Word Workout

Word Workout is an advanced phonics method suitable for older students: preteens, teens, and adults. Its focus is on decoding long words of Greek or Latin origin, which make up the majority of English words of three or more syllables.
The method was developed to fill a gap left by the two standard approaches to words of this type. The structure of these words is actually very regular and their pronunciation is highly predictable. However, words from these two “foreign” sources (Greek and Latin) are constructed along different patterns from our “native” (i.e., Anglo-Saxon-based) vocabulary, and thus they are most effectively handled by a set of rules specifically designed to take advantage of this predictability. But both of the two standard methods for attacking such words -- i.e. the traditional syllable division method and the more recent focus on morphemes (meaningful word parts) -- fail to note or make use of this regularity and predictability.
The traditional syllable division method, though it works well for words of only two syllables, is not very effective for most longer words. The need for something different becomes evident if you consider a pair of words like celebrate and celebrity. The first six letters of these two words are identical, but the beginnings sound very different: “sell-uh…” vs. “suh-leb…”. Yet the traditional (Anglo-Saxon-based) syllable division rules would attack both words the same way, like this: Since there’s a single consonant after the first vowel, try a long vowel, but if that doesn’t sound right, try a short vowel; and, by the way, almost any vowel in the word might have the schwa (“uh”) sound. And there is similar uncertainty about the rest of the word.
In the other standard method, the morpheme approach, the focus is on learning the meaning of Latin- and Greek-derived roots, prefixes, and suffixes and finding these elements in long words. This kind of information can often help with figuring out or remembering word meanings and is certainly worth learning. However, a program of this type can’t possibly cover all the hundreds of Greek and Latin morphemes in English words. And it doesn’t directly deal with the problem of achieving a recognizable pronunciation.
The Word Workout method of decoding provides what both of those approaches lack: an efficient and reliable way to elicit a correct pronunciation - and recognition - of words of Latin or Greek origin. It teaches a strategy precisely tailored to fit the distinctive structural patterns of this extremely large group of words.
Surprising though it may seem to a lot of people (though not to dictionary makers), the key to the Word Workout method lies in starting at the end—the suffix of the word—rather than at the beginning, because the suffix governs the pronunciation of the entire word. It does this by controlling the location of the accent, which, in turn, determines all the vowel sounds of the word, including location of schwa.
It works like this: (a) Common suffixes like -ate, -ic, and -ent each belong to one of three classes of suffixes, which differ in where they place the primary accent of the word. If there’s a secondary accent, it will normally be two vowels back from the main one; i.e., “every other vowel” in the word is accented, as in ánatómical or apólogétic. (b) Except for u before a single consonant and in a few other predictable locations, accented vowels nearly always have the short vowel sound, as in the two preceding examples. And the vowels in between normally have the schwa sound. Thus, learning which class a given suffix belongs to enables the student to determine pronunciation of all the vowels in the word.
Using this information, the student can now mark the word to indicate its syllable structure visually, following the standard instruction to end a short vowel syllable with a consonant. (This step is widely recognized as a way to facilitate pronunciation and recognition.) But, going beyond using the traditional dividing lines, the Word Workout method teaches a unique way of dividing: drawing a 3-sided box around each accented syllable. This boxing procedure highlights the syllables that must be stressed in pronouncing and de-emphasizes the weaker (schwa) syllables, making it easier for the student to use the pronunciation routine described below.
This routine, unique to the Word Workout method, builds up the pronunciation step by step. Starting (once again) at the end of the word, the student rehearses by pronouncing first the suffix and suffix syllable, then the accented syllable, and finally the whole word. This sequence of steps enables him or her to achieve a smooth, accurate, and recognizable pronunciation, and to avoid the familiar problems of stumbling or hesitating in the middle of the word.
To summarize: With this approach, the Word Workout method provides a way for students to unlock large numbers of words that resist analysis by either the morpheme approach or the traditional syllable division rules. It can be used on its own or as an appropriate supplement to either or both of those types of programs.

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