Málfríður - 15.09.1999, Side 20

Orðaforðahorn Auðar Torfadóttur
Auður Torfadóttir hefur fengið Margo Renner til að sjá um orðaforðahornið að þessu sinni.
Grein Margo nefnistGreek and Latin Word Elements in Learning Vocabulary
Margo Renner
20
Because English is, in a sense, such a mixt-
ure of a variety of languages, vocabulary
learning for students can often be difficult
and tedious.When there is such a differ-
ence between words, and they have no
relationship to one another, the old system
of memorizing new words can be boring
and lack intrinsic motivation.
On the other hand, the number of bor-
rowed words in English from such a diver-
se and interesting array of languages also
makes English one of the most colorful
and exciting of languages. If a teacher can
spark interest in words and etymology, it
holds the possibility of making vocabulary
learning one of the most intriguing parts
of learning the English language.
The English language with all its bor-
rowed words gives students an excellent
opportunity to become interested in the
origin and construction of various words.
It is estimated that 70% of ah English
words contain elements of Greek and Lat-
in origin. There is no doubt that recogni-
tion of Greek and Latin word elements
can give any language student a headstart
in understanding vocabulary. An increased
vocabulary provides students with more
self assurance in their language studies and
gives them the vital foundation needed to
be able to enrich their thinking, express
their thoughts effectively and most
importantly, to learn about other subjects
through the English language. This factor
alone increases the intrinsic motivation
for learning vocabulary. If the vocabulary
foundation is available, then students are
also much more likely to read for pleasure
and entertainment, consequently incre-
asing their reading and comprehension
skills, not to mention adding more new
words to their vocabularies.
When basic word elements are used
often within a particular group of words,
teachers also have the opportunity to ex-
plain some of the pronunciation phen-
omena of English or spehing that would
be the same in similarly derived words.
During the spring of 1999 I did a 2-
week practice teaching session for my
final thesis for the postgraduate certificate
of education through the Iceland Uni-
versity of Education. The title of my thes-
is relays the area of my emphasis, English
403, With Vocabulary Based on Latin and
Greek Word Elements. I taught students at
the secondary school level and used the
textbook, Options Advanced English by
Michael Hinton and Robert Marsden.
Though Options did not have a specific
vocabulary program on Greek and Latin
elements, it was not difficult to find words
that would apply to each unit. With the
use of a good etymology dictionary (I
used The New Hamlvn Encvclopedic
World Dictionarv) it was easy to find
between 10 and 15 words that applied to
each unit in the textbook, i.e. in the health
and fitness chapter there were plenty of
related words dealing with health, anato-
my, and doctors. In the chapter on crime,
for example, words that have to do with
murder or phobias are abundant with
Greek and Latin elements. Hundreds of
science words with Greek and Latin el-
ements can be found for the unit that has
to do with the environment. With 10 or
15 basic words it was easy to show several
very fundamental and frequently used
word elements and add other words to
this new vocabulary list for each unit.
I quizzed the students often to make
sure that they had studied the new word
elements for each section as I built up one