Word formation games

kl+ Ken Lackman & Associates Educational Consultants Word Formation Games Preapwork f or Activities with Prefixes and Suffixes Teaching Writing Ken Lackman Methods and activities for more effective teaching with less preparation Word Formation Games Contents 5 7 8 10 12 12 14 15 17 18 Introduction Suggested Teaching Approach Activities Guess the Affixed Word Papers on Walls Categorizing Suffixes on the Board Four Walls Circle Brainstorm FCE-style Gap Fill Word formation Scavenger Hunt Jeopardy Word Building Card Game Word Formation Family Feud Guess the Affix Bibliography Appendix Copyright Ken Lackman 2010 This work is the intellectual property of the author Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author Word Formation Games Introduction Affixation is the process of adding suffixes and prefixes to a base to change the meaning of the word and/or change it to another part of speech Prefixes primarily affect the meaning of a word, the most common being the ones which form opposites, like -un, -in, -im, -il, -ir, etc However, in this group are also those which add more specific meaning, like -de, which can indicate the removal of something (de-ice, destabilize, dehydrate, etc.) and -mis, which refers to things which are done wrongly or badly (miscalculate, misquote, misuse, etc.) In addition, there are numerous prefixes with specific connotation (-bi = two, -co = with, -pre = before, etc.) Suffixes, on the other hand, primarily classify words There are two types of suffixes, inflectional suffixes, which denote the word’s grammatical function, (-s indicates plural, -est, the superlative, -ed, -past tense and participles) and derivational suffixes, which classify the part of speech For example, the suffix -al turns nouns into adjectives (accidental, regional, musical, etc.) and –ion changes verbs into nouns (action, creation, exhibition, etc.) However, in this group there are still some that impart some semantic notion, like –er and –or which form nouns to refer to people (actor, drummer, etc.) and others like –ence, which form nouns which refer to the action, state or process connected to the original verb (insistence, correspondence, preference) Then there are suffixes whose semantic contribution is much more obvious, like -less, indicating the lack of something (careless, endless, flawless) and –proof, which indicates protection against something (waterproof, foolproof, soundproof) From the student’s perspective, affixation is a valuable aspect of English to understand and use Attention to meaning, even if it’s merely recognizing the part of speech of an affixed word, will lead to improved receptive skills, while understanding structural patterns would enhance production Most, if not all, students would agree that expanding their lexicon is a priority Affixation provides a relatively easy way of achieving that The following example, taken from an upper-intermediate class, shows the lengths that a student had to go to because he lacked a relatively simple affixed word to express a concept he was trying to describe Had he known the affixed word, “outnumbered”, he could have expressed himself a lot more clearly and efficiently The Polish Army had only 4,000 soldiers The Swedes were 10,000 There were too many of the Swedes But the Polish Army won the battle Word Formation Games Suggested Teaching Approach A systematic approach, especially in regards to the form and meaning of affixed words and their interrelationship, would aid students both receptively and productively Although there are a limited number of rules for affixation, there are many patterns and raising student awareness of these patterns will help them understand affixed words when they come across them and also help them create them by applying appropriate prefixes and suffixes to root words Michael Lewis, in Implementing the Lexical Approach, said that “ it is easier to remember patterns than random lists we recognise wholes to be broken down, not parts to be built up.”(1998:56) The application of the strategy that the Lexical Approach takes to semi-fixed expression could provide a suitable system for teaching affixation Consider the following sample from Implementing the Lexical Approach: Could you pass the , please? The expression with the slot unfilled still carries clear meaning and filling the slot reveals similarity among the items Once we fill it, we realize that the items we have chosen are all likely to belong on a dining table (salt, butter, wine, etc.) Similarly, we could the same sort of thing with affixation inform pronounce mis read quote hear -mis + verb = to wrongly or badly (verb) believe predict un fathom imagine think able -un + verb + able = you can’t it (adjective) In both the above cases the item(s) that are fixed carry some meaning and the slot fillers are words that are similar This is not to say that all words that could fill the slots would bear similarity (consider misadventure, misgiving) but that certain patterns can be established Also, it is not necessary, although perhaps preferable, that the fixed elements always carry meaning Although McCarthy suggests the teaching value of “ isolating a small group of highly productive prefixes or suffixes”, he also refers to research that maintains that “the general shape of the incoming word is important, not every minute contour of its make-up.” He points out that awareness of the im _ly structure aids speakers in producing words like the following: immediately, impossibly, impatiently, imperviously (1996:5,35) Word Formation Games Gairns and Redman assert that “for lower level students the best policy is to treat the derivatives as individual items and teach those which are most important for their productive (or receptive) vocabulary.” (1996:49) However, affixation which occurs in high frequency words at their level should be explicitly pointed out Using the example mentioned above, it wouldn’t be difficult to mention that the prefix -im creates the opposite of ‘possible and is stronger than “not possible’ Not only should this be corrected to avoid