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Teaching Matters: Prefix/Suffix Study

Posted by Eric18 on Aug 17, 2016 in communicative ESL/EFL lessons, Compelling Conversations, conversation starters, English curriculum, English Language, Teaching matters, TEFL | Comments Off on Teaching Matters: Prefix/Suffix Study

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“First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare had never used before that had never been used in the English language before. It’s astonishing. It pours out of him.”

Stephen Jay Greenblatt, (1943 – ) American literary historian

Prefixes and suffixes remain essential structural components in the English language. Teaching prefixes can help English students rapidly – and systematically – expand their academic vocabulary. Focusing on suffixes can emphasize the importance of word form, and the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Both prefixes and suffixes also invite us to share interesting stories of word origins and the evolution of the English language.

Being a word detective can reveal surprises. For example, words such as “uncommon” and “inaudible’ were first used in William Shakespeare’s plays. He notably combined the prefixes “un” and “in” with these and other words to simply mean “not,” and they’ve been used in this context ever since. Examples showcase how language has been constantly changing for centuries, sparked by technological, scientific, and historical changes.

How many words can you think of that didn’t even exist a generation ago? From email and ewaste to the internet and microchip, we often use classical prefixes to create new words. This particular topic could also serve as a segue into conversations about the use of technology or words that are universally used across different languages.

Ensuring ESL students recognize a variety of prefixes and suffixes often makes the task of learning new words a little less daunting, and provides crucial context. Take into consideration the prefix “over-.” It’s one of the most commonly used prefixes and one that adds considerably to a word’s letter count. Some English language learners, understandably, are easily intimidated by words with many letters. However, the knowledge that “over-” usually means either excessive or upper/above allows students to infer the full meaning of longer words like overestimate, overthink, to overachiever and overdue. By building on their current knowledge, English teachers can help intermediate ESL students develop a far stronger vocabulary. In my own teaching, I’ve found that prefix and suffix-centered exercises and discussions expand both working vocabulary and general curiosity.

Sometimes we forget the obvious. You can find list of prefixes and suffixes many places. For my tastes, I like the simple one here from Scholastic.com. I also recommend the website www.wordhippo.com for more advanced ESL students for both prefixes and suffixes. For World Elephant Day, you might ask students what words rhyme with elephant? Can you think of five?

Encouraging students to examine and explore English words like a detective remains an excellent classroom technique. Asking students to create – with their grey cells before checking smart phones – a list of ten words in small groups remains an effective vocabulary expansion activity. These flexible vocabulary exercises can also be done with limited preparation and no textbooks!

Here’s a sample exercise I’ve developed for classroom use on this subject.

Adding the Latin Prefix “dis-”

We can build a strong vocabulary with a few simple techniques. We can also make new vocabulary words by adding a few letters to the beginning of the vocabulary word. These letters are known as a “prefix”.  This powerful technique allows us to build our vocabulary bank and to help us recognize unfamiliar vocabulary words.

 

Prefix	Meaning	Example
dis-	apart, away from	display
dis-	not, opposite	disagree

 

Complete the chart below by following the example. For the last two rows, add new base words.

 

Prefix	Base	New Word
dis-	courage	discourage
dis-	agree
dis-	connect
dis-	play
dis-	place
dis-	able
dis-	ability
dis-	grace
dis-	trust
dis-
dis-

 

Pick four words from the above chart and create a question for your partner.

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________

 

How do you approach prefixes and suffixes in your classroom? How do you spark student curiosity about English words?

 

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Visit www.CompellingConversations.com

Today’s blog post features material introduced in Compelling American Conversations – Teacher Edition, the companion text to the original Compelling American Conversations. Each individual, original chapter plus the Teacher Edition expansion is available on Teachers Pay Teachers, with select sample chapters on CompellingConversations.com and ChimayoPress.com. We also offer a free copy of the Teacher Edition with class sets for adult ESL schools, literacy centers, Intensive English language programs (IEP) , church and other non-profit groups offering ESL classes to immigrants and refugees. Contact Eric Roth here for more information.

