The Analysis and Research on the Root-Based and Chunking Approach—Based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Abstract

The root-based and chunking approach is not a newly invented ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching approach. Technically, it has been widely used by a majority of ESL teachers ever since TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses were acknowledged and adopted by the bulk of non-English speaking countries to train their own ESL teachers. While an increasing number of ESL teachers are aware of the value of learning roots and chunks, the misuse of root-based and chunking approach emerges and lead to some adverse effects. Before this paper was written, a comparative study had been done in one of my courses, during which I noticed that their reactions towards the words’ affixes, roots and synonyms are obviously different. Hence this paper was written mainly to analyse the causes of these differences, trying to improve the traditional root-based and chunking approach using the theory of multiple intelligence.