fossilization, but low level students should be encouraged to use simple affixes and discouraged from going around them, hence opening them up to acquiring more affixes McCarthy points out that the suffixes –er and –or are highly productive as they can be attached to a large number of words and lower level students can be made aware of the concept of affixation with simple examples of this (write/writer, act/actor, read/reader, etc.) (1996:100) Generally, the exercise which appears in the Headway Elementary workbook, where students are asked to form nouns with –ion from given verbs and vice-versa, is a good example of an easy low-level activity which will familiarize students the form and function of affixes For levels above elementary, affixation should be dealt with by highlighting the affix and looking at groups of words which can be fit into the slot next to it/them Keeping to Michael Lewis’s restriction of frame fillers is a good idea as it is a sufficiently low enough number to allow for selection of words of similar nature Once this pattern has been established, it would be a good idea to let the students to pick out other words which fit the model orthographically, phonologically or semantically This could be done receptively (listening or reading text) or they could be given lists of words which they would have to sort according to their potential to fit into slots provided by the teacher For example, ‘recognize’ would be more likely to fit into the un able slot than to the one next to over The point is that students recognize the patterns A useful production activity could be to have the students use selected groups of affixed words in context in a piece of writing A collaborative effort would be more likely to produce discussion about the correct use of the particular items For more communicative speaking practice, a pair of students could try to use affixed words from a list in a conversation, with production being monitored by another student Word Formation Games Activities Guess the Affixed Word Speaking Vocabulary Listening Grammar Reading Pronunciation Writing Warmer/Icebreaker A simple activity would be to have the student - once they were introduced to an affixation pattern - think of a situation in which they could apply a word from that pattern and then they would explain the situation, without the word, to a partner who would have to apply the word to it For example, if the un _able structure was being featured, a student might tell another about seeing a friend in a costume and not realizing who it was The intention would be that the partner would say the friend was 'unrecognizable' Students can quiz each other this way and they get a point for each affixed word that is guessed correctly The game could also be played in threes, where one student gives the clue and the other two compete to see how can say it first This concept is observable in the game below, where each student would be give a strip with a gap fill and they have to mingle and say their sentence with a gap to another student, who would then have to figure out the affixed word that belongs in the gap Fill in the spaces with a negative adjective The negative prefixes are dis, im, in, ir and un He never agrees with anyone He is very _able He and his brother are never separate They are able I cannot use that old computer It is able I wouldn’t advise you go there Going there is _able They are so different you can’t compare them They are able You cannot escape the truth The truth is _able Nobody loves him He is able Her company never makes a profit The company is _able You cannot move that heavy object It is _able 10 You cannot break that glass It is _able Samples from guessing game with neg prefix able First Choice B2, Cornelsen, 2009 Word Formation Games The above activity could be made more challenging for students by not mentioning the root word in the clue and instead by using synonyms or other words to get the same meaning across For example: He always argues with anyone He is very _able He and his brother are never apart They are able And the above version of the activity could be simplified by only using the same negative prefix Consider the example below, which could be used by learners at a lower level to elicit the words unhappy and unlike He is very sad He is very un _ He is not the same as his brother He is un his brother Card version Cards could be made for a game where the students could just turn over a card with a clue and the answer They would give the clue to the other student(s) they would be playing against who would have to guess the affixed word on the card Cards could be prepared by the teacher or by groups of students for other groups of students to use Words with prefixes can easily be located in a dictionary while words with the same suffix can be found at http://onelook.com/ Type in an asterisk and then your suffix (e.g., *ment) and then hit SEARCH Then hit COMMON WORDS only This word is used to describe the caps that drug manufacturers put on bottles so children cannot open them This word is used to describe the process of treating metal so it will not decay childproof This word is used for material that has been treated so it will not burn This word is used to describe glass which has been specially made not to break into small little pieces on impact rustproof Shatterproof This word is used to describe something that is designed to survive bad weather in general fireproof This word is used to describe a something that has been treated so liquids will not go through it weatherproof leakproof Sample cards for guessing game from First Choice A2, Cornelsen, 2009 Word Formation Games Papers on Walls Speaking Vocabulary Listening Grammar Reading Pronunciation Writing Warmer/Icebreaker This is a really useful activity to find out what students already know and to get them familiarized with common affixes and certain affixed words It can It can be a great warmer for any lesson featuring affixed words To prepare for the activity, decide on which affixes you want to deal with (all prefixes, all suffixes, a mixture of