Seeing the World Through Photographs (again): Photo Exercises for the English Classroom

Posted by Eric on Aug 10, 2016 in CC - Japan, communicative activities, communicative ESL lesssons, communicative ESL/EFL lessons, Compelling Conversations Japan, conversation activities, conversation exercises, conversation questions, conversation starters, English class, ESL worksheets, forms and worksheets, photography, teaching English with photographs, teaching with photographs, TEFL | Comments Off on Seeing the World Through Photographs (again): Photo Exercises for the English Classroom

Seeing the World Through Photographs (again): Photo Exercises for the English Classroom

Posted by Eric18 on Aug 10, 2016 in CC - Japan, communicative ESL/EFL lessons, conversation starters, English class, ESL worksheets, forms and worksheets, teaching English with photographs, TEFL | Comments Off on Seeing the World Through Photographs (again): Photo Exercises for the English Classroom

“When you look at my pictures you are seeing my life.”

– Douglas Kirkland (1934-), American photographer

Photographs capture moments, inform viewers, and start conversations. In last week’s blog post, we discussed how street photography documents moments and events without the subjects’ consent. These candid, sometimes startling images, can provoke intense discussions and even controversy. However, staged photography (think fashion or advertising images – even smart phone photography) can provide equally though-provoking discussion pieces.

These photos impose a narrative as opposed to capturing one, and the decisions made by the photographer in conveying said narrative can be analyzed and questioned. You could review color choice, mood, and composition in addition to 5W+H questions like the following:

• How would you describe this scene?
• How would you describe the subject?
• What are the people doing in the photograph?
• Do you like about this photo? Why?
• What do you think happened a minute later?
• How do you think the main subject feels? Why?

 

As I’ve previously mentioned, using photo exercises in class provides many opportunities for compelling conversation. Below are a few examples from Compelling Conversations – Japan that are similar to ones I’ve used in my own English classroom to great effect. By the way,  Shiggy Ichinomiya, a co-author of Compelling Conversations – Japan, also works as a professional photographer in Southern California.  The first two photographs were taken by him.

Let’s take a look at three photography exercises from Compelling Conversations – Japan.  Examine the photographs and discuss the questions that follow.

Japanese tourists are often surprised at the huge portions served in the United States. The Sidewalk Café, a famous beachside American restaurant in Venice Beach, California, serves many international tourists.

1. What is happening in this picture?
2. What kind of food do you like to eat when you travel?
3. How much food is too much food for you?
4. Can you think of some fast food restaurants that change their menu to adjust to local tastes?
5. Have you been to any international fast food restaurants? What kind of food did they serve?
6. With your partner, can you list the last five fast food restaurants you ate in?

 

This couple got married at Santa Monica Beach in California. What do you think inspired this wedding photo? Describe the picture.

1. Do you think you have to be best friends to marry your partner?
2. What are some tips to help couples remain close friends?
3. Do you believe the phrase “opposites attract” is true? Why?
4. What do you like about this photo?
5. What do you think makes a good marriage?

 

1. Can you describe this picture?
2. How would you describe this girl?
3. Do you think she is passionate about photography? Why?
4. Would you ever get a tattoo? If yes, of what? If no, why not?
5. Sometimes Westerners with tattoos want to go to Japanese hot springs (onsen), but find they are not allowed. How would you explain the reasoning for this?
6. Does your opinion of people change if you see they have a tattoo? Why?

 

What are your tips for discussing photographs in the classroom? What do you look forward in picking photographs? What, in your opinion, makes certain photographs spark compelling conversations? Why?

For more sample content from Compelling Conversations: Japan, click here. For individual lessons from other Compelling Conversations titles, including Compelling American Conversations: Student and Teacher Editions, visit my store on Teachers Pay Teachers!

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Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com

Seeing the World Through Photographs: Using Photography as a Conversation Tool in English Class

Posted by Eric on Jul 29, 2016 in adult education, authentic conversations, communicative ESL/EFL lessons, communicative lesson, Compelling Conversations, Compelling Conversations Japan, English class, English Teachers, ESL worksheets, free speech, Search and Share, street photography, teaching English with photographs, teaching tips, teaching with photographs, TEFL, TEFL tips | Comments Off on Seeing the World Through Photographs: Using Photography as a Conversation Tool in English Class

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”

—Ansel Adams (1902–1984), American photographer and environmentalist

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are they? How can we use photographs as a conversation tool in our English classrooms?

Photographs capture a moment in time, significant or insignificant. Many people enjoy taking pictures of new places and strange sights while traveling. Some photographers also enjoy taking pictures of their own city and surroundings. These types of photos are often awe-inspiring and provoke a response easily when shared over social platforms like Instagram. Yet getting ESL and EFL students to talk about photography can be more difficult than many suspect.

