WORD ORIGIN HELPS EXPAND LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY: A VOCABULARY TEACHING APPROACH
Abstract
Abstract: This paper discussed a small part of word origin and how understanding the
origin of words that can help students expand their vocabulary. Teaching or learning
word origin is really an effective way to promote efï¬ciency in vocabulary expansion.
Word origin (motivation) deals with the connection between name and sense, explaining
how a word originated. With the knowledge of how words are originated, learners can
grasp a word easier and thus expand their vocabulary more quickly. The introduction
to word origin (motivation) by teachers can also help the learners gain interest in the
process of learning and learn more about the cultural and historical background of the
English-speaking countries. This paper tries to clarify this method of teaching from
four aspects: onomatopoeia, word formation, cultural and historical background and
cognitive linguistics.
Keywords: word origin (motivation), vocabulary, word formation, onomatopoeia,
cognitive linguistics.
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