog was barking and running around." The student says: "The dog......was barking and running around." The Word Clearer says, "That’s it. What word or symbol was misunderstood just before that point?" The student is made to look back over the page, but he can’t find any words he doesn’t understand. The Word Clearer says, "Very well. I’ll spot-check you." He gives the student a thorough spot-check, but no misunderstood words are found. The Word Clearer then asks, "Tell me where you were last doing really well on this text." The student shows him. It’s five paragraphs back. The Word Clearer says, "OK. We’re going to check from this point back for any misunderstood words." He extensively spot-checks the student in that area and the student’s misunderstood word is finally found and cleared. After clearing that the student understands the part of the text where the misunderstood was found. The M9 is continued from the sentence in which the misunderstood occurred.

Student Frowns, Looks Uncertain, Stiff or Seems to Lack Comprehension
Example: The text says: "The family loved their cat and their dog." The student says: "The family loved their cat and their dog." He reads it correctly, but there is a look of uncertainty on his face. The Word Clearer says, "That’s it. Look over this section you’ve just read and tell me what word or symbol has been misunderstood." The student asks, "But I read it correctly, didn't I?" The Word Clearer says, "Yes, but you were looking uncertain as you read that last sentence." The student says, "There was something earlier I have attention on. In the sentence before the last."

The Word Clearer says, "Okay. Was there any misunderstood word or symbol there?" The student says, "I have some attention on the word 'at’, but I’ve looked that up before." The Word Clearer says, "Well, let’s have another look at it." 'At’ is now looked up and cleared and the student realizes that he hadn’t fully cleared all of the definitions when he had previously looked it up. Each definition of 'at’ is cleared fully and then the Word Clearer asks the student to re-read the paragraph where it occurred and tell him what it means. The student understands it now so the M9 is continued from the sentence that had the word 'at’ in it. The student can now read it all smoothly.

Student Changes a Word
Example: The page says: "The girl then bent down and picked up the cat." The student says: "The girl than bent down and picked up the cat." The Word Clearer says, "That’s it. Is there some word or symbol there that you didn’t understand?"

The student looks at the words 'then’, 'girl’ and 'the’. He knows those words. So he looks in the sentence earlier. In that sentence he sees the word 'angora’ as in angora cat. He’s not sure what that is. He tells the Word Clearer and they clear the word 'angora’. The Word Clearer now has the student re-read the sentence that had the misunderstood in it and the following sentence. The student does this and the Word Clearer ensures he now understands the sentences. They carry on with the M9 starting with the sentence that has the word 'angora’ in it.

Student Adds a Word
Example: The page says: "The boy is going to school." The student says: The boy is going to the school." The Word Clearer says, "That’s it. Is there some word or symbol there that you didn’t understand?"

The student looks over the sentence. He says he understands all the words, but thinks the sentence should say, "A boy is going to school" rather than, "The boy is going to school." The Word Clearer says, "Okay, let’s spot-check some words. What does 'the’ mean in this sentence?" The student looks blank for a moment and doesn’t say anything. The Word Clearer says, " We’re going to look up the word 'the’." 'The’ is then looked up and cleared. In such a situation a grammar book may come in handy. Now that the word 'the’ is cleared the student takes a look at the sentence again and the Word Clearer asks him to tell what it means. The student now understands the sentence. The M9 is continued from that point.

Student Leaves Out a Word
Example: The text says: "Jo Ann then went to see her grandmother." The student reads: "Jo Ann went to see her grandmother." The Word Clearer says, "That’s it. Is there some word or symbol there that you didn’t understand?"

The student looks at the sentence. He can’t find anything that is misunderstood. The Word Clearer asks him to look over the sentence before that. The student can’t find any misunderstood there either. The Word Clearer sends the student looking earlier and earlier in the text and finally the student spots the misunderstood word in the last sentence of the previous page. The word is now cleared. The Word Clearer tells the student to  re-read the sentence that the misunderstood was in. The student reads the sentence and stops. The Word Clearer says: "All right, is there another word or symbol there that you don’t understand?" They now look even earlier. They find another word that the student passed that he didn’t understand. The word is cleared and the student reads the earlier passage again where the misunderstood was found. The student now understands the passage fully. The M9 is continued from that point in the text.

