Hello! I'm an instructor in the Department of Global Liberal Studies and you will probably attend one of my classes at some point if you are student in 国際教養学科. I may be your instructor for one or more quarters for Oral Communication, Advanced English Communication, Global Liberal Studies in English, Advanced Global Liberal Studies in English or Citizenship.

What is taught in these subjects will vary from quarter to quarter as the content may depend on the interests of the instructors who are teaching you. Depending on which of my classes you attend, I may be reviewing themes relating to socialization (The Power of the Group; Gender in Society, etc.), aspects of citizenship (Immigration and Refugees, Multiculturalism, etc.) or even sustainability issues relating to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (Reduced Inequalities; Responsible Consumption and Production, etc.). In addition to my interest in these subjects, a special interest is impressing on students how a good knowledge of Latin and Greek word elements in English words can lead to a significant improvement in vocabulary acquisition skills-as well as enhancing academic reading skills.

As you will know, many words used in the English language today were not originally 'English'. They came into English from other languages, and a significant number of these have Latin or Greek origins especially those relating to academic English. These words can be broken down into a number of parts such as, for example, "roots" and "prefixes", all of which have a particular meaning. If you study the original meanings associated with these roots and prefixes, many of them are closely connected to the connotations or meanings of the modern English words they played a part in forming.

One academic has suggested that just "14 special words" in English provide us with the 14 most important roots and the 20 most useful prefixes that are key to working out the meaning of over 14,000 words! And the roots of these 'special words' can be easily learned by students in just 7 classes. So it is not only interesting but useful, to be familiar with the more useful Latin or Greek prefix and root meanings of English words, not least when preparing for your TOEFL exam or study at a university abroad. When taking a TOEFL exam, it may be possible to deduce the approximate meaning of a word you have never seen before if you know the meaning of its root or prefix. As an added bonus, if you are studying other European languages, especially a so-called "Romance" language such as Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or French, then you will find that most of the word roots, as well as many of the Latin and Greek prefixes have related meanings and, often, similar forms in these languages too. For example, the words global, liberal and study are all derived from Latin (globus, liberalis and studium), and translate recognizably into Spanish (global, estudio, liberal), Portuguese (global, estudo, liberal), French (globale, étude, libérale) and Italian (globale, studio, liberale).

While I hope that classes relating to Citizenship or Sustainability will provide you with an interesting and motivating introduction to the issues associated with these subjects, I would therefore also like to encourage you to improve your knowledge of Greek or Latinate word roots and prefixes, as a good understanding of these will enhance your academic vocabulary and reading skills. I would be happy to collaborate with you in this task should you wish to do so-just let me know. In the meantime, while not exactly a Latin 諺, it is always useful to follow this good advice: Semper ubi, sub ubi.