Invented Fantasy Languages and ESL Issues

[dr_pretentious]

My new post is up at the Black Gate blog. Before they even get to the invented languages, my students have to fight through a thicket of real English words they probably should know but don't yet. Helping them build their vocabularies up to the point where they can tell a coined word from a mundane one has forced me to question the assumptions I make as a writer about how word choice contributes to worldbuilding.