Building Vocabulary Bridges: Teaching Greek & Latin Roots in English and Spanish
As a bilingual teacher, you’ve surely noticed words in English and Spanish that sound similar, like auditor and auditoría or visible and visible? These words share common Greek and Latin roots, creating natural connections between the two languages.
For us as educators, these linguistic bridges aren’t just interesting coincidences—they’re powerful tools to help students, whether bilingual or monolingual, improve their vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence in the classroom.
Let’s explore why teaching common word roots benefits all learners and how you can start integrating this approach into your lessons!
Why Teach Greek and Latin Roots?
Historical Connections:
Both English and Spanish draw heavily from both the Greek and Latin languages. As a result, more than 30% of English words share common roots with Spanish. Recognizing these roots helps students understand the deeper connections between languages while improving their ability to decode unfamiliar words.
“More than 30% of English words share common roots with Spanish.”
Bilingual Students: Building Confidence and Skills
For bilingual students, teaching word roots offers a way to leverage their existing knowledge. By recognizing a familiar root in one language, they can infer the meaning of similar words in another. For example, knowing the Spanish word transportar makes it easier to understand the English word “transport.” Research shows that explicit teaching of these connections promotes vocabulary growth and cognitive transfer—the ability to apply knowledge from one context to another (Sibold, 2022; Genesee et al., 2021).
This approach also validates students’ linguistic heritage, building their confidence and sense of identity in academic settings. When students see their language skills as an asset, they become more engaged and empowered learners.
Monolingual Students: Opening the Door to Multilingualism & Unknown Words!
To be clear: teaching word roots isn’t just for bilingual learners. For monolingual students, this strategy unlocks the ability to analyze and deconstruct complex words. Knowing the root “port,” for example can help students make sense of “transportation, import, and export.” Words like “benevolent” and “equilateral” might seem daunting at first, but understanding that “ben” means “good” and “equi” means “equal” helps students grasp their meanings more easily.
Not only does knowing these word roots build their English vocabulary, but it also exposes monolingual students to the idea of multilingualism, fostering curiosity about other languages and cultures. Plus, word roots appear across disciplines—science, math, and social studies—making them an essential tool for academic success.
Benefits Beyond Vocabulary
Teaching word roots doesn’t just help with vocabulary; it’s a gateway to broader academic and cognitive benefits:
- Improved Reading Comprehension: Morphological awareness (understanding word parts) enhances students’ ability to understand complex texts (Carlisle, 2021).
- Critical Thinking: Breaking words into roots encourages analytical skills and problem-solving.
- Equity in Education: This approach benefits students of all backgrounds, providing tools that are especially helpful for those with limited exposure to academic English.
- Cross-Curricular benefits: Students will expand their vocabulary across subject areas!
Strategies for Teaching Word Roots
Ready to bring word roots into your classroom? Here are a few practical ideas:
- Explicit word root instruction
- Directly teach word roots and their meanings to students! Encouraging students to take their own notes and incorporating Total Physical Response by creating motions for each word root can help them remember their learning.
- Word Maps
- Choose a root word like port (meaning “to carry”). Have students brainstorm related words (e.g., transport, import, portable) and discuss their meanings.
- Word Root Practice and Worksheets
- Once students have been introduced to a word, give them ample time to practice using their new morphological knowledge! Worksheets and activities are perfect for independent practice, small group work, and literacy centers!
- Root-Matching Games
- Use cards with roots on one side (e.g., graph = “to write”) and words on the other (autograph, photograph). Challenge students to match them correctly.
- Word Family Trees
- Show how words evolve from a root, branching out into different forms across languages. For example, the Latin root vis (“to see”) connects to English (“vision”) and Spanish (“visible”).
- Co-Construct a reference board
- Each time students learn a new word root, add it to an easy-to-see reference wall or bulletin board! Your students will reference this again and again!
- Integrated Vocabulary Lessons
- Highlight word roots during reading or science lessons, emphasizing their cross-disciplinary relevance. For example, when teaching “transformation” in a biology lesson, break it into trans- (“across”) and form (“shape”).
In conclusion
Teaching common word roots in English and Spanish is more than a vocabulary lesson; it’s a way to build bridges between languages and empower every student in your classroom. Whether they’re bilingual or monolingual, students gain critical skills that support their academic and personal growth.
So why not give it a try? Start with a few roots and watch how quickly your students begin to see connections everywhere. Together, you can help them unlock the power of words and open doors to new learning opportunities
Please check out these references for more information!
Apel, K., & Henbest, V. (2021). Understanding the power of word roots in language development.
Carlisle, J. (2021). Teaching morphology for academic vocabulary growth.
Genesee, F., et al. (2021). Language transfer and bilingual education: A review.
Nagy, W., et al. (2020). Morphological awareness and its impact on literacy.
Sibold, C. (2022). Connecting languages: Bilingual students’ vocabulary learning.
Read more about bilingual education from Lit by Learning!
- 8 Best Practices in Bilingual Education! Learn more about research-based pedagogical practices that support English Language Learners!
- Why Cross-Curricular Education benefits English Language Learners (and everyone)! Read on to see the clear connections between best practices in bilingual education & a cross-curricular approach to learning!
- Four Bilingual Activities to Start the School Year Strong! Click here for four easy-to-implement ideas for the beginning of the school year!
