B2 Word building

B2 VOCABULARY: WORD BUILDING

The Tokyo Thread

PICTURE

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"One job offer, six thousand miles away. Three strangers on a forum."

Prefixes (over-, mega-, mis-) · suffixes (-less, -ful, -proof, -able) · making nouns (-ion, -ment, -ness)

Reading

Speaking

A · LEAD-IN

Overrated?

"Big cities are overrated." Where are you on the line?

• 1 = totally agree / 10 = totally disagree

• Be ready to defend your number in one sentence.

• Remember it - you'll be asked the same question at the end of the lesson.

PICTURE

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B · BEFORE YOU READ

Honest opinions, please

Dani has posted a question on a travel forum. Three strangers reply.

READ FOR

1. What has Dani been offered?

2. Who is positive, who is negative, and who is practical?

3. What do all three replies tell Dani to do?

PICTURE

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B · READING

Offered a job in Tokyo - should I take it?

"Is life in a megacity amazing, or just exhausting?"

Dani_87 · yesterday, 21:14

I've been offered two years in my company's Tokyo office. I'm excited but terrified - I'd be leaving my whole neighbourhood, my friends, my five-a-side team. Honest opinions, please: is life in a megacity amazing, or just exhausting?

KyotoKate · yesterday, 21:50

Take it! I did two years there and it was unforgettable. Yes, the trains are overcrowded - but they're never late. There's a subway that goes everywhere and even a monorail across the bay; after a month you'll ride them all on autopilot.

The entertainment never ends, and the convenience of everything is what I miss most - shops open all night, machines that sell hot dinners. My office was genuinely multicultural - I worked with people from nine countries - and I arrived speaking zero Japanese and left almost bilingual. Go.

LeedsLad · yesterday, 22:31

I'll be honest: I lasted eight months. I underestimated the loneliness. My Japanese stayed hopeless, so I misunderstood something every single day - menus, forms, my own doorbell. And I was antisocial about it, which made everything worse: I sat in my flat every evening watching films. My advice? Go - but join everything. A gym, a language class, a football team. Anything.

Miyu_mod · today, 07:02

Practical points from someone who lives here. Rents are high, so flats are tiny - you adapt. One useful tip: buy a waterproof jacket before the rainy season, and a phone case that's basically unbreakable, because you will drop it on the train.

If you stay longer, some universities here teach postgraduate courses in English. Tokyo isn't hopeless for foreigners - thousands arrive every year and never leave.

C · COMPREHENSION

Right or wrong? Tick the true sentences and correct the false ones.

Quote the line from the thread that proves each answer.

1. Kate found the subway confusing, even after a month.

2. Kate misses the convenience of Tokyo most of all.

3. Kate's office was full of people from one culture.

4. LeedsLad underestimated how expensive Tokyo would be.

5. LeedsLad misunderstood things every day because of his Japanese.

6. Miyu thinks Tokyo is hopeless for foreigners.

D1 · PREFIXES

Small pieces, big meanings. Match each prefix to its meaning.

All eleven are in the thread - find the word each one is hiding in. Then: which two of these describe your city, or your week? ("My inbox is overcrowded" is allowed.)

1. over-

2. mega-

3. under-

4. multi-

5. sub-

6. bi-

7. mono-

8. auto-

9. anti-

10. mis-

11. post-

a) too much

b) enormous

c) not enough

d) many

e) under

f) two

g) one

h) by itself

i) against

j) wrongly

k) after

D2 · SUFFIXES THAT ADD MEANING

Now build the family: which suffixes work with each root?

First match the suffix to its meaning: -less · -ful · -proof · -able = without · with, full of · resistant to · can be done.

1. hope -> ______ / ______

2. use -> ______ / ______

3. water -> ______

4. break -> (un)______

5. care -> ______ / ______

6. Invent the product the world needs: something -proof or -able. ("A teenager-proof fridge.") Post it in the chat.

D3 · MAKING NOUNS

The noun machine. Make nouns from these words and sort them into the chart.

Four of the answers are hiding in the thread. Watch the spelling of loneliness, government and racism.

accommodate · child · convenient · employ · entertain · excite · friendly · govern · ignorant · improve · intend · lonely · neighbour · pollute · race · reduce · vandal · weak

-ion / -ation

-ment

-ness

-ence / -ance

-ism

-hood

D4 · NOUNS THAT CHANGE COMPLETELY

No suffix will save you. Write the verb or adjective.

1. ______ (verb) -> loss · ______ (verb) -> death

2. ______ (verb) -> success · ______ (verb) -> thought

3. ______ (verb) -> belief · ______ (adj.) -> heat

4. ______ (adj.) -> strength · ______ (adj.) -> hunger

5. ______ (adj.) -> height · ______ (adj.) -> width

6. Then: three true sentences about yourself using nouns from this slide and the last one. ("My biggest weakness is..." · "A belief I've changed...")

E · WORD PATTERNS

Spelling traps

Complete the spelling rules with examples from today.

• Adjectives ending in -y change to ______ before -ness: lonely -> ______, friendly -> ______.

• Words ending in -ant / -ent make nouns in ______ / ______: ignorant -> ______, convenient -> ______.

• A final silent -e often disappears: race -> ______, while vandal + -ism keeps everything.

