Building Vocabulary Through Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
By William Pittman

Introduction
Are you looking for an element of English language study that is utilized in every aspect of language usage?  Are you frustrated that vocabulary building in textbooks is limited to memorization of individual words?  Would you like to systematize vocabulary building so that your students can continue to learn vocabulary once they are out of your class?  If this is the case with you, I recommend the study of prefixes roots and suffixes.  This is not a single class exercise, nor a single lesson plan.  It is an introduction to the most utilized word parts that, in their many combinations, make up 50% of the English language.  It requires perseverance, but is rewarded by students who are grateful that they have become comfortable with the ability to recognize words they are not immediately familiar with.  And confidence with vocabulary goes a long way in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and with standardized test-taking.
Purpose
English vocabulary is enormous and grows steadily with technological and cultural assimilations.  The vast majority of the new words introduced, and a great percentage of the words used to express abstract ideas, are complex words that are made up of simple word parts (prefixes, roots, and suffixes) that have their own definitions and, when familiar to the student of English, can be understood in context without an exact definition.  This is the foundation of the system which I present to my students.  By slowly and steadily studying the most prominent prefixes, roots, and suffixes, students can acquire a vocabulary that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Necessities
The most crucial requirement in this system is a basic understanding of the most prominent prefixes, roots and suffixes in the English language.  There are many resources for obtaining support information, on the Internet and in books, but below is a short list of some of the predominant prefixes, roots and suffixes:
Prefixes Roots Suffixes
-------- ----- --------
ab - away vis, vid - to see -tion, -ion, -sion - n. condition
ad - to, toward ject - push -al - adj., relating to
con, com, co - with, together press- press -e - makes a noun or verb
de - down, from cis, cid - cut, kill -ive - adj., relating to
ex, e - out of, from pend, pens - hang -able, -ible - able to, can
in, im - in or not fac, fici, fec - make, do -ia - n. condition, disorder
micro - small lat- carry -ly - adverb
mono - one mit, mis- send, do -ology -study
multi - many nav, naut - sail, boat -ary, -ory - place
ob - to, toward ten,tend,tain - hold
pre,pro - before, near ped, pod, pus - foot
re - back, again cept, ceiv - take
rupt - break
The source I use is the dictionary The Structure of English Words, 4th ed., by Clarence Sloat and Sharon Taylor, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 1996, ISBN 0-7872-2248-8.  I have never seen any book with a better collection of prefixes, roots and suffixes, as well as listings of the words that each word part is used in.  Another book worth looking into is English Words from Latin-Greek Elements, by Donald Ayers and Thomas Worthen, University of Arizona Press, 1986.  Check out these websites for more truncated, but still effective, lists:
www.ccps.org/ccps/pvms/Challenge/Vocabbuild.html
www.lexfiles.info
www.southampton.liunet.edu
Method
It does not matter if you are teaching a reading, writing, or listening/speaking class.  It does not matter what text is being used, or if there is any text at all.  Any paragraph written in English will have at least a few words that are made up of prefixes, roots and suffixes, and this is where the method begins.  This system should be introduced on the first day of class (to great incomprehension, no doubt), and should be dealt with in no more than 10 or 15 minutes per class.   After reading a paragraph, the teacher should excerpt a few complex words, for example `invisible` and `decision.`  The teacher then tells the students that these words are made up from word parts and that a great many words in English are as well, and that studying these parts increases vocabulary immensely.  The teacher breaks the words down into their parts, writing on the board what each part means.  Then, introduce other words that have the same roots in them, for `vis,vid` television, video, and even view, for `cis, cid` scissors, homicide, and suicide.  Then define the prefixes and suffixes of those words.  This will lead to a list of 8 or 10 words.  This kind of brainstorming should be kept to a minimum in