understanding collocations

8/11/2019 Understanding Collocations

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Pro-ELT Upskilling Project

Introduction

Read the following extract from a conversation. Correct any mistakes you find:

The speaker made several mistakes with collocations. Cross out any verbs that cant be used with eachnoun:

1. get / reply to / send / take an email2. attach / put / send / download a photograph

. do / make / answer / return a call!. lea"e / drop / send / gi"e a message

What is a collocation?

In every language there are verbs and nouns that are often used together. They are called verb nouncollocations. !or example" in #nglish we can say:

The students did their homework. #e made a mistake.

$ut we cant say:The students made their homework. #e did a mistake.

These are fixed collocations.

%ther collocations are less fixed" but there is still a more natural choice for native speakers. &ook atthe following sentences. 'hich is natural" which is unnatural (but still possible) and which is wrong*

1. The students succeeded in the e$am.2. The students achie"ed the e$am.

. The students passed the e$am.

Collocations between ad+ectives and nouns are also common. Cross out the ad+ective that is eitherwrong or less natural with the noun:

1. strong / hea"y rain2. narrow / tight road

. so%t / %lat tyre

!. hea"y / &ig smoker

The British Council, 2013

The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities.British Council ala!sia is a "ranch #$$%232& ( of the British Council, registered as a charit! in )ngland and *ales #20$131( and +cotland #+C03 33(

'(esterday ) took an email %rom my %riend. *he wanted me to reply her email

and put a photograph o% our holiday together. ) didn+t know which photograph

she wanted, so ) tried to do a call to her. Un%ortunately, her num&er was &usy,

so ) dropped a message on her answer phone to call me.


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Collocations in exams

Collocations are often tested in #nglish langauge exams. ,ere are two extracts from the -ptis exam.otice how they are both testing collocations.

!rom the /rammar and 0ocabulary 1aper

!rom the Reading 1aper

o &oth tasks working indi"idually. Then compare in pairs and check with the whole class.




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Learning Collocations

ollocations are important &oth %or you as teachers and %or your students. 0y teaching them regularly, youcan help your learners to impro"e and impro"e your own English at the same time

#ere are some ideas %or how you can use them with your learners in class. an you think o% any other ideas

1. ') create cards, with "er&s on one card and nouns on another, and get learners to matchthem together working in groups.

2. ') get my learners to underline use%ul collocations in a te$t and trans%er them to theirnote&ooks.

. '3hene"er ) teach "oca&ulary ) include se"eral collocations in the "oca&ulary lists )teach.

!. '3hen )+m teaching a new topic, ) create a mindmap on the &oard, with the main word inthe middle and then ) elicit or pro"ide possi&le collocations to go around it. Learners copythis into their note&ooks and e"en make posters with the collocations.

#xample mindmap for verbs that collocate with the noun 2money:

Collocations Mindmaps

hoose one o% the %ollowing nouns and create a mindmap %or collocations. (ou can think o% adjecti"esthat collocate with it, noun that collocate with it, or &oth. Think care%ully how you will create yourmindmap. (ou+ll present it to colleagues when you+"e %inished.

news work

love time



understanding collocations

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