CAREFUL

**priceless means extremely valuable* - it's worthless that means "worth nothing". The most famous -less trap in English. · childhood is the time of being a child; childish means behaving like one, and it's an insult. · mis- has one s: misunderstood*, never missunderstood.

F1 · PRACTICE

Add the prefix. Complete each word with a prefix from the box.

anti · auto · bi · mis · mono · over · sub · under

1. I watch French films with English ______titles.

2. The menu was ______lingual - Japanese and English.

3. A ______lingual dictionary explains English words in English.

4. The doors are ______matic - they open by themselves.

5. Don't ______estimate how tiring the first month will be.

6. I ______read the timetable and waited an hour for nothing.

7. Vandalism is ______social behaviour.

8. The beach was so ______crowded we went home.

F2 · PRACTICE

Dani's update. Complete with the correct form of the words in CAPITALS.

This is exam-format word formation. One year later, Dani posts again.

Dani_87 · today, 19:45

UPDATE - I took the job! Month one was rough: the trains were (1) ______ (CROWD), I (2) ______ (UNDERSTAND) my boss constantly, and I really felt the (3) ______ (LONELY) that LeedsLad warned me about. But things changed. I joined a gym and a cooking class - the most (4) ______ (USE) advice in this thread. My phone has survived three falls on the train, so the case really is (5) ______ (BREAK). The (6) ______ (CONVENIENT) of this city still amazes me daily. Honestly, the move has been a (7) ______ (SUCCEED), even if saying yes took all my (8) ______ (STRONG). Scary? Yes. (9) ______ (FORGET)? Completely.

F3 · PRACTICE

Quiz your partner

Take turns - and no looking back at the noun slides.

• Student A reads a word from List A; Student B says the noun. Then swap and use List B.

• List A: employ · lonely · child · strong · lose · entertain

• List B: die · succeed · friendly · govern · believe · convenient

• Finish with the two that gave you the most trouble.

PICTURE

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G · SPEAKING

The reply Dani pins

Two parts: write it, then settle it.

• Part 1 - write it. In your group, compose the perfect reply to Dani's post: 4-6 sentences, honest and practical. One of you posts it in the chat.

• The class votes for the reply Dani would pin to the top of the thread.

• Part 2 - settle it. "Big cities are overrated." Look at your number from the start of the lesson. Has it moved?

• Defend your position - and tell your group: would you take the Tokyo job?

YOUR REPLY MUST USE

At least six words built with today's prefixes and suffixes - including one noun from the chart.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

B GIST 1 Two years in her company's Tokyo office. 2 Positive: KyotoKate. Negative-ish: LeedsLad. Practical: Miyu_mod. 3 All three say go - even LeedsLad ("Go - but join everything").

C 1 Wrong - after a month she rode it on autopilot. 2 Right. 3 Wrong - multicultural, nine countries. 4 Wrong - he underestimated the loneliness. 5 Right. 6 Wrong - it isn't hopeless for foreigners.

D1 PREFIXES over- too much (overcrowded) · mega- enormous (megacity) · under- not enough (underestimated) · multi- many (multicultural) · sub- under (subway) · bi- two (bilingual) · mono- one (monorail) · auto- by itself (autopilot) · anti- against (antisocial) · mis- wrongly (misunderstood) · post- after (postgraduate).

D2 SUFFIXES -less = without · -ful = with, full of · -proof = resistant to · -able = can be done. Families: hopeless / hopeful · useful / useless · waterproof · unbreakable · careless / careful. You cannot predict which roots take which suffix - the families have to be learned.

D3 NOUNS -ion/-ation: accommodation, pollution, reduction, intention. -ment: employment, entertainment, excitement, government, improvement. -ness: friendliness, loneliness, weakness. -ence/-ance: convenience, ignorance. -ism: racism, vandalism. -hood: childhood, neighbourhood. Watch for excite -> excitement (not excitation) and race -> racism (not racation) - students who trust the biggest column walk into both.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

D4 SHAPESHIFTERS 1 lose · 2 die · 3 succeed · 4 think · 5 believe · 6 hot · 7 strong · 8 hungry · 9 high · 10 wide.

E SPELLING 1 y becomes i: loneliness, friendliness. 2 -ance / -ence: ignorance, convenience. 3 racism.

F1 1 subtitles · 2 bilingual · 3 monolingual · 4 automatic · 5 underestimate · 6 misread · 7 antisocial · 8 overcrowded. Items 1-4 stretch the prefixes onto new roots - exactly the skill the lesson is building.

F2 DANI'S UPDATE 1 overcrowded · 2 misunderstood (watch the past tense) · 3 loneliness · 4 useful · 5 unbreakable · 6 convenience · 7 success · 8 strength · 9 Unforgettable.

F3 QUIZ List A: employment · loneliness · childhood · strength · loss · entertainment. List B: death · success · friendliness · government · belief · convenience.

USAGE WARNINGS Antisocial in British English means "behaving badly in public" (antisocial behaviour = vandalism, noise) as well as "avoiding people" - context decides, both are correct. Underestimate takes an object (underestimate the loneliness), though speakers clip it informally. Students will produce unpolite and unpossible by analogy: the negative prefixes im- / in- / dis- are a different system, and a good trailer for a future lesson.