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 each
noun:
1. get / reply to / send / take an email
2. 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 verbnoun
collocations. !or example" in #nglish we can say:
The students did their homework. #e made a mistake.
$ut we cant say:
The students made their homework. #e did a mistake.
These are fixed collocations.
%ther collocations are less fixed" but there is still a more natural choice for native speakers. &ook at
the following sentences. 'hich is natural" which is unnatural (but still possible) and which is wrong*
1. The students succeeded in the e$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 either
wrong or less natural with the noun:
1. strong / hea"y rain
2. 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 #$$%232&'( of the British Council, registered as a charit! in )ngland and *ales #20$131( and +cotland #+C03,,33(
'(esterday ) took an email %rom my %riend. *he wanted me to reply her email
and put a photograph o% our holiday together. ) didn+t know which photograph
she wanted, so ) tried to do a call to her. Un%ortunately, her num&er was &usy,
so ) dropped a message on her answer phone to call me.-
Pro-ELT Upskilling Project
Collocations in exams
Collocations are often tested in #nglish langauge exams. ,ere are two extracts from the -ptis exam.
.otice how they are both testing collocations.
!rom the /rammar and 0ocabulary 1aper
!rom the Reading 1aper
.o &oth tasks working indi"idually. Then compare in pairs and check with the whole class.
The British Council, 2013
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities.
British Council ala!sia is a "ranch #$$%232&'( of the British Council, registered as a charit! in )ngland and *ales #20$131( and +cotland #+C03,,33(
Pro-ELT Upskilling Project
Learning Collocations
/ollocations are important &oth %or you as teachers and %or your students. 0y teaching them regularly, you
can help your learners to impro"e and impro"e your own English at the same time1
#ere are some ideas %or how you can use them with your learners in class. /an you think o% any other ideas2
1. ') create cards, with "er&s on one card and nouns on another, and get learners to match
them together working in groups.-
2. ') get my learners to underline use%ul collocations in a te$t and trans%er them to their
note&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 in
the middle and then ) elicit or pro"ide possi&le collocations to go around it. Learners copy
this 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"es
that collocate with it, noun that collocate with it, or &oth. Think care%ully how you will create your
mindmap. (ou+ll present it to colleagues when you+"e %inished.
news work
love time
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(