both, negative prefixes, etc.) Write each affix on top of a sheet of paper and spread the papers out on the walls of the classroom You should have at least different affixes/papers Divide the students into pairs or small groups and give each team a different coloured marker Explain that when you say to start, they will write some examples of words on each sheet that feature the affix written on the top The only rules are they cannot write one that is on the sheet already and they can’t write two in a row in their colour (so that they don’t just stand at one sheet) In the end, whoever has contributed the most words, wins Give teams a minute to discuss their strategy (I’ve seen students throwing the marker around the room) then tell them to start When they’ve finished, eliminate the incorrect words, provide explanation of others, if necessary, and have each group total up their contributions to determine the winning team Alternate version Categorizing Suffixes on the Board Have enough sheets with affixes on them for every team in the class Post them on the walls Each team has a different coloured marker Tell each team to start in front of a different sheet on the wall When you say to start, they race to write an affixed word on each sheet in succession (in a clockwise direction) and the first team to finish all of the sheets wins You can have teams play for second and third place also Speaking Listening Reading Writing Vocabulary Grammar Pronunciation Warmer/Icebreaker This is a good game for getting students familiar with suffixes used to create the different parts of speech To prepare you’ll need a sheet of words with common suffixes relative to the students’ level There is a sample sheet in the appendices that can be used with students who are intermediate and above Slice the sheet of paper up into individual words and put them on your desk Put a box or similar container next to them for the ones that students finish with Then divide the board up into four columns, labeled VERBS, NOUNS, ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS Put students into pairs or threes and give each one a different coloured board marker Students then race to take a word from your desk, write it in the correct column and then discard it in the box and take another When they are finished with all the words, erase and rewrite the ones on the board that are in the wrong columns and have each team then count up how many they did correctly to determine a winner In the next phase of this activity, students should work in their pairs/threes and make a list in their notebooks of the suffixes in each part-of-speech category Then they should make some conclusions, with your guidance, Word Formation Games about the suffixes, e.g., “ness” is the most popular noun suffix, “ly” is really the only adverb suffix, “al” can be used for adjectives and nouns and there are relatively few verb suffixes, other than “ed” and “ing”, which, of course, are used for adjectives also Four Walls Speaking Vocabulary Listening Grammar Reading Pronunciation Writing Warmer/Icebreaker This is a very simple game that can be used as a warmer and a review of suffixes used for different parts of speech To prepare, you need four sheets of paper labeled with the four main parts of speech and you need a list of words with suffixes You can use words that the students have dealt with already or, if you want to make it more challenging, you can use new words It’s possible to use words they are unfamiliar with as long as long as they end in a suffix that would determine its part of speech You could even throw in words that could be more than one part of speech like professional or acting Just before you start the activity, you need to post each part-ofspeech sheet on a wall in the classroom Then ask the students to stand up and when you say a word from the list, they have to move to the wall representing the part of speech it is Let them know if they are correct Continue with other words Circle Brainstorm Speaking Vocabulary Listening Grammar Reading Pronunciation Writing Warmer/Icebreaker This is a brainstorming game is useful because it encourages students to experiment with adding suffixes and prefixes Students are in small groups and sit in circles The object is to go around the circle with each person saying an affixed word which connects to the one before it Every time a word is added it should be written on the paper so it can be checked later by the teacher The group will be awarded a point for each correct word The game can be played in different ways determined by the way each word connects to the one before it The simplest way is to have the students brainstorm all the words they know with the same affix The list below provides an example of words ending with –ness:      happiness sadness darkness illness fitness For higher level classes you can make the game more challenging by having them alternate between matching affixes and matching the root word Following is an example: Word Formation Games       information organization disorganized disapprove approval professional (suffix matched) (root matched) (prefix matched) (root matched) (suffix matched) Alternately, you can allow them to match any part of the word Example below:  information  education  organization  organizer  player  replay To make this game more challenging, disallow using –ed and –ing as affixes Make sure students that realize that in order to keep the game going, if they can’t think of a word, they should make one up This is a very useful activity because it encourages students to speculate by using their basic knowledge of affixation to create affixed words that they are unsure of FCE-style Gap Fill Speaking Listening Reading Writing Vocabulary Grammar Pronunciation Warmer/Icebreaker This activity is based on an a section of the Cambridge FCE and CAE exams where the students are given a gapped text and root words which have to be changed by adding suffixes or prefixes in order to properly fit in the gap The strategy students should use for this is to read the text first and consider, using the