Getting a Fix on Vocabulary (Understanding and Using Prefixes, Suffixes, Bases, and Compounds)

The primary purpose of Getting a Fix on Vocabulary is to increase English learners' awareness of the morphology of English – bases, affixation, and compounding – and to help them develop their skill in word analysis.

Secondly, an increased awareness of affixes and bases can facilitate vocabulary expansion by helping students see connections among various forms, e.g., contain, maintain, retain, unretained, detainable, detention. In this way, learning one word can lead to learning a bundle of words.

Thirdly, this text will also help develop spelling and pronunciation skills by identifying patterns that occur when bases and affixes are combined, e.g., explode, explosion.

A fourth purpose is to increase the learners' vocabulary. We have provided fictitious, "generic" news stories for reading practice at the end of each lesson. A similar version of the "newspaper" story is also available on the downloadable audio as a "radio news broadcast" (visit ProLinguaLearning.com). Although the primary purpose of these stories is to showcase selected bases, affixes, and compounds, the learners will also develop their knowledge of words and phrases that are commonly used in the media.

Topics include pandemics, climate change, saving a wilderness, and international baseball.