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
Podcast Episodes
Strong adjectives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:11
'Terrified', 'fantastic', 'amazing' - learn how to use strong adjectives.
Male and female job words [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:05
Policeman / policewoman, actor / actress - learn about job titles and gender.
New words [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:19
'Selfie', 'photobomb', 'trolling'. Learn what these new words mean and how they are made.
Weather words [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:51
The British love to talk about weather! Learn some useful vocabulary about it here.
Homophones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:08
Mail and male... Learn about words that sound the same but have different spellings.
Compound nouns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:10
Ice cream, popcorn... Learn about nouns made up of a combination of two words.
Similar words [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:06
We talk about words like 'big' and 'large' and explore the similarities between them.
Adjective order [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:10
This is a big, old, smelly dog! Learn which adjective has to come first.
Contractions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:03
"I've run a marathon." Look at the shorter form 'I've'. Learn how to use contractions.
Job suffixes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:10
What's the connection between a teacher, a driver and a presenter? We explain.