The above examples give you an idea of how it is handled. The pattern follows the steps above closely. Here are some other examples of non-optimum manifestations the Word Clearer would take up:

Student Leaves out a Grammatical Ending of a Word
Example: The text says: "There were all kinds of cakes in the bakery". The student reads: "There were all kind of cakes in the bakery". The Word Clearer would take it up and handle per step 1-9 above with special attention to grammatical misunderstoods.

The Student gets Tense
He could get stiff, squint his eyes, tighten the grip on the book from which he is reading, etc. Also suppressed yawns, watery eyes, and the like are followed up upon. In each case the Word Clearer goes hunting for the misunderstood word.

Student Goes Robotic
The student can be reading with more strain and effort, reading very carefully and unnaturally. The words seem to have no meaning to him but he carries on. Indicators like that means no comprehension and alerts the Word Clearer to look for misunderstood words.

The bottom line on all this is, where there is a non-optimum reaction in the student a misunderstood word will be found. It is usually before the point of the reaction. The misunderstood can always be located. It may take good communication, persistence, and having confidence in the Word Clearing tech.

Word Clearer's Misunderstoods
The Word Clearer has to take care of his own misunderstoods as well. If he doesn't, he can freeze up and just sit there and do nothing about handling the student. This of course has to be done discretely as not to hold up the student or the Word Clearing session. But if not done it will result in the Word Clearer not picking up the non-optimum manifestations he should, and doesn't find the student's misunderstoods.

The Word Clearer has to have his attention on the student as well as on his copy of the material so as to pick up physical reactions.

When two students Word Clear each other on the same materials they do it on a frequent turn-about basis.

The first student gets Word Cleared on one section, such as half a page or one page, then they turn around and the other student gets Word Cleared Method 9 on the same section. This prevents the accumulation of misunderstoods on the part of the Word Clearer.

TR's and Method 9
TR's are defined as "Training Routines". These are basic communication drills necessary to do any kind of counseling or auditing, including Word Clearing. Good TR's are thus important to Method 9 as to any other type of Word Clearing. The Word Clearer has to be able to persist on a line of questioning (TR-3) when the student has difficulties finding the misunderstood word. Also the Word Clearer has to understand that a positive reaction, such as a big smile and laughter on the part of the student can be a sign of that he finally got it; it would be a gross error to try to take that up as a non-optimum reaction. It simply has to be understood and acknowledged (TR-4).

Arguments and Upsets
Sometimes the Word Clearing activity can lead to upsets or arguments. There is a way to deal with that and you should realize this:

1. The "Misunderstood" looked up wasn't really a misunderstood.

2. The actual misunderstood is not yet found or was bypassed completely.

To handle (1) you can ask, if he was made to look up words he already understood. If this is the case, the student will brighten up and you simply allow him to tell you about it, including what words, and acknowledge his answer. You can now continue M9.

If this doesn't seem to handle the situation you assume, that misunderstoods have been missed. You ask where the student was last doing really well. You go back to there and if it isn't rapidly resolved, you simply start doing M9 there, even if it is "all over again"; something was obviously missed. You will usually find several misunderstoods if it led to an upset or argument, not just one misunderstood.

Worksheets
Worksheets are a written record of the Word Clearing session. They contain the student’s name, the Word Clearer’s name, the date and the name or title of what is being Word Cleared. The Word Clearer keeps worksheets during the Word Clearing session and writes down which words have been looked up and cleared and any other relevant information concerning the Word Clearing session. He notes the time occasionally; especially beginning and end of the session.

Worksheets are stapled to the student’s Examiner Form when the Word Clearing is complete. They are put in the student's pc folder.

End Result
The end result of a well done Method 9 is a student who is certain he has no misunderstoods on that material. Now he can easily study the materials and apply them. It should be done exactly by the book for optimum results.