Short spoken forms

Short spoken forms

Author: BBC Radio July 28, 2025 Duration: 6:22

Gonna, wanna, dunno, whatcha… are these really English words? Who uses them and why?

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If you've ever felt stuck searching for the right word, Learning English Vocabulary from BBC Radio is a practical companion. This isn't about dry lists or grammar drills. Instead, each episode focuses on a specific, useful theme, breaking down the language you need for real situations. You'll hear how to describe changing weather, discuss different professions with confidence, and understand the subtle rules of adjective order, all through clear explanations and examples. The podcast also includes quicker segments, like English in a Minute, designed to deliver a compact and memorable tip in sixty seconds. It’s a straightforward way to gradually build a more robust and nuanced vocabulary, episode by episode. Tune in for a direct, focused approach to learning, where every topic is a step toward speaking and understanding English more naturally.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 391

Learning English Vocabulary
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Prefixes re-, pre- and pro- [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Silent letters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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We talk about letters in English that we see in words but don’t actually pronounce.
Onomatopoeia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Learn about words that sound like the thing they describe.
Multi-word verbs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Do you ever 'meet up with' your friend in the park? We talk about multi-word verbs.