On prefixes in technical english

Learning vocabulary is an essential part of
mastering a foreign language. Therefore, in
ESP the emphasis is on mastering terminology.
Acquisition of prefixes is a part of that process
for many reasons. The studies that have been
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carried out have shown that gaining theoretical
prerequisites on prefixes results in a better
acquisition of vocabulary as opposed to
memorizing new words, which leads to a higher
level of metalinguistic awareness. After the
students get the instructions for their use, they are
able to break down words into smaller meaningful
parts in order to decipher the overall meaning of a
prefixed word. It is known for a fact that prefixes
bear meanings, which implies that if students
learn a number of prefixes, then they are able to
decode the meanings of new terminology once on
their own. In this paper, the most frequent prefixes
in technical English as well as different activities
for their practice are given. The goal of teaching
prefixes is to enable students to confidently infer
unknown meanings during independent reading of
English technical texts.