October14-3

Piecing Together the
Puzzle: Multisensory
Strategies to Enhance
ELLs’ Vocabulary
Beth Csiszer
Indian Land Elementary
October 14, 2013
TESOLCarolina2013MSL
Vocabulary
1

Overview
• Rationale about the importance of explicit
vocabulary instruction for ELLs
• Results of a pilot study with ELLs in an
elementary setting
• Overview of strategies
• Discussion
Vocabulary
2

Rationale for Explicit MSL
Vocabulary Instruction
• 98% of vocabulary must be known to comprehend written
and oral content (Carver, 2000)
• Strategies focus on prefix-root-suffix patterns because
over 80% of English vocabulary consists of these Latin and
Greek-based patterns (Henry, 2006)
Vocabulary
3

Rationale for Explicit MSL
Vocabulary Instruction
• Long lasting benefits on reading, writing, and spelling
performance (Carlisle & Fleming, 2003; Henry, 2006;
Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007; Nunes & Bryant, 2006, Reed,
2008)
• Teachers often are not trained to provide this instruction
effectively (Moats, 2009)
• Multisensory strategies have been proven to be effective
with struggling learners for over sixty years (Birsh &
Shaywitz, 2011)
Vocabulary
4

Terminology
• To confidently master vocabulary in listening, speaking,
reading and writing tasks, students must have:
Passive (receptive) vocabulary knowledge: COMPREHEND
meaning when listening or reading
Active (expressive) vocabulary knowledge:
USE vocabulary properly (pronunciation, intonation,
meaning, connotation) when speaking or writing
Vocabulary
5

MSL Strategies for Vocabulary
Enhancement
visual
Audit-
ory
tactile
Kines-
thetic
smell
Vocabulary
6
Multisensory: use many learning channels
to learn vocabulary -> enhance, recall & use

MSL Strategies for Vocabulary
Enhancement
• Explicit: Model learning strategies, mnemonics, imagery directly- DO
NOT ASSUME
• Structured: carefully structure vocabulary instruction moving from
easier to more complex patterns, with images
• Metacognitive: Show why a word part, word or phrase means what
it does -> independence
• Repetitive: Provide opportunity for over-practice or passive and
active vocabulary
• Diagnostic-prescriptive: constantly analyze what causes difficulties
and remediate immediately
Vocabulary
7

MSL Pilot Study: Design
• Purpose: Determining the effectiveness of teaching prefix-
root-suffix patterns in an MSL approach
• Participants: 4th grade ELL students (N = 7)
• Format:
• 8 weeks, 3x times a week 45 min. each, small group =
total of 24 sessions
• Pre-post assessment of knowledge and comprehension
strategies
Vocabulary
8

MSL Pilot Study: Data Collection
Format:
Pre-and Post Test assessed
a) knowledge of terms
What is a prefix?
___ a part of a word that sits at the end
___ a part of a word that sits at the beginning
___ a part of a word that sits in the middle
What does a prefix do?
____ it changes the meaning of the word
____ it changes the part of speech (noun to verb or noun to
adjective)
___ it provides the meaning of the word
Vocabulary
9

b) comprehension in a single sentence
Read the sentence and mark your answer.
If the prefix “ex” means “out”, what does it mean to export
goods?
The moving water used for hydroelectric energy is
replenished by the water cycle.
What is the meaning of the word “replenished”?
A filled again
B move through
C push back
D use before
Vocabulary
10

matching meanings with morpheme
Match the PREFIX with the explanation.
re pro sub cent
_______________ means “under”
Vocabulary
11

Comprehension survey assessed strategy use to
comprehend unfamiliar words
Vocabulary
12

MSL Pilot Study: Intervention
Intervention: With student- created prefix-root-suffix cards
that were color coded, students engaged in a variety of
activities
Vocabulary
13

Intervention activities
• “Word creators”: Students made words using prefix-roots
and suffix cards and explained the meanings
• “Concentration game”: Students look to match
morphemes and their definitions
Vocabulary
14

Intervention activities
• “Morpheme BINGO ”: Students created own cards from a
list of grade-specific morphemes that had been previously
taught
• “Morpheme Charades”: One models gesture and others
guess meanings or separate morphemes and whole words
with multiple gestures
Vocabulary
15

Results of an MSL Pilot Study
Pre-Post Test
a. Terminology
PRE-test: students guessed
POST-test: 6/7 students understood each part
 Good to continue reinforcement
Vocabulary
16

Pre-Post Test
b. Retrieve meaning from sentence (in context)
PRE-test: students guessed
POST-test: 6/7 demonstrated understanding of morphemes
 More instruction- reinforcement, especially at beginning
of a new school year
Vocabulary
17

Pre-Post Test
c. Matching definitions (out of context)
PRE-test: students guessed, were insecure
POST-test: 7/7 demonstrated understanding of morphemes–
used gestures
 Only area to reinforce: suffixes that carry grammatical
meaning (-tion, -or, -er)
Vocabulary
18

Comprehension Strategies
• PRE- DATA: No student had ever broken a word into
prefix-root-suffix patterns even though 6/7 students
regularly broke words into “syllables.”
• POST-DATA: 5/7 students reported they look at meaning
of word parts
Vocabulary
19

OUTSIDE of STUDY impact
• Students wrote about prefix-root-suffix meanings & used
words with these patterns in their journal writing
unsolicited
• Students recognized studied morphemes in
• content-area readings
• silent, independent readings
• In environmental print (i.e., EXIT)
Vocabulary
20

Implications of MSL Pilot Study
 USE OF MSL STRATEGIES
Essential recall tools for reading, writing, listening and
speaking
 IMPORTANCE of MAINTENANCE
• in light of Common Core requirements
• long-term memory
Vocabulary
21

Common Core Standards
Addressing Affixes & Roots
• L.3.4-Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an
unknown word with the same root (e.g., company,
companion).
• L.4.4.-Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin
affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g.,
telegraph, photograph, autograph).
• L.6.4-Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes
and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience,
auditory, audible).
Vocabulary
22

Common Core Standards
(Cont’d)
• L.7.4.-Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes
and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g.,
belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
• L.9-10.4. -Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes
that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g.,
analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
Vocabulary
23

Resources
• Ehrlich, I. (1968). Instant vocabulary. New York: Pocket books.
Prefix-root-suffix dictionary that explains the meaning of them
and provides sample words that are frequently used in the content
areas. provides great resource for new vocabulary
• Phythian, B.A. (1989). A concise dictionary of confusables. Great
Britain: Hodder and Stoughton Educational.
• Contrasts words that look and sound familiar on basic and
advanced levels. Good for teachers of all grade levels.
• Halfman, P. & Johnson, P.F. (2004). 50 Quick play vocabulary games.
East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems Inc.
• A series of vocabulary enhancement games with CD at 2 levels
and different game boards.
Vocabulary
24

Websites
Vocabulary
25
WEBSITES to find meanings of prefixes, roots and suffixes
http://www.prefixsuffix.com/rootchart.php
http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/prefix
es_suffixes.pdf
Suffixes according to parts of speech:
http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/comsuffixes.htm

October14-3

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