context, which part of speech goes in each gap Teachers can train them to look for context clues like a gap after an article (likely indicating a noun), a gap before a noun (likely an adjective), etc Once they have done that, they think of some common prefixes or suffixes and try them with the root words to see if they “sound right” It’s always a good idea to encourage students to take guesses even if they end up being wrong, as that’s how they will learn For many people punctuality is a big issue Parents are often keen to impress upon their children the (1) of being punctual because they see it as an aspect of (2) and consideration for others It is also a quality that (3) regard as very positive, and those who are _(4) unpunctual may end up being (5) in their careers as a result Sample with first gaps from an FCE test IMPORTANT POLITE EMPLOY USUAL SUCCESS Word Formation Games Appendix Words for Categorizing Suffixes on the Board fame dependency famous excitable action independent profession excited active direct professor unexciting actor direction professional exciting variety director professorship excitedly actively directness professionally use activist directly professionalism useful activism directional specify useless activate personalize decision useable compete personality undecided usefulness competition various indecision uselessness competitive variable decisive approve competitor specific decisiveness approval competitiveness independence specifically disapprove competitively dependant excite approvingly depend dependability excitement approving dependable shortness shortly shorten 18 Word Formation Games Jeopardy Games Grid for Negative Prefixes (upper-intermediate - advanced level) de dis il im in mis non ir un 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 19 Word Formation Games Negative Prefixes Answer Sheet de dis il im in de-ice to remove frozen water from something, esp airplane dishonest adj for someone who doesn’t tell the truth illegal against the law impolite someone who is rude inaccurate something which is not 100 % correct, esp statistics devalue to decrease the worth of something, esp currency disable to take from something the power to work or function illogical something which makes no sense imperfect something that isn’t 100% - it has some small flaws or mistakes indirect not straight, roundabout decentralise to remove power from one place and distribute equally, esp gov displeasure, dissatisfaction a noun for unhappiness about something illiterate adj to describe someone who can’t read or write immature an adult who acts like a child deodorise to remove the smell from something discomfort the feeling of just a little bit of pain or physical unpleasantness illegible adj to describe handwriting which cannot be read immeasurable something very big – cannot be measured decompose break down or separate into small parts, esp after death disobey to not what someone orders you to illegitimate contrary to laws or rule, esp children of unmarried parents improbable something which is not likely to happen ir un non-alcoholic drinks without anything which makes you drunk, e.g some kinds of beer irresponsible adj for one who doesn’t care about the results of their actions unfair not right according to a set of rules or principles misfortune bad luck non-fiction literature which is true stories irresistible adj for something which you have an uncontrollable attraction to unused something (esp manufactured which is new indefinite undecided or uncertain, no fixed limits, like the article “a” or “an” misbehave to act badly, esp for children non-profit companies which are designed not to make money irregular not straight, or according to rules or in rate of occurrence unwelcome uninvited adj for guests that you don’t want infinite not having an end misinform to tell someone something wrong non-violent someone who doesn’t believe in physical force esp to get civil rights irrelevant something that is not connected to what is being talked about unbeaten adj for a sports team which has not yet lost a game inflexible rigid, not moveable, esp for people’s opinions misadventure an exciting experience which turns out badly non-resident someone who lives somewhere but without a permit irreversible adj for something which cannot be changed back to what it was unborn word for a child that a pregnant woman is carrying 20 mis non mispronounce verb for saying words, esp in another language with the wrong sound Word Formation Games Prefixes (intermediate - advanced) inter over under pre international between or among different countries overtime noun for when you work later than your scheduled hours underground adj to describe something which is below the surface of the earth prefix noun for something which is attached to the beginning of a word to change its meaning rewrite to write something again subtitles translated words under the screen in foreign language films transcontinental word to describe something, (e.g train) which goes across Europe, Africa, North America, etc interpersonal adj to describe relations between people overweight adj to describe someone who is heavier than they should be undergraduate noun for someone who has not yet completed university prehistoric adj used to describe something that existed before history was recorded refill to pour some more liquid to the top of a something after it has been emptied subplot not the main story in a film or play, but a lesser one that also happens transform verb to describe a change in appearance, shape or character interracial adj for between or among different races of people overcrowded adj to describe somewhere where there are too many people underdeveloped adj used esp to describe agricultural countries without much industry preview to see something, esp a film before it is released for the general public reappear when something goes away or you can’t see it and then you can subhuman adj to describe a person who is more like an animal than a person transplant to move something growing in the ground to somewhere else Also used for organs