So English is a morpho-phonemic language, which means we need to teach more than letter-sound links and high frequency irregular sight words. To read sentences, beginners need to read inflectional morphemes.
Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in words.
Inflectional morphemes change what words do grammatically but do not create new words.
Here are 7 inflectional morphemes that I teach students:
For listening and talking, most students master all these morphemes by around 5 years of age.
But many don’t, including many students with developmental language disorder and learning disorders.
We can help all students by teaching them these morphemes!
Related articles:
- “When steel meets steel”: grammar doesn’t need to be dull
- Developmental Language Disorder: A Guide for Families
Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.
Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language
Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.
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