Teaching delexicalised verbs in collocations

to intermediate level learners

Aizhan Iskakova

Teacher of English language at Nazarbayev Intellectual school of physics and mathematics in

Taraz

Introduction

Irrespective of level, learners of English should know and be able to apply collocations. It will

help students to sound more natural. Students will avoid misunderstanding in delivering their

message. Also, they will improve their writing skill and make their sentences clearer and more

vivid. As Sinclair (as cited by Lackman, 2011:3) claims “a lexical mistake often causes

misunderstanding, while a grammar mistake rarely does”. In my experience, I have noticed that

my students make basic mistakes especially when they use collocations with delexicalised verbs.

Sometimes students just tend to avoid using them either in their speech or a piece of writing.

Consequently, my focus is on teaching delexicalised verbs in collocations to intermediate level

learners.

Analysis

Collocations and delexicalized verbs

"Collocations are not words which we 'put together'. They co-occur naturally. Collocation is the

way in which words co-occur in natural text in statistically significant ways." (Lewis, 2000:132).

McCarthy and O’Dell (2008:6) define collocations as “a pair or group of words that are often

used together”. I believe they also make a good point by saying that collocations seem and sound

natural to native speakers, but they are not so clear to people who are learning English because it

is not easy to guess the meaning. I also experienced the same problem with collocations when I

started learning English. During my teaching experience, I have noticed that my students face the

same issue.

Collocations can be strong, weak and fixed. For example, ‘take a photo’ is a fixed collocation or

a very strong collocation because “no word other than take collocates with photo to give the

same meaning” (O’Dell & McCarthy, 2008, p.6). Whereas, for example, the word house can

collocate with several words such as large, big, enormous, etc. Therefore, this collocation is

considered as weak.

Some collocations have a literal meaning e.g. ‘do the shopping’. However, collocations like

‘make the bed’ do not mean literally to ‘create a new bed’. “Words that have developed this kind

of “diversified” meaning through collocation are known as “delexicalised” words. In other

words, they have lost their unique meaning because of variations in usage” (Lackman, 2011:5).

The most frequently used delexicalised verbs are have, take, do, make and give (Shihab &

Daham, 2002) in certain collocations they do not have the same meaning as the ‘original’

dictionary meaning (Lackman,2011).

Meaning/Use

“In many cases, although the verbs are delexicalised, they do express something of their original

meaning. For example, “the expressions with do often have a sense of action and the expression

with give often have a sense of contributing something” (Parrott, 2006:145). Whereas, the basic

meaning of make is to create or produce something (O’Dell & MacCarthy, 2008, p.8).

For example,

do the washing (do=action)

make dinner (make =create something)

There are many expressions that are ‘fairly literal’ (Parrott, 2006:145). In other words, students

do not struggle with deducing their meaning in context (e.g. do the shopping, do the gardening).

However, there are also some expressions with more opaque meanings.” Sometimes the meaning

of words that follow the verb are metaphorical (e.g. give ground to, make a splash). Also,

sometimes there are no obvious associations with the literal meaning of words at all (e.g. make

friends)” (Parrott, 2006:145). In this case students should be aware that the relations between

words are ‘arbitrary’ (determined by chance). Consequently, “the way words combine give it a

status which cannot be denied” (Lewis, 2000:53).

In addition, some delexicalised collocations are more fixed than others because it is not always

possible “to introduce adverbs or adjectives, or alter whether the noun is singular of plural” e.g.

‘give someone a hand’, NOT ‘give someone a useful hand’ (Parrott, 2006: 144). Whereas, there

are a lot of expressions that can be modified. For example, ‘make a statement’ can also be used

as ‘make several statements’.

Form

delexicalized verb + noun (in the singular)

The indefinite article is usually used before a noun.

She made an appointment with her doctor.

Delexicalized verb + noun (in the plural)

He took photographs of Vita in her summer house.

Delexicalized verb+ uncountable noun

We have made progress in both science and art.

Delexicalized verb + adjective + noun

I think that I need to take a long bath.

Delexicalized verb + adjective

He is here to do good.

Pronunciation

It is difficult to analyse collocations for pronunciation features, such as connected speech or

intonation as it depends on the words, which are used in a sentence. However, there are some

similarities in terms of stress. The ‘content words’ (such as verbs, nouns, adjectives and

adverbs) are usually stressed (Kelly, 2000:72). For example,

I had a good time in Cambridge.