interplanetary between or among planets overflow verb for when water or other liquid runs out of something because it is too full undercharge verb for when someone asks you to pay less than you should for something prejudge to form an opinion about a person before you really know them, esp based on ethnicity reconstruct to rebuild something sub-standard adj to describe something that is below the usual acceptable level transaction a business deal intersection place where two lines or roads meet overestimate verb for guessing the price something will be or the time it will take and you guess too much underestimate verb for guessing the price something will be or the time it will take and you guess too little predate verb to say something existed before a certain time in history reconsider to think about something again, esp a decision subdivide to separate something into equal parts a second time transcribe to write down notes into complete sentences, or from spoken language 21 re sub trans Word Formation Games Suffixes (intermediate – advanced) ment .less .ness …ship …ize …able …ity …ism a thing or substance, often related to something else without something a state or condition state, condition or quality an art or skill to make or create having the ability name of a quality a belief or practice payment money given to someone usually for a service harmless something that won't hurt you blindness a condition where a person cannot see friendship the state of being in a relationship which is not family, romantic or sexual apologize to make a statement saying you are sorry for something comfortable when something makes you feel relaxed, for example a piece of furniture creativity the quality of making new things or ideas racism a belief that some people are better than others depending on the colour of their skin basement part of a building which is below ground level fearless not at all afraid weakness the condition of having very little strength dictatorship the state of living in a country where one person has all the power equalize to make two or more things the same affordable something you are able to buy because you have enough money infinity the quality of going on forever journalism the practice of reporting news for the media judgement a decision or evaluation made about someone or something worthless describing something that has no value closeness the state of two things or people being near each other, physically or emotionally for people ownership The state of possessing something magnetize to make a piece of metal so it attracts another piece of metal unforgettable memorable a word to describe something you will always remember maturity the quality of acting your age or even older than you are optimism the belief that everything will get better treatment a substance used to care for an illness or wound speechless describing someone who cannot or will not talk, usually just for the moment likeness the state of resembling something companionship the state of having someone with you to keep you from being lonely penalize to punish someone for doing something wrong disposable Something you can throw away humidity the quality the air has when it is very moist anarchism the belief in a country without government fragment a piece or part broken off of something mindless describing something not requiring or displaying any intelligence dullness the state of being boring, stupid or, for objects, not sharp apprenticeship the state of being an assistant while learning a job or profession monopolize to take complete possession or control of something, esp a conversation arguable a statement or position you are able to disagree with mobility the quality of being able to move liberalism a belief in progress and reform, especially in politics 22 Word Formation Games Common Root Words from FCE Exam Word Formation able accept accommodate accurate act active actual adequate admire advertise advise affect agent agree allow ambition appear apply acquaint arrange arrive attract authority base beauty behave believe bore breath build care centre certain champion change child choose collect commerce common compete concentrate confident consider construct contribute convenient convince correct cost courage cure danger dark day decide defend deport depressed design desire detect develop difficult direct discover distant drama early educate else employ engage enjoy entertain enthusiastic equal excite exhibit exist expect expense explain extend fail fair famous fault finance fit fortunate fortune free frequent friend full generate grand harm heavy help hide high honest hope imagine important impress improve increase influence inhabit injure intelligent intend invite judge know legal like likely literate live logic lonely long luck manage marry mature medicine member memory migrate miss modern move nature necessary notice occasion 23 operate oppose organize origin paint patient perfect permit please polite politic popular possible praise predict prefer prepare press pride probable produce profession pronounce protect publish qualify rain rare rational react real reason recognize relate relation religion remark remove require repute research responsible ripe risk round sad safe scarce science secure select sell sense settle shock short shy sign similar skill slip sociable solve south speak special spell state steady strong stubborn success sufficient sure surprise suspect tact through tradition train treat true upset use usual value various warn wide will win wise wonder worth in affect certain effect generate attract understand quality dictate compete perfect success in wonder dis patient able equip a / t / ion famous al use ible value acy settle ence / ency addict ive predict ment sense allow verb accurate modern explain equal nature tradition educate occasion or invite ness adequate al recognize ment legible ive habit ity solve im expect ive manage a / t / ion precise ive convenient vary exist oppose detect require friend organize agree imagine cure un observe able forget mis member less courage im popular acy resent un person ant develop