A new approach to phrasal verb teaching at high school

The features of phrasal verbs.Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb + Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs.. Phrasal

1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale of choosing the theme.

Phrasal verbs present a difficult challenge for most students who study English as a second language Phrasal verbs are also often confusing for students, due to their idiomatic nature Unfortunately, there is no quick formula for students to learn and understand them There is no one rule for determining which preposition to use after the verb Each phrase has to be learned and understood individually

So what is the best way for students to learn phrasal verbs? First, students need to understand that phrasal verbs cannot be accurately translated because of their idiomatic nature and the fact that they are compound phrases Phrasal verbs sound quite strange to non-native speakers of English However, once the student can understand the nature of phrasal verbs, they usually have an easier time using them

1.2 The aims of the study.

Teaching phrasal verbs is an inevitable step as students gain proficiency and aim for a more natural speaking style Native speakers use phrasal verbs frequently and it is likely that your students will have already asked about the

meaning of common phrasal verbs, such as get out, fall off and break down,

even before you make them a specific lesson topic

The challenge with phrasal verbs is that it is often just as challenging for the teacher as for the student Today I am going to lay out the general attack plan I use to tackle phrasal verbs with my own students at Vinh Loc upper secondary school

Firstly, I focus on teaching one-on-one lessons at high school and have

developed a set of my own phrasal verbs resources that I use to teach at high school, though most of my strategy (and resources) can be adapted for an in-person or group teaching approach

Secondly, teaching your student phrasal verbs is not a skill that you can

cover in one lesson! You will need a series of sessions with your student before they feel comfortable weaving even basic phrasal verbs into their everyday speech I suggest introducing one grammar concept at a time then return regularly to lessons focused on phrasal verbs

Lastly, you must introduce the necessary grammar with your students so

that they can make sense of constructions Many teachers feel awkward answering students’ questions about phrasal verbs, and it is generally because many teachers do not possess the knowledge of the grammar to answer the question

Additionally, teachers do not agree on the grammatical terminology (I

actually prefer multiword verbs to phrasal verbs but I will not get into that here).

Whatever you call this area of grammar, just be sure to know your terminology You need to pick a set of resources that you are comfortable with and stick with it

1.3 The objective of study.

This subject is concerned with ways of teaching grammar activities in the class

- To introduce how to teach phrasal verbs,

- To show ways of teaching grammar lessons,

- To show ways of teaching phrasal can be designed for teaching English plans in grade 12 at Vinh Loc upper-secondary school,

- To draw out what the learners understand phrasal verbs and apply them

to their daily life through communicative activities

1.4 The limitation of the teaching phrasal verb strategy.

- Studying the process approach,

- Finding out the difficulties and suggesting solutions to the problems,

- Classifying types of phrasal verbs,

- Applying skills to do grammar test in the final exam

1.5 The methods of study.

- Researching in the process of teaching English 12 at Vinh Loc upper-secondary school,

- Studying documents dealing with the strategies for teaching phrasal verbs,

- Discussing with other ESL teachers,

- Applying the study in teaching process,

- Observing and drawing out experience

2 Discussion

2.1 General views on teaching phrasal verbs.

2.1.1 Important information about phrasal verbs.

A phrasal verb is the combination of a standard verb such

as make or putwith one or two particles In some cases the particle is an adverb such as away, together; in others it is a preposition such as through, in Here are

2.1.2 The difficulty of phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult aspects for learners of the English language There are three main reasons for this:

In many cases the meaning of the phrasal verb cannot be deduced from its elements, i.e., it is being used idiomatically For example: a learner who knows

that to tick is to make a checkmark may have difficulty in understanding the sentence The teacher ticked off the student for being late, in which the phrasal verb to tick off means to reprimand or to express disapproval.

Many phrasal verbs are polysemous; i.e., they have more than one

meaning The phrasal verb to put down has the literal meaning of putting

something down on the table or floor But it also has the idiomatic meanings:

o to make someone feel small, to criticize and humiliate them

o to kill as in the sentence I had to have my cat put down.

o to stop, quash, put an end to as in the sentence The police put down the riots with unnecessary brutality.

