Family-Related Vocabulary Worksheets
25th April 2025
Family vocabulary matching exercise
Family is at the center of how we understand ourselves and our place in the world. Whether you have a large extended family spread across continents or a small nuclear family under one roof, having the right words to describe these relationships matters. This resource builds essential vocabulary for discussing modern family structures—from traditional arrangements to adoptive families, single-parent households, and multigenerational living situations. Students gain practical language they’ll use in immigration forms, job interviews, casual conversations, and when explaining their family backgrounds to new acquaintances in English-speaking environments.
Essential family vocabulary
Building upon the foundational family terminology covered in our first worksheet, this comprehensive resource delves deeper into the nuanced vocabulary of contemporary family structures. While the previous material covered basic relationships, this expanded version explores complex modern dynamics—from “trophy wife” relationships to “generation gaps” and the delicate dynamics of “divorced parents.” With over twice as many terms and vivid visual examples, students develop sophisticated language skills to discuss family relationships as they actually exist in the 2020s. This extensive vocabulary equips learners to navigate everything from casual conversations and streaming media to legal documentation and cross-cultural exchanges about family life.
Family/relationship survey speaking activity
This survey moves beyond simply naming family relationships to actually talking about them in meaningful ways. After learning family vocabulary in the previous worksheets, students now put that knowledge to work in conversations that mirror real-world interactions. By asking classmates about their relatives’ jobs, homes, and weekend activities, learners practice the everyday grammar patterns used when discussing family. The questions follow the natural flow of getting-to-know-you conversations that happen in workplaces, at social gatherings, and during online interactions. The writing section helps students connect these conversation fragments into proper descriptions—a skill needed for everything from work emails to social media posts about family members.
Brainstorming family vocabulary
This is an introductory warm-up for the exercises above. Family structures have changed dramatically in recent years, making it important to establish basic vocabulary first. This mind map helps you explore essential terms beyond just “mother” and “father” to include step-parents, civil partnerships, and guardians—relationships that are common in many countries today. Once you complete this preliminary exercise, you’ll have the vocabulary foundation needed for the more detailed conversations and exercises coming next. Think of this as building your vocabulary toolkit before we use these words in real-world situations throughout the unit.
5 Write a conversation exercise: talking about families
Talking about the families is another easy topic for dialogue/conversation writing for elementary English learners. This exercise includes 3 example conversations and one conversation (audio file) that can be used as a listening activity.
Write a conversation: family (PDF)
