Vocabulary
Many languages do not have the word building concepts that English does. In teaching vocabulary, the idea of “root” words and prefixes and suffixes helps students build a larger vocabulary quickly. Affixes (prefixes and suffixes) help us create a variety of words from one base word. Many EFL students won’t recognize that contain is the root word of container and containment or that desire is the root word of undesirable anddesirability. When teaching new vocabulary, it is important to point out these connections and we can quickly help students expand their vocabulary with the base words they already know. Teaching affixes is only one of several strategies for teaching vocabulary. See the links below for more.