or accommodate ness correct advise help scarce impress state treat react repute relate please ful depend ful admire in taste less notice in profess un select ity honest dis probable a / t / ion act ity construct desire entertain produce care engage mature operate expense politic move less arrange ence / ency improve able prepare ful literate dis judge able concentrate ship secure ness fortunate ible able im employ consider similar skill reason present perfect lonely possible like place ship logic a / t / ion real a / t / ion train il pronounce non acquaint mis social un defense ment tact ment harm less pure appear remark frequent enjoy believe direct excite exhibit change polite ful fair il contribute non accept un prefer ness edit in legal ity important un luck ant separate able: ability, disability, inability, unable, enable, accept: acceptable, unacceptable, acceptance, acceptability accommodate: accommodation, accommodating accurate: accuracy, inaccurate, inaccuracy, accurately, inaccurately acquaint: acquaintance, acquainted, acquaintanceship, unacquainted, reacquaint act: action, active, inactive, inaction, actor, acting, actively, inactively, actionable, activist, activism, acted, enact, enactment addict: addictive, addiction, non-additive adequate: inadequate, (in)adequately, admire: admirable, admiration, admirer, admirably, admired advertise: advertisement, advertiser, advertised, advert, adverts advise: advisable, inadvisable, advisor, advisedly, advisory affect: affective, unaffected, affection, affectation, disaffected, disaffection, affectionately agree: agreement, agreeable, disagreeable, disagreement, agreeably, agreed, agreeing allow: disallow, allowance, allowable, allowably, allowed, allowedly, allowing appear: appearance, appearances disappear, disappearance, disappeared, apply: application, applicable, inapplicable, applied, applying acquaint: acquaintance, unacquainted, acquainting, acquainted arrange: arrangement, unarranged, arranging, arranged, arranger attract: attractive, attraction, unattractive, attracted, attracting believe: believable, unbelievable, disbelief, non-believer, believed, believer, believing care: careful, careless, uncaring, caring, certain: uncertain, certainty change: changeable, unchangeable, unchanged, changed, changing, unchanging collect: collective, collection, collectible, collector, collecting, collected compete: competition, (un)competitive, noncompetitive, competitor, competitiveness, competitively, competently, competency, competence, competing concentrate: concentration, concentrated consider: considerable, consideration, considerate, considerately, considerably inconsiderate, considering, considered construct: construction, reconstruction, reconstruct, reconstruction, constructive, deconstruct, deconstruction, constructor, unconstructed contribute: contribution, contributor convenient: convenience, inconvenient, conveniently, inconveniently correct: corrective, correction, correctness, corrector, incorrect, correctly, correctitude, courage: discourage, discouragement cure: curable, incurable, cured, curing defense: defensive, defensible, defensiveness, indefensible, defenseless depend: dependable, dependability, independence, independent, dependence, dependant, dependency, undependable, interdependent, independently desire: desirable, undesirable, desirous, desirability, desirableness detect: detectable, detective, detection, detector, undetected develop: development, undeveloped, developer, developmental, non-development decide: decision, undecided, indecision, decisive, decisiveness, indecisiveness, indecisive, decidedly dictate: dictator, dictatorship, dictation, dictatorial direct: direction, indirect, directive, director, misdirect, directness, directly, redirect, directional, directory, directorate edit: editor, edition, editorial, editorship, reedit educate: education, educator, uneducated, educational, educable effect: effective, effectiveness, effectual, effectualness, ineffective, ineffectual , effectively, effectuate employ: employment, employable, unemployed, unemployment, employee, employer engage: engagement, disengage, engaging, enjoy: enjoyable, enjoyment, entertain: entertainment, unentertaining, entertainer, entertained equal: equality, inequality, unequal, equalling, equalize, equalization, equalizer equip: equipment, unequipped, equipped, equipping exhibit: exhibitor, exhibition, exhibiting, excite: excitement, excitable, unexcited, unexciting, exciting, excitingly exist: existence, non-existence, non-existent, existent, existential, existentially, existentialism, existentialist expect: expectation, expectant, unexpected, expectantly, expecting, expectancy expense: expensive, inexpensive explain: explanation, explained, explaining, explanatory fair: unfair, fairness, fairing, fairly famous: infamous, famously, fame, famed forget: forgetful, forgetfulness, unforgettable, forgettable, forgot, forgotten, forgetting, forgetfully fortunate: unfortunate, unfortunately, fortunately frequent: frequency, frequencies, infrequent, frequently, infrequently, frequenter friend : friendship, friendliness, friendly generate: generator, generation, regenerate, degenerate habit: habitable, habitation, inhabit, inhabitant, inhabitable, inhabited, uninhabited, uninhabitable, habitat, habitual, habituate harm: harmless, harmful, unharmed, help: helpless, helpful, unhelpful, helper, honest: dishonest, honestly, dishonestly hope: hopeless, hopeful, hoped imagine: imagination, imaginative, unimaginative, imaginable, unimaginable important: importance, unimportant, importantly impress: impression, impressive, impressed, unimpressive, unimpressionable, impressionable, impressiveness improve: improvement, unimproved, improvable, improved invite: invitation, uninvited, invitational judge: judgment, judgmental, non-judgmental, misjudge, prejudge like: likely, likeable, unlikely, liken, unlikeable, likeness, disliked, likelihood, likewise literate: illiterate, literal, literacy, literature, literally, logic: logical, illogical, logically, logician lonely: loneliness, lonesome