In order to aquire practical language skills in any language as well as English, it is very important to try and pull away from the dependency on and overuse of dictionaries- whether they are electronic or paperback. If a student doesn't understand something, then of course it is okay for them to use a dictionary. However, if a student focuses on studying word parts (smaller parts of a word with their own submeanings), then not only will they improve their overall skill in a language, but they will also recognize that word part when they see it being used in new words they come across.

In english, word parts fall into three categories: prefixes, infixes, and suffixes.

For prefixes, these are word parts that come at the beginning of a word.

Examples include:

• pre- before

i.e. pre-heat ---> to heat before.

• re- do again

i.e. rewrite ---> to write again.

• in- not; negative word part

i.e.: in-active

As for infixes, these are word parts that fit into the middle of a word, and can have both an infix and a suffix attached to it, or either/or.

Examples include:

• -port- carry; movement

i.e.: trans-port-er person who carries something from one location to another

• -gram- something that is written or drawn

i.e.: dia-gram

• -graph- a machine that writes or records; something that is written or drawn

i.e.: graph-ology ---> the study of handwriting.

Note that the infixes do not have to be followed by a suffix.

A suffix in english is a word part that is attached to the end of a word.

Examples include:

• -er ajective; more

i.e.: bigg-er --->very big, more large Note that there are two g's instead of one. Here, the spelling changes when the -er suffix is added.

• -ist person who is skilled in or specializes in something.

i.e. scient-ist ---> a person who is skilled in or specializes in science

• -ive adjective; this word indicates that a type of action is very probable.

i.e.: cooperat-ive ---> in an agreeable manner; cooperates alot

In conclusion, one should always try to learn more affixes in order to decrease dependency on dictionaries, and increase comprehension. If one makes an effort to learn them, it will be beneficial not only in listening comprehension, but will improve reading comprehension as well as the speed at which one processes new words with familiar word parts. Even if a student does not know the word, they may have a general understanding and will not have to interrupt the flow of whatever they are doing in order to figure out what the word means as often.