Some photographs – often candid and documentary photos – can sometimes provide the best conversations. Street photography, a somewhat controversial practice, focuses on taking pictures of people in public places without permission at “the decisive moment.” These photographs can capture dramatic, unplanned moments and document social situations. Street photographs can be very powerful for this reason; they seem to capture a slice of reality.  These unscripted photographs can engage international students, especially if they are trying to better understand their new surroundings.

Embed from Getty Images

 “I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung up and ready to pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life—to preserve life in the act of living.”

—Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004), French photographer

People walking on a street, playing in a park, going to work on a train, or relaxing on a beach might be subjects for a street photographer. Individuals such as Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Harold Feinstein, and Daido Moriyama have won great praise for their candid street photography. People often enjoy people watching, and street photography captures people moving and talking in public.

Yet the practice—and legality—of street photography continues to be debated. Different countries often have very different laws. Some people think of street photography as free speech, but consider it rude. Others see it as an invasion of privacy. For instance, paparazzi – street photographers in their own right – sometimes photograph celebrities and their families without permission and sell these photographs for money. Celebrities often want their privacy, especially for their children, but they have also chosen to become famous. Does this make the actions of the paparazzi acceptable?

These varied opinions on street photography make for excellent talking points in the English classroom. You can ask your ESL students the following questions to get them started:

1. Why do street photographers take pictures of people in public?

2. How would getting permission before taking pictures change street photography?

3. When do you think photographers should get permission to take photographs of people in public? Why?

4. Do you think paparazzi should take natural pictures of celebrities in their daily life? What about pictures of a celebrity’s child?

5. By the way, how do you think your knowledge of the world be different if photography didn’t exist?

Additionally, I have found that using photo exercises in class provides many opportunities for compelling conversation. Once separated into small groups, I have the students examine a photograph related to the lesson and give them a series of questions to discuss.  How would you describe this person? What do you like about this photo? What do you think happened a minute later? How do you think the main subject feels? Why?  These questions require the student to analyze all components of the photo and their real world implications.  They can also use their own photographs from their smart phones!

By the way, while I have only used photography as a conversation tool in advanced English classes, I can imagine photography could be quite effective in beginning and intermediate English classes too. You could review colors, feelings, nouns, verbs, verb tenses, and adjectives. Street photography, again, seems much more appropriate and authentic to me than staged fashion pictures or advertising images that seem project a “should” element on how we “ought to” look or behave. Street photography, in contrast, focuses more on how we actually do look and behave in public.

Below is a Search and Share exercise I created for this particular subject for advanced English students. Feel free to share it with your own ESL and EFL students!

SEARCH and SHARE: Documenting Moments in Time

Student Name: ………………………………………………. Date: ……………………………..

Class: ………………………………………………………….. Teacher: ………………………….

Documentary photographs capture important moments in time. Visit the Library of Congress collection to find a special historical photograph that captures your imagination. Print it out and share it with your classmates.

Title: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Photographer: ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Historical Context: ………………………………………………………. Date: ……………….

1. Describe the photograph. What is going on?

2. How did the photographer compose his picture? Where are your eyes drawn?

3. What historical moment does it capture? Does it do it well?

4. Why do you think the photographer chose to take this picture?

5. Why did you choose this photograph?

6. What did you learn from it?

7. Do you think a photograph like this would still be taken today? Why? Why not?

8. On a scale of 1–5, with 5 being the highest, how would you rate the photograph? Why?

Do you use photography and other visuals as conversation pieces in your English classroom? What exercises or techniques work best for you when discussing them as a class? Do you encourage students to share their photographs? Why? Why not? Consider me curious!

For more on street photography, click the links below:

1. http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/street_photography.htm 
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2r0J1kE6-8 

For more Search and Share activities from Compelling Conversations – Japan like this one, visit here. And be sure to check out this Search and Share collection from Compelling American Conversations, now available on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com

Seeing the World Through Photographs: Using Photography as a Conversation Tool in English Class

Posted by Eric18 on Jul 28, 2016 in adult education, communicative ESL/EFL lessons, communicative lesson, Compelling Conversations, English class, English Teachers, ESL worksheets, free speech, Search and Share, teaching English with photographs, teaching tips, TEFL | 2 comments

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”

—Ansel Adams (1902–1984), American photographer and environmentalist

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are they? How can we use photographs as a conversation tool in our English classrooms?

