Teaching Matters: Studying English Prefixes and Suffixes

“First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare had never used before that had never been used in the English language before. It’s astonishing. It pours out of him.”

—Stephen Jay Greenblatt (1943 – ), American literary historian

Prefixes and suffixes remain essential structural components in the English language. Teaching prefixes can help English students rapidly – and systematically – expand their academic vocabulary. Meanwhile, focusing on suffixes can emphasize the importance of word form, and the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Likewise, both prefixes and suffixes also invite us to share interesting stories of word origins and the evolution of the English language.

Discovering New Context

Being a word detective can reveal additional surprises. For example, words such as “uncommon” and “inaudible’ were first used in William Shakespeare’s plays. He notably combined the prefixes “un” and “in” with these and other words to simply mean “not,” and they’ve been used in this context ever since. Thus, many examples show how language has been changing for centuries, sparked by technological, scientific, and historical developments.

How many words can you think of that didn’t even exist a generation ago? From email and ewaste to the internet and microchip, we often use classical prefixes to create new words. Therefore, this particular topic could also serve as a segue into conversations about the use of technology or words that are universally used across different languages.

Moreover, ensuring ESL students recognize a variety of English prefixes and suffixes often makes learning new words a little less daunting by providing crucial context. Take into consideration the prefix “over-.” It’s one of the most commonly used prefixes and one that adds considerably to a word’s letter count. Some English language learners, understandably, are easily intimidated by words with many letters. However, knowing that “over-” usually means either excessive or upper/above allows students to infer the full meaning of longer words like overestimate, overthink, to overachiever and overdue.

Expanding Vocabulary

By building on their current knowledge, English teachers can help intermediate ESL students develop a far stronger vocabulary. Further, I’ve found that prefix and suffix-centered exercises and discussions expand both working vocabulary and general curiosity.

Sometimes we forget the obvious. You can find lists of commonly-used English prefixes and suffixes in many places online. For example, I prefer the simple chart from  Scholastic.com.  I also recommend the website wordhippo for more advanced ESL students. For World Elephant Day, you might ask students what words rhyme with elephant? Can you think of five?

Above all, encouraging students to examine and explore English words like a detective remains an excellent classroom technique. Asking students to create a list of ten words in small groups remains an effective vocabulary expansion activity. Additionally, these flexible vocabulary exercises can also be done with limited preparation and no textbooks!

Here’s a sample exercise I’ve developed for classroom use on this subject.

Adding the Latin Prefix “dis-”

Complete the chart below by following the example. For the last two rows, add new base words.

Pick four words from the above chart and create a question for your partner.

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________

In conclusion, how do you approach prefixes and suffixes in your classroom? How do you spark student curiosity about English words?

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Eric

Eric H. Roth teaches international graduate students the pleasures and perils of academic writing and public speaking in English at the University of Southern California (USC). He also co-authors of the ELT fluency-focused Compelling Conversations series. Roth co-authored Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics in 2006 to help English language learners increase their English fluency. Recommended by English Teaching Professional magazine, the advanced ESL textbook has been used in over 50 countries in English classrooms and conversation clubs. Easy English Times, an adult literacy newspaper, published a monthly column, “Instant Conversation Activities,” based on the book for over a decade. The first specific version for a particular country, Vietnam, was published in 2011, followed by 2012's "Compelling American Conversations". A title for Japanese learners, "Compelling Conversations – Japan", was released in 2015, and a second edition of "Compelling Conversations – Vietnam" in 2016. "Creating Compelling Conversations: Reproducible Search and Share Activities for English Teachers" (2019) reflects his educational philosophy that students deserve a choice and a voice in their English classes. Eric enjoys sharing reflections, resources, and teaching tips on this blog. Many intelligent followers of many related hashtags - #ESL #EFL #ELF #CATESOL #TESOL #ELT - might find enjoy these posts.