However, “usually, in any one utterance one word carries the main (or primary stress)”. The

main stress might depend on the speaker’s intention to emphasize some particular words or to

signal the introduction of new information (Thornbury, 1997:165). It can be concluded that the

stress is altered according to the context.

There are also some similarities in collocations in terms of linking. If there is the indefinite

article ‘a’ between a verb (which ends with a consonant sound) and a countable noun, it is

usually linked to a verb and a noun, which follows the article, is also linked. In this case the

indefinite article ‘a’ is pronounced as /ə/. The whole ‘verb + countable noun’ collocation is

pronounced as one word.

For example,

take a photo make a mess

/teɪkəˈfəʊtəʊ/ /meɪkəmɛs/

Learners’ issues and recommendations

Issue 1

L1 interference

My Russian intermediate level students usually struggle with the right choice of a delexicalised

verb. For example, they might say ‘make the shopping’ instead of ‘do the shopping’. It mainly

happens because there is no difference between make and do in the Russian language. Both these

verbs have the same meaning. Also, several collocations do not exist in the same form in the

Russian language. For example, Russian speaking students might say “become friends” rather

than saying “make friends”.

Aim: to raise students’ awareness of delexicalised verbs in collocations;

to help students to aware and overcome L1 interference.

Procedure:

It is essential for teachers to tell their students at the very beginning that the nature of

collocations is arbitrary. Consequently, students should be aware that it should be ‘make an

appointment’ not ‘do an appointment’ because it is the way things are said in English and usually

there is no rule to explain it.

In addition, to raise students’ awareness of delexicalised verb + noun collocations teachers might

use the following activity.

• Teachers give students a text with delexicalised verb+ noun collocations (Appendix 1).

• Teachers provide students with a model of delexicalised verb + noun collocation.

• Teachers ask students to highlight or underline this type of collocations in the text.

• Then there might be an open class feedback or teachers might provide students with

answers to compare.

• Teachers ask students which collocations are new or unexpected for them.

• Students discuss in pairs or small groups.

• Teachers might elicit from the students the meaning of unfamiliar collocations by asking

concept checking questions. If the students find it challenging, teachers might provide

students with a definition.

To help students to overcome L1 transfer the following activity might be used:

• Teachers provide students with a text.

• Students read the text.

• Teachers ask students to work in pairs and discuss whether the text sounds natural or not.

• Teachers ask students about the possible ways to improve the text to make it sound more

natural.

• Teachers might guide students by asking concept-checking questions:

“In which language do we normally say ‘drink a coffee”?

“Is this expression appropriate in English language?”

“How can we replace it to sound more natural?”

• Teachers give students delexicalised verb word combinations and ask students to reword

the text using these word combinations.

• Teachers ask students to look at two versions and discuss in pairs which one will be more

understandable and clear to a native speaker.

Evaluation:

Raising students’ awareness of delexicalised verbs in collocations using a text is effective.

Firstly, students will become more aware of collocations that exist in the English language.

Secondly, students will see how the collocations are used in the sentences. In terms of the second

activity, I think that this activity will make students comprehend the differences between L1 and

L2. Students will understand that some collocations from the Russian language sound strange in

the English language. Therefore, they will realize that some collocations are completely

different. This activity will provide students with a great opportunity to sound more natural. Both

these texts are level appropriate because students are familiar with all words from the texts.

Consequently, they will not struggle with comprehending the text.

Issue 2

Avoidance of delexicalized verbs in collocations

During my teaching experience, I have noticed that most of my adult IELTS group prefer to play

safe and use only one verb. However, sometimes it is more natural and correct to use multi-word

units. For example, they usually say ‘I usually shop on Sundays’, whereas ‘I usually do the

shopping on Sundays’ is more natural and correct. One of the reasons for this might be the lack

of confidence and practice in the use of delexicalised verbs in collocations.

Aim: to overcome student reluctance to use delexicalised verbs in collocations

Procedure

• Teachers prepare about 20 cards with five delexicalised verbs. (Appendix 2).

• The students work in small groups, sitting in a circle.

• Teachers spread the cards and ask the students to put them face down.

• Teachers provide students with a model by taking one card, telling the collocation and

using it in a sentence.

• Teachers tell the students that they should not repeat the same collocations.

• The game is finished when the students use all cards from the pile.

Evaluation: This game will make students use the delexicalised verbs in collocations as well as

provide them with good practice. As the examiner usually asks more general questions in the

first part of the speaking exam such as hobbies, interests and daily activities. Therefore, I think

that this game is a good preparation activity. It is possible to expand this game by providing

students with a more communicative activity. Teachers might ask the students to talk about their

daily activities. The students will work in pairs and give a short talk answering the question and

using delexicalised verbs in collocations in their speech.

