ESL Lesson Plan

...various subcultures and work environments from work, school, popular culture, the military and many more.

But what if any of us, from any background, with an interest in words - or perhaps a particular word - wanted to suggest, or agree (or disagree) with a possible word to describe something we cared about?

You've probably noticed that some words are forgotten - or are an embarrassment - after just a few years, while some, like the word 'cool' seem to endure - and maintain their relevance year after year.

As you can imagine, a collection like this will have many words that should in fact be forgotten, but, like rummaging through a junk store, every so often, a treasure is found.

There's a website that gathers these suggestions and opinions. You can see an article on this and submit your contribution here - http://www.berfrois.com/2012/08/deborah-cameron-defines-online-dictionaries.

Words come from anywhere, and, as you might expect, the American Version of English is even more absorbent and eclectic - and responsive enough to initiate - and popularize new words and alternative meanings to established words.

Be sure to send us any words or phrases that puzzle you, and be sure to let us know what it is about English and language learning that you find confounding, infuriating or endlessly intriguing.

Listen, read and speak. Make your new language your own.

My best to you as you make your way through this intriguing, constantly shifting linguistic landscape.

Morf