Photographs capture a moment in time, significant or insignificant. Many people enjoy taking pictures of new places and strange sights while traveling. Some photographers also enjoy taking pictures of their own city and surroundings. These types of photos are often awe-inspiring and provoke a response easily when shared over social platforms like Instagram. Yet getting ESL and EFL students to talk about photography can be more difficult than many suspect.

Some photographs – often candid and documentary photos – can sometimes provide the best conversations. Street photography, a somewhat controversial practice, focuses on taking pictures of people in public places without permission at “the decisive moment.” These photographs can capture dramatic, unplanned moments and document social situations. Street photographs can be very powerful for this reason; they seem to capture a slice of reality.  These unscripted photographs can engage international students, especially if they are trying to better understand their new surroundings.

Embed from Getty Images

 “I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung up and ready to pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life—to preserve life in the act of living.”

—Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004), French photographer

People walking on a street, playing in a park, going to work on a train, or relaxing on a beach might be subjects for a street photographer. Individuals such as Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Harold Feinstein, and Daido Moriyama have won great praise for their candid street photography. People often enjoy people watching, and street photography captures people moving and talking in public.

Yet the practice—and legality—of street photography continues to be debated. Different countries often have very different laws. Some people think of street photography as free speech, but consider it rude. Others see it as an invasion of privacy. For instance, paparazzi – street photographers in their own right – sometimes photograph celebrities and their families without permission and sell these photographs for money. Celebrities often want their privacy, especially for their children, but they have also chosen to become famous. Does this make the actions of the paparazzi acceptable?

These varied opinions on street photography make for excellent talking points in the English classroom. You can ask your ESL students the following questions to get them started:

1. Why do street photographers take pictures of people in public?

2. How would getting permission before taking pictures change street photography?

3. When do you think photographers should get permission to take photographs of people in public? Why?

4. Do you think paparazzi should take natural pictures of celebrities in their daily life? What about pictures of a celebrity’s child?

5. By the way, how do you think your knowledge of the world be different if photography didn’t exist?

Additionally, I have found that using photo exercises in class provides many opportunities for compelling conversation. Once separated into small groups, I have the students examine a photograph related to the lesson and give them a series of questions to discuss.  How would you describe this person? What do you like about this photo? What do you think happened a minute later? How do you think the main subject feels? Why?  These questions require the student to analyze all components of the photo and their real world implications.  They can also use their own photographs from their smart phones!

By the way, while I have only used photography as a conversation tool in advanced English classes, I can imagine photography could be quite effective in beginning and intermediate English classes too. You could review colors, feelings, nouns, verbs, verb tenses, and adjectives. Street photography, again, seems much more appropriate and authentic to me than staged fashion pictures or advertising images that seem project a “should” element on how we “ought to” look or behave. Street photography, in contrast, focuses more on how we actually do look and behave in public.

Below is a Search and Share exercise I created for this particular subject for advanced English students. Feel free to share it with your own ESL and EFL students!

SEARCH and SHARE: Documenting Moments in Time

Student Name: ………………………………………………. Date: ……………………………..

Class: ………………………………………………………….. Teacher: ………………………….

Documentary photographs capture important moments in time. Visit the Library of Congress collection to find a special historical photograph that captures your imagination. Print it out and share it with your classmates.

Title: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Photographer: ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Historical Context: ………………………………………………………. Date: ……………….

1. Describe the photograph. What is going on?

2. How did the photographer compose his picture? Where are your eyes drawn?

3. What historical moment does it capture? Does it do it well?

4. Why do you think the photographer chose to take this picture?

5. Why did you choose this photograph?

6. What did you learn from it?

7. Do you think a photograph like this would still be taken today? Why? Why not?

8. On a scale of 1–5, with 5 being the highest, how would you rate the photograph? Why?

Do you use photography and other visuals as conversation pieces in your English classroom? What exercises or techniques work best for you when discussing them as a class? Do you encourage students to share their photographs? Why? Why not? Consider me curious!

For more on street photography, click the links below:

1. http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/street_photography.htm 
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2r0J1kE6-8 

For more Search and Share activities from Compelling Conversations – Japan like this one, visit here. And be sure to check out this Search and Share collection from Compelling American Conversations, now available on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com