How Do Words Change in English? Vocabulary, Word Formation & Sentence Transformations – S01E36

How can English learners expand their vocabulary, understand word forms and become more flexible when building sentences?In this episode of How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em explore how words work: from nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs to prefixes, suffixes, sentence transformations and newly emerging English vocabulary.They begin with practical word-family activities, turning words such as action, decision and significance into different grammatical forms. Gav and Em discuss whether learners really need terminology such as noun, adjective, adverb and preposition, and how teachers can introduce these terms without making language unnecessarily complicated.The conversation then moves into sentence transformation: changing the structure of a sentence while keeping the meaning. Gav demonstrates activities commonly associated with higher-level and Cambridge exam preparation, while Em explores how the same ideas can be adapted for lower-level learners using prompts, gap fills and written support.You’ll also hear simple vocabulary activities teachers can use with minimal preparation, including Em’s “banana” word-replacement game and domino-style activities for practising prefixes, suffixes and word formation. These are the kinds of adaptable classroom techniques Gav and Em have developed and collected through years of teaching different learners and levels.Finally, Gav and Em look at how English keeps changing. They discuss words entering dictionaries, changing usage, newly popular expressions and the way English turns existing nouns into verbs — from elbowing somebody to eyeballing something and footing the bill.Whether you teach English, study for an exam or simply enjoy discovering how English vocabulary develops, this episode is full of practical ideas you can try yourself.Support How to English TEFL Podcast:https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpodMore free English teaching articles, activities and resources:https://www.howtoenglishpod.com/References:Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Waterson: https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/01/25Buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/18209/buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffaloWord forms grids: https://vocabularyhome.com/nouns/nouns-verbs-adjectives-and-adverbs/(Old) English File, Unit 5 B, Intermediate, Bleep Game,  OUP Oxford, 1999New Cutting Edge, Intermediate, Unit 2, Study Practice, p134, Pearson, 2007Inside Out, 9C, "Dominoes", Intermediate, Macmillan Education, 2000https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionaryPodcast about words: https://www.theallusionist.org/The word werewolf: https://qz.com/289884/werewolf-is-the-most-sexist-word-in-the-english-langu Online Dominoes: http://www.onlinedominogames.com/Timestamps00:00 Introduction – What does “wording” mean?03:00 Word types: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs05:00 Building word families: action, decision and significance08:00 Why learners should put new vocabulary into sentences10:00 Do students need to know grammar terminology?13:00 Sentence transformation activities16:00 Adapting transformations for different English levels18:00 The “banana” vocabulary game21:00 Prefixes, suffixes and word-formation activities23:30 How new words enter English dictionaries25:00 New and changing English vocabulary27:30 How English turns nouns into verbs29:00 Final thoughts and wrap-up