7/28/2019 10 Tips to Teach Collocations

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10 Tips to Teach Collocations

Collocation, or how words occur together in speech and writing, is an important part of speakingand writing fluently. To be able to produce native-like speech and writing, students need to knowwhich words work together well.

For example, in English I do exercise not make exercise: do collocates with exercise. Wordsare learned and stored in memory in groups, not in isolation. Handing out traditional vocabularylists of isolated words is of little value if students dont know and havent practiced the context inwhich the word may occur. For example, teaching the word regard is more powerful if taught withthe collocations and phrases that go with it: in regard to, for example. Contrast should be taughtwith its collocate, in as in In contrast.

Knowing the collocates a word occurs with like this will make students less likely make mistakes ingrammar, word choice, and use of idiom and also contributes to fluid speech and writing asstudents are less likely to need to stop to search for the correct word.Problems English Learners Have with Collocation

One of the biggest problems with collocation is its arbitrary nature: there is no rule or reason thatits in regard to and not on regard toit just is.

1 .Lack of awareness: students need to have a problem brought to their attention before they evenknow it is a problem. They may be unaware that some words go together better than others,

especially as this doesnt tend to be emphasized in language instruction.

2. First language transfer is another ESL problem with collocationstudents transfer theappropriate collocation from their first language. Make and do confusion is common, forexample, among students of Latin language backgrounds: e.g., make my homework rather thando my homework.Teaching CollocationVocabulary instruction in general, and certainly the instruction of collocation, is not much

emphasized. However, there are some general principles for teaching collocation:

1. Teach students the term collocation and the rationale for learning it. Once they know the

rationale behind instruction, they become more motivated to learn.

2. Notice which words go together when giving out a new reading. Call students attention to keywords and the words that go with them, and have them underline collocations. On any given

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page, for example, there is likely to be numerous collocates. Spend some time practicing andinteracting with these collocations with each reading.

3. Focus on salient language, language students may use a lot or that is related to thecurriculum: for example, the phrase on the other hand is used a lot in academic language, andstudents often make mistakes in it: in the other hand, on the other hands, etc. Explicitlyteaching the phrase and practicing it is a valuable investment of course time.

4. Contrast two words:make dolist their collocates

5. Extend it: Have students make a list of things they need to accomplish that week, using make and do. This establishes some of the differences between the two words (which are largelycollocational).

6. Matching exercises/completion exercises: have students complete a sentence with the correctcollocation or match words to their collocates: do homework, give a presentation.

7. Surveys: have students survey their classmates about their activities, including verbs and theircollocations, for example.

8. Have students practice the phrases youve targeted. Once students been explicitly taught incontrast to and on the other hand, for example, have them practice these collocations in journaland essay assignments.

9. Write a sketch/dialogue. Put some collocates on the board learned from reading over the lastweek: e.g., regular exercise, healthy diet, small portion size and have students create adialogue in pairs and practice it.

10. Write poetic descriptions of beloved person or place with adjective+noun combinations oradverb+adjective combinations. Again, give students some of the language for the task on theboard or in a handout: dear friend, old friend, passionately embrace, fond farewell, etc.

Then have them create a poem with it.Vocabulary instruction can be challenging as we have not received much guidance in it as ESLteachers, as language teaching has traditionally focused on the teaching of grammar.

The traditional vocabulary list may be of little value as words are not learned and used in isolationbut rather with the phrases they occur in. By first raising students awareness of collocation and

then practicing it, students can develop their vocabulary, grammar, and use of idiom in theirsecond language.

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