FAMILY WORDS: abilities, ability, abler, ablest, ably, disabilities, disability, disable, disabled, disables, disabling, enable, enabled, enables, enabling, inability, unable

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ABLE in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at images and entries for ABLE by using GOOGLE search.
3. Look at the way ABLE is used in sentences by clicking ABLE, abilities, ability, abler, ablest, ably, disabilities, disability, disable, disabled, disables, disabling, enable, enabled, enables, enabling, inability, unable,
4. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ABLE by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

1. Now complete the following Word Form activity related to ABLE:

Purely for Pleasure: Able in Words, Music and Pictures

1. Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable to Lunch Today) - song lyrics.
2. And here is the song performed by the great American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald:
3. You can also read about Miss Otis Regrets at Wikipedia as well as Ella Fitzgerald.

Quotes about Ability from WikiQuote

• Ability is of little account without opportunity. Napoleon Bonaparte
• Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. John Wooden
• An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions. Chesterfield
• The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. Edward Gibbon
• There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability. Elbert Hubbard
• We all have ability. The difference is how we use it. Stevie Wonder
• Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more. Gail Hamilton
• Ability is a poor man's wealth. Matthew Wren

Practising the Word

1.  Make an entry in your Blog called 'Me and My Abilities'. But BEFORE you do that, go to the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI. You will find lots of practice questions with 'able' to help you learn the word better. 

FAMILY WORDS:

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ABOUT in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entries. ABOUT has a lot of different meanings and usages.   
2. Look at the way ABOUT is used in sentences by clicking ABOUT,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ABOUT by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following matching activity related to ABOUT.

Purely for Relaxation: Music, Song, and Film

All I Care About: Read the Lyrics from the song from the hit musical Chicago.

Watch a performance of All I Care About

More about ABOUT

How about following up some of these derived terms from the entry for ABOUT in Wiktionary?

• bring about
• come about
• go about
• how about
• roundabout
• set about
• walkabout
• what about

Practising the Word

Use your BLOG to write an entry with the title 'All I care about'. Include the things you don't care about as well! 

First however, you might like to get some more practice with ABOUT by answering some questions in the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI.

FAMILY WORDS: accelerated, accelerates, accelerating, acceleration, accelerations, accelerator, accelerators

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ACCELERATE in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way ACCELERATE is used in sentences by clicking ACCELERATE, accelerated, accelerates, accelerating, acceleration, accelerations, accelerator, accelerators,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ACCELERATE by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following cloze activity about ACCELERATE.

Video Tip

Watch a video on how to ACCELERATE your download speed.

Practising the Word

Make an entry in your blog entitled 'Acceleration'. In your blog, you can talk about some of the things you might need to think about accelerating soon (the amount you study? exercise? a project you're working on?). But first, take a trip to the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI, and practise using ACCELERATE by answering some of the questions there. 

FAMILY WORDS: accessed, accesses, accessibility, accessible, accessing, inaccessible

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ACCESS in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Then, look at the way ACCESS is used in sentences by clicking ACCESS, accessed, accesses, accessibility, accessible, accessing, inaccessible,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ACCESS by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following cloze activity related to ACCESS.

Food for Thought

Watch this video in which some college students find out how accessible their college is for the wheelchair-bound student or visitor. 

Practising the Word

Make an entry in your blog on the theme of access to the buildings where you live or study for disabled people, and how access could be improved. Before that though, get some more practice with ACCESS at the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI.

FAMILY WORDS: adaptabilities, adaptability, adaptable, adaptation, adaptations, adapted, adapter, adapters, adapting, adaptive, adaptor, adaptors, adapts, unadapted

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ADAPT in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way ADAPT is used in sentences by clicking ADAPT, adaptabilities, adaptability, adaptable, adaptation, adaptations, adapted, adapter, adapters, adapting, adaptive, adaptor, adaptors, adapts, unadapted,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ADAPT by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following gap fill activity related to ADAPT.