Issue 3

Unnatural pronunciation

When I taught general English to low intermediate groups, I have noticed that during the

speaking activity practicing delexicalised verbs in collocations a lot of Kazakh students tend to

stress each word in a sentence. Therefore, they pronounce a sentence in an unnatural manner. I

think that it happens because students are mainly focusing on pronouncing each word in a

sentence correctly.

Aim: to improve pronunciation by focusing on the stress in spoken English and the speaker’s

intention.

Procedure:

• Teachers read an example sentence aloud to the students pronouncing each word

carefully (e.g.‘I do the shopping every Friday’).

• Teachers read the sentence a second time in a natural speech.

• Teachers ask the students which reading sound more natural.

• Teachers write the sentence on the board and elicit from the students stressed and non-

stressed words in the sentence.

• Teachers drill the sentence with students.

• Teachers give the students worksheet with some sentences and ask them to highlight or

underline the words that should be stressed (Appendix 3).

• The students work in pairs and practice the pronunciation of these sentences by reading

them aloud to each other.

• In addition, teachers might ask the students to pronounce sentences with different

intention and vary the main stress in sentences.

Evaluation: This activity will make the students realize that in order to sound natural it is

essential to stress only the content words in a sentence rather than pronouncing each word

correctly with equal stress. Also, the students will be aware that it is possible to vary the main

stress in the sentence depending on the message they are delivering. In addition, I think that this

pronunciation activity can be used at any level because sentence stress is a common issue for the

majority of students.

Issue 4

Remembering the collocations

When I taught a multilingual group in the UK, I noticed that it was difficult for the majority of

students to remember collocations. Even though these students were from different countries and

with different background knowledge. The main reason for this is that natural collocations are

usually not logical or guessable. Consequently, as O’Dell & McCarthy (2008, p.6) state that

learners can find it difficult to remember which words to collocate. For example, what is the

obvious reason to say, ‘make friends’ rather than ‘get friends’.

Aim: to help students to remember the collocations.

Procedure:

• Teachers give the students a diagram to complete with correct collocations.

• There are three diagrams. There is a delexicalised verb in the centre of each diagram.

(Appendix 4).

• The students work in pairs and complete the diagrams with phrases.

• Teachers provide the students with the correct answers to compare.

• Teachers might discuss with the students the phrases that they found confusing.

• Teachers ask the students to look at their tables carefully, trying to remember the phrases.

• Teachers ask the students to put their tables face down.

• The students work in pairs and test each other.

• One tells a noun or an adjective another student should tell the whole phrase.

There is an alternative activity which also might help the students to remember collocations.

• Teachers provide the students with a matching activity.

• The students match phrases with correct pictures.

• The students use delexicalised verbs such as ‘do, make, take and have’ to fill in the gaps.

• The students are provided with correct answers.

• The students complete the sentences using delexicalised verbs ‘do, make, take and have’.

Evaluation: One way of helping students to remember collocations is by revising them as much

as possible. I agree with Thornbury (2002:26) who claims that words are forgotten because of

‘insufficient recycling’. In addition, I believe that information is stored better when it is

supported by visual elements such as graphic representation or pictures. Therefore, I think these

activities will provide students with a great opportunity to remember collocations. The verbs for

this activity were chosen according to the students’ needs because these verbs are the most

confusing for them. In addition, to make sure that the students remember the learnt material, it is

essential to start each lesson with a revision activity.

Conclusion

While writing this essay, I have become aware of the importance of the delexicalised verbs in

collocations in language learning and teaching. I believe that they should be introduced in a

context to make the students see and hear how these expressions are used in a variety of texts. In

addition, I think that it is essential to raise students’ awareness of these type of collocations to

make them more fluent English speakers.

References

Kelly G. (2000). How to teach pronunciation. Pearson Education Limited.

Lackman K. (2011). Teaching Collocations – activities for vocabulary building. Ken Lackman

and Associates.

Lewis, M. (2000). Teaching Collocation: further developments in the lexical approach.

MacCarthy M. & O’Dell F. (2008). Collocations in use. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Parrot, M. (2006) Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd Edition. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Shihab O. & Daham Z. (2002). The Confused Nature of Delexical Verbs in English: An Error

Analytic Study. Tikrit University Journal for Humanities.

Thornbury S. (1997). About Language. Cambridge University Press.

Thornbury S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Pearson Education Unlimited.

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