luck: luckless, unlucky, luckily, luckier/est legal: legality, illegal, legally, legalize, legalistic legible: legibility, illegible, legibly, illegibly, illegibility manage: management, manageable, unmanageable, mismanage, mismanagement, managed, manager, managerial mature: maturation, maturity, immature, maturely, maturate, maturing, immaturely member: membership, non-member modern: modernity, modernization, modernize, modernist move: moveable, immovable, movement, unmoved, mover nature: (un)natural, (un)naturally notice: noticeable, unnoticed d, noticeably observe: observation, unobserved, observant, observance, observable, observational, observatory, observantly occasion: occasional, occasionally operate: operator, operation, operable, inoperable, operative, operational oppose: opposition, unopposed, opposable, organize: organization, unorganized, organizational, organizer, disorganized patient: impatient, (im)patiently, patience, perfect: perfection, imperfect, perfectionist, (im)perfectly, perfectionism, imperfection, person: personality, personal, personable, impersonal, personification, impersonator, personae, persona, personage, personalize, personally, personate, personified, personifying, impersonation, personnel, personify place: placement, misplace, displace, displacement, placed, misplaced please: pleasant, displease, pleasantry, pleasantly, pleasantness, pleased, pleasure, pleasurable, pleasurably polite: politeness, impolite, (im)politely, politic: political, non-political, politicked, politicking, politician, politicization, politicize popular: popularity, unpopular, popularized, popularly, popularization precise: precision, imprecise, imprecision, precisely, imprecisely, present: presentation, presentable, presence, presently, presenter, predict: prediction, predictable, unpredictable, predictor, predictably, predictability prefer: preference, preferable, preferential, non-preferred, prepare: preparation, unprepared, preparedness, prepared, preparing probable: probability, improbable, probably produce: production, productive unproductive, productiveness, productivity, productively, producer profess: profession, professor, professorship, (un)-professional, professionally, professorship professionalism, professorial, professed, possible: possibility, impossible, impossibility pronounce: pronunciation, unpronounced pronounceable, pronouncement, pronounced, protect: protection, protective, protectiveness, protector, unprotected, protected, protecting, protectionism, protectorate, pure: purity, pureness, impure, impurity, impurely, purely, puritan, purify qualify: qualification, unqualified, disqualified quality: qualitative, qualitatively react: reactive, reaction, reactant, reactor, reactionary real: reality, unreal, realistic, realistically, realism, really reason: reasonable, unreasonable recognize: (un)recognizable, recognition unrecognized, recognizance relate: relation, relative, unrelated, relationship, relativity remark: (un)remarkable, remarkably require: requirement, requisite, requisition repute: reputable, disrepute, disreputable, reputation, reputedly resent: resentful, resentfulness, resentment, resentfully scarce: scarcely, scarcity, secure: (in)security, insecure, securely select: selection, selective, selectiveness, selector, selectively sense: sensitive, insensitive, sensitivity, insensitivity, sensation, nonsense, sensible, sensibility, senseless, sensual, sensuality, sensibly, sensuous separate: separation, separable, separateness, inseparable, separator, separately, separatist settle: settlement, unsettled, settler similar: similarity, dissimilar skill: skilful, unskilled, skilled settle: settlement, unsettled social: sociable, socialization, unsociable solve: solution, unsolved, unsolvable, solvable, dissolve steady: steadiness, unsteady state: statement, stateless success: successful, successor, succession, successive, unsuccessful tact: tactful, tactless, tactlessness taste: tasteful, tasteless, distasteful train: trainable, untrained, untrainable tradition: traditional, non-traditional treat: treatment, treatable, untreatable, mistreat, mistreatment understand: understandable, misunderstand, misunderstanding, understandably use: useful, useless, useable, misuse, disuse, usefulness, uselessness value: valuable, valueless, invaluable vary: variety, variation, variable, variant verb: verbal, non-verbal wonder: wonderful, wonderment, wondrous Game Instructions (Card 1) Game Instructions (Card 2) Game Instructions (Card 1) Game Instructions (Card 2) Arrange students in groups of to players You’ll need more than one deck for larger classes unless you want to have students play as a pair One student is the judge and takes the set of cards with all the affixed words on them The judge places the cards with the affixed words in front of him/her The player to the left of the judge is the dealer The dealer deals cards to each player, puts the pile in the centre and then picks up the top card from the pile and adds it to his/her hand Dealer then chooses one card from his/her hand and puts it in the centre Play moves to the left as players must use the prefix/suffix on that card to form words with one of words on their cards Each card is played on top of the first card so that the affix on the first card remains visible and is always the one that is played upon If a player can’t combine a word from one of his/her cards, they place one of their cards upside down on the pile, still allowing the original affix on the first card to show Judge determines legitimacy of each word and each player uses it in a sentence The dealer plays last card The last card played face-up takes the trick, meaning that all cards in played in that round are given to the last player to successfully form an affixed word Winner of each trick starts the play by picking a card from the pile and choosing a card to start with Tricks taken are totaled at the end of each round and each player’s points are written down The maximum score will be Then dealer and judge roles move to the left Tricks where no cards are played