A Study Of The Teaching Of English Adjectival Suffix

Derivation, as an important and effective way in English word-formation, means adding an affix(prefix, mid-fix and suffix) to the root in order to form a new word. As an indispensable part of affixation, suffixation plays a vital role in word-formation. English adjectival suffix(EAS) as a kind of suffixes, of course are significant in derivation. Therefore, it is worthwhile studying English adjectival suffix, for it is useful for students to master knowledge of suffix in a systematic way, enlarge vocabulary size more effectively and construct semantic network of EAS. Though some researchers have studied English adjectival suffix, there still exists some shortcomings, for example, treating adjectival suffix as sole grammatical rules in stead of combining form and meaning, and researching it theoretically without teaching practice.Concerning this, this thesis regards Cognitive Linguistics as its theoretical background, treating Prototype-based Spreading Activation Model(PSAM) as theoretical framework, with qualitative and quantitative method as research method, so as to study EAS and its instructions for teaching. The methodological route of the study is: explaining semantic relations between EAS from the perspective of PSAM, therefore to build up semantic network of EAS; to come up with the teaching procedure of EAS on the basis of PSAM and expound implications for vocabulary teaching. The research question is: whether or not will the teaching of EAS in light of Prototype-based Spreading Activation Model show a better influence in non-English major students than that in traditional teaching method?Based on the research question, the author of this paper proposes three hypotheses. Hypothesis one: The Prototype-based Spreading Activation Model for the teaching of English adjectival suffix can better facilitate students’ acquisition on knowledge of English adjectival suffix; Hypothesis two: The Prototype-based Spreading Activation Model for the teaching of English adjectival suffix can better enlarge students’ vocabulary size; Hypothesis three: The Prototype-based Spreading Activation Model for the teaching of English adjectival suffix can better contribute to the construction of students’ semantic network of EAS.According to Hamawand’s study on English adjectival suffix, the author chooses 32 English adjectival suffixes, then builds up the semantic network of EAS on the basis of PSAM. What’s more, the author chooses 60 non-English major freshmen from Sichuan International Studies University(SISU) as subjects, which will be given 6 weeks teaching experiment. Pre-test and Post-test are formulated based on the application of 32 English adjectival suffixes in derivative words. Finally, data collected from both tests will be analyzed through SPSS16.0, with T-tests to testify if there are significant differences between pre-test and post-test.This study draws the conclusion that the teaching of EAS in light of PSAM can facilitate non-English major students’ acquisition on EAS more effectively. Also, the results verify the three hypotheses: PSAM can better facilitate students’ acquisition of knowledge of EAS, promote students’ vocabulary size, and help students to construct the semantic network of EAS. Based on these findings, the author makes the pedagogical implications and values of PSAM for English vocabulary teaching.