ALL ESL CLASSES: Improve Your English Vocabulary Skills:

The following are notes that can help you with the 4-Corners Vocabulary assignment.  Also, these notes can help anyone improve their English Vocabulary Skills.

 Building Vocabulary: Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes

http://www.readingfirst.virginia.edu/elibrary_pdfs/Building_Vocabulary.pdf

ROOT WORDS

A ROOT WORD is a base word/the original word

·         Ex: read  in unreadable

·         Ex: search in searched

·         http://languagearts.pppst.com/rootwords.html

A ROOT WORD can change when you use prefixes and suffixes

PREFIXES

}  PREFIXES are small groups of letters that change the meaning of a ROOT WORD.

}  PREFIXES go in front of the ROOT WORD.

}  http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/prefixes.htm

SUFFIXES

}  SUFFIXES are small groups of letters that change the meaning of a ROOT WORD.

}  SUFFIXES go at the end of the ROOT WORD.

}  http://www.michigan-proficiency-exams.com/suffix-list.html

COMPOUND WORDS

}  COMPOUND WORDS are words that are formed when 2 words are put together to make 1 word.

}  Ex: http://www.teachersmousepad.com/LA/COMPOUND%20WORD%20FUN.htm

COGNATES

}  COGNATES are words that are similar in different languages

}  Many English words are cognates with Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Greek, and Latin

}  Some languages don’t have Cognate with English but they might have Cognate with other languages.

}  For example, Chinese does not have cognates with English, but it has cognates with Japanese.

 

}  English-Spanish Cognates: http://www.colorincolorado.org/pdfs/articles/cognates.pdf

}  http://www.esdict.com/English-Spanish-Cognates.html

}  English-French Cognates: http://www.lafrenchconnection.com/about/Category:French_English_Cognates

}  http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Cognates.topicArticleId-25559,articleId-25474.html

SYNONYMS

}  Synonyms are words that have the same meaning.

}  http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/synonyms.htm

}  http://www.scholastic.com/wordgirl/synonym_toast.htm

ANTONYMS

}  Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.

}  http://www.michigan-proficiency-exams.com/antonym-list.html

ILLUSTRATE

}  To illustrate means to draw a picture.

}  Draw a picture to represent a new vocabulary word.