Practising the Word

Watch the following video about an organisation called 'ADAPT'. Whilst watching, make notes about the following questions:

1. What is 'ADAPT'?

2. How does 'ADAPT' try to achieve its aims?

3. What is the big issue for 'ADAPT' at the moment, and why do they feel it is important?

Next go to the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI for some further practice with ADAPT.

Meanwhile, your BLOG entry for this word family should have the title 'Adapting to Something New'. In this entry, talk about a time when you had to adapt to something new, for example, a new school, a new college, a new job, a new country etc. What kind of adaptations did you have to make? What were the most difficult things to adapt to? Etc.

FAMILY WORDS: adulthood, adults

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ADULT in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way ADULT is used in sentences by clicking ADULT, adulthood, adults,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ADULT by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following crossword related to ADULT.

Practising the Word

Watch the following short video clip about an adult trying to learn how to use a webcam. In your Blog, write an entry about 'Adults', the things they're good at, and some of the things they're not so good at.

There's also a little more practice for ADULT in the Great Animals Vocabulary Wiki.

FAMILY WORDS: aged, ageing, ageism, ageist, ageless, ager, agers, ages, aging

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for AGE in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way AGE is used in sentences by clicking AGE, aged, ageing, ageism, ageist, ageless, ager, agers, ages, aging,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to AGE by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following cloze activity related to AGE:

Practising the Word

Look at the following quotes about old age from Wikiquote. Then in your BLOG, write about some of the difficulties and some of the pleasures that people may have in old age.

• Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. (Jack Benny, New York Times (1974) )
• As we grow old....the beauty turns inward. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals)
•  Old age deprives the intelligent man only of qualities useless to wisdom. ( Joseph Joubert, Pensees)
•  Old age has its pleasures, which though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth. ( W. Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up)
•  I've changed my attitudes about what it means to age. Sometimes people decide it's their lot in life to be old, but people like Grandma bring color and excellence to their lives. That's what I've tried to do, too. I'm looking forward to the next stage. (Cloris Leachman)
•  To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am. (Bernard Baruch)
•  We are always the same age inside. (Gertrude Stein)
•  Age brings wisdom, but pain brings understanding.
• Age is nothing but a number.
•  There are no charms or medicine against old age.

You will also find some more practice about AGE in the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI.

FAMILY WORDS:

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ALL in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way ALL is used in sentences by clicking ALL,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ALL by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following cloze activity related to ALL.

Practising the Word

Watch this video of the Beatles performing 'All you need is love' in 1967, and also read the lyrics of the song. 

Make an entry in your blog, on the theme of 'Is love all you need?'  Or do we need other things, and if so what, and why...

For further practice with ALL, don't forget to visit the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI. 

FAMILY WORDS: angled, angles, angling

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ANGLE in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.
2. Look at the way ANGLE is used in sentences by clicking ANGLE, angled, angles, angling,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ANGLE by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following matching activity related to ANGLE

Practising the Word

Watch the following video from different angles of Asafa Powell running 9.77 for the 100m to break the world record in 2005.

In your BLOG, for this word, let's hear about your angle on success and winning in sport. How important is it to win? Or is it more important just to take part for pleasure or exercise? Is sport even important? Your angles, please.

For more practice with ANGLE meanwhile, please visit the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI.

FAMILY WORDS: animals

Learning the Word

1. First, read the entry for ANIMAL in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Do this very carefully, and try and understand as much as you can from the entry.  
2. Look at the way ANIMAL is used in sentences by clicking ANIMAL, animals,
3. (Advanced) Find words with similar meanings to ANIMAL by using the thesaurus.

Reviewing the Word

Now complete the following quiz related to ANIMALS.

Practising the Word

Take a look at the following video of animals being funny. In your BLOG, describe one of the funniest stories about an animal that you know.

For further practise with ANIMAL, don't forget to visit the Great Animals Vocabulary WIKI.