10 Tips to Teach Collocations 3/7

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10 Tips to Teach Collocations
by Stacia Levy

Collocation, or how words occur together in

speech and writing, is an important part of
speaking and writing fluently. To be able to
produce native-like speech and writing, students
need to know which words work together well.

For example, in English I do exercise not make exercise: do collocates with

exercise. Words are learned and stored in memory in groups, not in isolation.
Handing out traditional vocabulary lists of isolated words is of little value if
students dont know and havent practiced the context in which the word may
occur. For example, teaching the word regard is more powerful if taught with the
collocations and phrases that go with it: in regard to, for example. Contrast
should be taught with its collocate, in as in In contrast.

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Knowing the collocates a word occurs with like this will make students less likely
make mistakes in grammar, word choice, and use of idiom
(http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/idioms-
worksheets/) and also contributes to fluid speech and writing as students 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 that its 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 even know 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 the appropriate collocation from their first language. Make and
do confusion is common, for example, among students of Latin language
backgrounds: e.g., make my homework rather than do my homework.

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Teaching Collocation

Vocabulary 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 key words and the words that go with them, and
have them underline collocations. On any given page, for example, there is
likely to be numerous collocates. Spend some time practicing and
interacting with these collocations with each reading.

3 Focus on salient language, language students may use a lot or that is

related to the curriculum: for example, the phrase on the other hand is
used a lot in academic language, and students often make mistakes in it:
in the other hand, on the other hands, etc. Explicitly teaching the phrase
and practicing it is a valuable investment of course time.

4 Contrast two words:

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make do

list 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 largely collocational).

6 Matching exercises/completion exercises: have students complete a

sentence with the correct collocation or match words to their collocates: do
homework, give a presentation.

7 Surveys: have students survey their classmates about their activities,

including verbs and their collocations, for example.

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

9 Write a sketch/dialogue. Put some collocates on the board learned from

reading over the last week: e.g., regular exercise, healthy diet, small
portion size and have students create a dialogue in pairs and practice it.

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q Write poetic descriptions of beloved person or place with adjective+noun

combinations or adverb+adjective combinations. Again, give students some
of the language for the task on the board 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 ESL
teachers, 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 isolation but 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 their second language.
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