Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Collocations in Context
Collocations in Context
Collocations in Context
Collocations in Context
Aim: Learners focus on the collocations and fixed expressions of a chosen podcast.
Concept: Podcasts are rich in collocations, idiomatic expressions and fixed phrases. But they can also
be long texts and challenging for learners even at this level. Focusing on chunks of colloquial
language aids understanding and increases vocabulary range, while providing motivating
and doable tasks based on longer texts. The following tasks are based on a podcast
downloaded from Business Daily bbc.co.uk but can be adapted easily for any other text and
theme.
Suggested Procedure:
1 Download a podcast which is both topical and relevant to your learners’ interests. An excellent
source of these is www.bbc.co.uk . The world service has some excellent podcasts, but also use
those from Radio 4 or Radio 1 as they are not specifically aimed at language learners. Lead in to the
theme with prediction of content or another suitable gist listening task.
2 Select any collocations or phrases from the podcast that you particularly like or think would be
useful for learners to transfer to other contexts. These can then be used for the following tasks:
Variations: Disappearing Collocations can be given before listening to the podcast, learners try and
predict as many of the collocations/phrases as possible. They then listen, check predictions
and complete.
Disappearing Collocations can also be given as a follow up to the listening where the
learners have to complete the collocations having heard the podcast. Then they could listen
again, providing the podcast is not too long.
Disappearing Collocations can be given as a follow on from Who Said It? in the following
class to check how many of the collocations the learners can recall.
Extension: Learners make statements using the selected collocations about their local context. E.g. The
present government has no qualms about trying to cover up the real rate of inflation.
Mark the following collocations according to who said them: The Interviewer (I) or The Chairman of Coca
Cola (C)
2. canny advertising
7. global marketing
9. epidemic of obesity
With your partner try and recall how the collocations were used in the interview.
Number the following collocations in the order you hear them in the interview.
global marketing
canny advertising
vending machines
epidemic of obesity
mystery shoppers
With your partner try and recall how the collocations were used in the interview.
2. c____y adv______sing
7. gl_____l m____ting
9. ep______c of ob____ty