ESOL Students Decipher and Discuss Prefixes

In ESOL classes, occasionally focusing on prefixes is helpful for students trying to recognize word patterns and spellings. It also generates some wonderful discussions, as did a recent list of words to which my class added the prefixes "en-" and "em-." (If the word following the prefix begins with "p" or "b," the prefix must be "em-.")

The class began by deciphering what "en-" and "em-" mean when attached to the following list of words:

After the class agreed on a definition -- "to make or cause to be" -- we discussed what life events have caused us enrichment, enlightenment, empowerment, enslavement, etc. The answers were tender, clever, and surprising.