Linguistics Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Linguistics Assignment 2 - Essay Example When derivational morphemes are added to the stem it turns the element into a different grammatical category. For instance when ‘-ness’ is added at the end of the word ‘good’ it forms a new word ‘goodness’. Contrary to the derivational morpheme, an inflectional morpheme does not change the grammatical structure of the word upon adding it to the stem. However, it does indicate grammatical aspects of its function. Adding the past form to the word ‘jump’ turns it into ‘jumped’ indicating the past form (grammatical aspect) of the word. b) How important is it to teach students of English as an L2 about these categories? Critically discuss what you would and would not teach them and why. Justify your answer with examples from the classroom context. It is critical to teach students about morpheme categories but it is not vital to teach them everything. The purpose is not to cloud their minds with unnecessary details that will hinder their efforts in grasping the core concepts. The nature of English language is transforming everyday around the world. It is not wise to feed the new learners of English language rigid facts that will probably modify in the coming years. Despite the changing nature of English language, there is no denying the importance of the basics. I will teach my students about morphemes, what they are, what their usage is and most importantly make the students practice them to use it. The ultimate goal of teaching English as a second language is not to make the students appear in PhD exams in English language. They primary goal is to make them effective communicators. In the classroom, the majority of focus is on theory. Theoretical learning has its benefits but my class will be much more activity driven. I would teach my students about morphemes through activities and not by just writing it on the white board. They will be given hand-outs that will have