Word parts
The web-based Affix Trainer program can be found at this link WordAffixTrainer It uses the material presented at the end of the following article. The program can be used to learn to recognize the most useful English derivational prefixes and suffixes (Levels 3, 4 and 5 of Bauer & Nation, 1993). Learners should do a large number of the short self-checking exercises at each level, especially Level 5 which covers fifty affixes, to make sure that they are well practised. The 10 Level 3 affixes should be studied by learners who know around 1000-2000 words. The 11 Level 4 affixes should be studied by learners who know around 4000 words, and the 50 Level 5 affixes by learners who know around 5000 words (see the CEFR table in Paul Nation’s resources under Vocabulary Lists).
Paul Nation and Laurie Bauer - Morphological Awareness
This article has been accepted for publication in Language Teaching Research Quarterly (2023) Vol 26, pages 52-64.
This article by Paul Nation and Laurie Bauer builds on their 1993 article (Word families) and their 2020 book (English Morphology for the Language Teaching Profession) by providing teaching material and very practical guidelines for teachers and learners of English as a foreign language. The article has three appendices which provide:
- lists of words from the most frequent 10,000 BNC/COCA word families containing affixes from the Bauer and Nation lists
- affixes from these lists to memorise
- groups of words containing affixes at each of the Bauer and Nation levels to practice cutting into parts (an answer key is provided).
Answer sheet for Appendix 3
This document provides an answer key to the exercise in Appendix 3 of the article above.
The history of English words
Word consciousness in English includes morphological awareness, and morphological awareness includes an understanding of the history of the English language and its vocabulary. The following brief history was written by Laurie Bauer and focuses on the sources of English words and word building. An understanding of these two important topics provides a useful context for the learning of complex and compound words in English.