How can you assess a student's understanding of morphological concepts?

1 Why is morphology important?

Morphology is important for several reasons. First, it helps you expand your vocabulary by recognizing the meaning and function of word parts, such as prefixes, suffixes, and stems. For example, if you know that the prefix re- means "again" and the suffix -able means "capable of", you can infer that the word reusable means "capable of being used again". Second, it helps you use grammar correctly by understanding how words change their form and category according to syntactic rules, such as pluralization, tense, agreement, and derivation. For example, if you know that the suffix -s can mark plural nouns, third person singular verbs, or possessive nouns, you can apply it appropriately in different contexts. Third, it helps you communicate more effectively by creating and interpreting new words that suit your purpose and audience, such as compounds, acronyms, blends, and neologisms. For example, if you know that the word brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch, you can use it to describe a late morning meal.

2 How to assess morphological awareness?

Morphological awareness is the capacity to contemplate and manipulate the structure and meaning of words. It is a metalinguistic aptitude that progresses gradually from childhood to adulthood, and varies across languages and individuals. To evaluate morphological awareness, you can use various types of tasks that necessitate different levels of processing and production, such as identification, analysis, synthesis, and transformation. For example, identification tasks may involve asking the learner to identify the root or affix of a given word, or to classify words into categories based on their morphology. Analysis tasks may require the learner to break down a word into its constituent parts or explain the meaning of a word based on its morphology. Synthesis tasks involve forming a new word by adding or removing an affix or combining two words. Transformation tasks ask the learner to change the form or category of a word according to a grammatical rule or context.

4 How to improve morphological skills?

Morphological skills can be improved by engaging in various activities that enhance the learner's exposure, practice, and feedback on word structure and meaning. For instance, reading texts from different genres and using dictionaries or online tools to look up unfamiliar words and their morphology. Additionally, playing word games such as Scrabble or Boggle, or using online games or apps like Word Chums or Morpheme Match. Furthermore, doing exercises such as identification, analysis, synthesis, or transformation tasks; or using online exercises or quizzes from websites like Quizlet or Morphology Test. Finally, getting feedback from your teacher, your peers, or yourself on your morphological skills; and utilizing online feedback or correction tools like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to identify and fix errors. All these activities can help you correct mistakes, improve accuracy, and expand your vocabulary.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?