SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Teaching all students about roots and affixes will greatly enhance their word awareness, their vocabulary, and--ultimately--their reading ability. Should you have English Language Learners (ELLs) in your classroom, there are several additional things to keep in mind.
1. Languages differ in their use of free and bound morphemes. The idea of adding one word part to another will not be intuitive to someone whose native language does not use bound morphemes. On the other hand, a student whose native language adds an abundance of morphemes may be inclined to do likewise with English. In addition, some affixes have multiple meanings (e.g., the prefix in-) and some meanings have multiple affixes (in-, dis-, non-, and un- all mean "not"). Finally, spelling of both roots and affixes can change when they are combined.
2. ELL students have a more difficult time with derivational suffixes than they do with inflectional suffixes (see Elturk, 2011). Teachers should ensure that their ELL students are comfortable with the concept of suffixes as presented through inflectional morphemes. Derivational suffixes should then be presented explicitly with attention to how they affect the roots.
3. Lesaux and Russ (2011) emphasize the importance of teaching morphemes within a coherent context. While native English speakers have broader vocabularies and can more readily learn the meanings of roots and affixes in stand-alone words or in isolated sentences, ELLs are at a disadvantage. They are more likely to successfully learn these word parts when used in thematic passages.
1. Languages differ in their use of free and bound morphemes. The idea of adding one word part to another will not be intuitive to someone whose native language does not use bound morphemes. On the other hand, a student whose native language adds an abundance of morphemes may be inclined to do likewise with English. In addition, some affixes have multiple meanings (e.g., the prefix in-) and some meanings have multiple affixes (in-, dis-, non-, and un- all mean "not"). Finally, spelling of both roots and affixes can change when they are combined.
2. ELL students have a more difficult time with derivational suffixes than they do with inflectional suffixes (see Elturk, 2011). Teachers should ensure that their ELL students are comfortable with the concept of suffixes as presented through inflectional morphemes. Derivational suffixes should then be presented explicitly with attention to how they affect the roots.
3. Lesaux and Russ (2011) emphasize the importance of teaching morphemes within a coherent context. While native English speakers have broader vocabularies and can more readily learn the meanings of roots and affixes in stand-alone words or in isolated sentences, ELLs are at a disadvantage. They are more likely to successfully learn these word parts when used in thematic passages.