Polytechnic and design, Vol. 13 No. 4, 2025.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.19279/TVZ.PD.2025-13-4-18
ON PREFIXES IN TECHNICAL ENGLISH
Ivana Špiranec
; Zagreb University of Applied Sciences, Civil Engineering Department, Avenija Većeslava Holjevca 15, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
*
Dorotea Kuduz
; Zagreb University of Applied Sciences, Civil Engineering Department, Avenija Većeslava Holjevca 15, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, student
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
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 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.
Keywords
terminology; metalinguistic awareness
Hrčak ID:
352287
URI
Publication date:
30.1.2026.
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