face-up are not won by anyone and are placed to one side The object of this game is to take as many tricks as you can while you are dealer and to “steal” as many from other dealers when you are not Arrange students in groups of to players You will need more than one deck for larger classes unless you want to have students play as a pair One student is the judge and takes the set of cards with all the affixed words on them The judge places the cards with the affixed words in front of him/her The student to the left of the judge is the dealer The dealer deals four cards to each player Each player chooses their worst card and passes it face down to the player on the right, who then picks it up and adds it to their hand The dealer then puts a card down in the centre of the table Next player puts down another card on top of it to form a word by combining either of the two words on the first card with a suffix /prefix on his/her card or vice versa, meaning they combine the affix on the card in the centre with either of the two words on their card The judge checks the word on the Judge’s Cards and if the word is legitimate, the student uses that word in a sentence Play continues to the left in the same way If a player cannot play, he/she places a card face down in front of his/herself Once all cards have been played, each player counts the cards they placed face down in front of them and that number is subtracted from (total number of cards they started with) to give them the final score for that round The scores for each player are written on a score sheet For the subsequent rounds, all cards are collected and shuffled and the judge and dealer roles move one player to the left Another wrinkle you can add to this game is to ask the judge to write down the sentences used by the players This way you can check them for accuracy after the game and take up any errors Note: any word which uses the root card and a suffix/prefix card is allowed Thus, the “profess” card is combinable with “al” to form “professional” even if the player does not have the “ion” card The winner of the game is the one with the highest score at the end [...]... Equip 16 Word Formation Games Corpora Website http://www.americancorpus.org/ Bibliography Gairns, Ruth & Redman, Stuart Working with Words CUP, 1996 Lewis, Michael Implementing the Lexical Approach LTP, 1998 McCarthy, Michael Vocabulary OUP 1996 Sinclair, John ed Collins Cobuild English Guides 2: Word Formation Harper Collins 1996 Lackman, Ken First Choice A2 Teaching Guide Cornelsen 2009 17 Word Formation. .. strip for 8 points with ‘ment’ 15 Word Formation Games Finding root words The best way to find root words for this game is to go to a corpora website like http://www.americancorpus.org/ You will need to register to use it but it is free and it’s a great tool for language learners and instructors Simply type in the affix with an asterisk in the WORD( S) box to get the words with that affix So, for example,... a word by combining either of the two words on the first card with a suffix /prefix on his/her card or vice versa, meaning they combine the affix on the card in the centre with either of the two words on their card The judge checks the word on the Judge’s Cards and if the word is legitimate, the student uses that word in a sentence Play continues to the left in the same way If a player cannot 12 Word. .. dependable shortness shortly shorten 18 Word Formation Games Jeopardy Games Grid for Negative Prefixes (upper-intermediate - advanced level) de dis il im in mis non ir un 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 19 Word Formation Games Negative Prefixes Answer Sheet... you can add to this game is to ask the judge to write down the sentences used by the players This way you can check them for accuracy after the game and take up any wrongly used words with the class 13 Word Formation Games Word Formation Family Feud Speaking Vocabulary Listening Grammar Reading Pronunciation Writing Warmer/Icebreaker This activity is based on the popular game show where there are two... actually an affixed word, so you can eliminate it and replace it with ‘equipment’ to get 10 words If you scroll down you will find a lot more words The words are in order according to how frequently they occur in the corpora databank So, it would appear that the most popular word with the suffix “ment” is ‘Government’ You can write “ment” on the top of your list and just write the root words below, without... a certain root word What the common forms actually are, is up to you What you need to do to prepare for this game is to choose a group of root words – you can use the Judge’s cards from Word Building Card Game, if you’d like Usually a round of play with one word takes around 5 minutes so that will determine how many words you will need when you do it in class Then you select your root words and choose... but they get points for each affixed word that they guessed At that point, you can allow the other team(s) one or more guesses (your choice) as to what the other words are that they missed Award them points for each one they guess Play then moves to another team who chooses another root word from the list V N excitement Adj/V Adj/V Adv Adj Adj 14 Word Formation Games Guess the Affix Speaking Vocabulary... arguable a statement or position you are able to disagree with mobility the quality of being able to move liberalism a belief in progress and reform, especially in politics 22 Word Formation Games Common Root Words from FCE Exam Word Formation able accept accommodate accurate act active actual adequate admire advertise advise affect agent agree allow ambition appear apply acquaint arrange arrive attract... puts down another card on top of it to form a word by combining either of the two words on the first card with a suffix /prefix on his/her card or vice versa, meaning they combine the affix on the card in the centre with either of the two words on their card The judge checks the word on the Judge’s Cards and if the word is legitimate, the student uses that word in a sentence Play continues to the left