There are difficulties with the grammar of phrasal verbs, particularly with the position of the particles Look at the following examples:

He put down the book He put the book down

The teacher put the student down The teacher put down the student The student put her bad grade down

to tiredness

The student put down her bad grade

to tiredness

2.1.3 The importance of phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are very important for learners because they are so prevalent

in everyday spoken and informal written language Not only do learners need to understand the more common phrasal verbs, but they will also need to use them themselves If they do not, and use a more formal synonym, they run the risk of sounding pompous or ridiculous to native speakers Imagine, for example, your

friend telling you “Oh, do desist from talking! instead of Oh, do shut up! “

or “Oh, do belt up! or Oh, do pipe down!”

2.1.4 The selection principles of phrasal verbs.

The phrasal verbs listed on this website are those that, in the opinion of the webmaster, are among the most useful for English learners to learn first Only idiomatic phrasal verbs that are likely to cause difficulties to language learners have been included The definition listed for each phrasal verb is generally very short and should be regarded as the first step in the learning process The example sentences are the second, more useful step in the process

of understanding the verb and the contexts in which is is used The third step is

to look at the additional information that is listed for some verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with

an adverb or a preposition, or both Typically, their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the individual words themselves For example:

She has always looked down on him.

Fighting broke out among a group of twenty men.

I’ll see to the animals.

Don’t put me off, I’m trying to concentrate.

The report spelled out the need for more staff.

For instance, in the first example, the phrasal verb ‘to look down on someone’ doesn’t mean that you are looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means that you think that you are better than someone

Transitivity: Phrasal verbs can be intransitive (i.e they have no object):

We broke up two years ago.

They set off early to miss the traffic.

He pulled up outside the cottage.

or transitive (i.e they can have an object):

The police were called to break up the fight.

When the door is opened, it sets off an alarm.

They pulled the house down and redeveloped the site.

Word order: The verb and adverb elements which make up intransitive phrasal

verbs are never separated:

✓ We broke up two years ago.

✗ We broke two years ago up.

The situation is different with transitive verbs, however If the direct object is a noun, you can say:

✓ Theypulled the house down.

[direct object]

✓ They pulled down the house.

If the object is a pronoun (such as it, him, her, them) , then the object

always comes between the verb and the adverb:

[direct object]

✗ They pulled down it.

2.1.5 The features of phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb +

Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs They can be transitive or intransitive

What are phrasal verbs and why are they important?

Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb + Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs They can be transitive or intransitive One of the most important and challenging characteristics of phrasal verbs is that the meaning of the combination is often quite different from the meaning of the original verb by itself

For example, the phrasal verb hang out, which means “to stay somewhere

for a while without doing much,” has a completely different meaning from the

verb hang Likewise, the phrasal verb pass out, which means “to fall asleep or become unconscious,” has a very different meaning from the verb pass Finally, the phrasal verb put up with, which means “to tolerate,” has little connection to the meaning of put The sentences below illustrate these differences.

Examples:

hang out vs hang:

 The kids in the neighborhood hang out at the corner store.

 He is going to hang the mirror on the wall.

pass out vs pass:

 They both passed out in front of the TV.

 Stand here and don't let anyone pass

put up with vs put:

 At this school, we will not put up with bad behavior

 Put the car in the garage.

2.1.6 Multiple meanings.

Another challenging thing about phrasal verbs is that they often have more

than one meaning The phrasal verb pass out, for example, can mean to fall

asleep, as mentioned above, but it can also mean to distribute, as in this sentence:

The teacher hasn't finished passing out the tests yet.

2.1.7 The reasons of why phrasal verbs are important.

Phrasal verbs are important because they are extremely common in informal English, and unless you are familiar with their meanings, understanding informal language will be difficult In addition, learning to use phrasal verbs correctly will help you sound natural in casual conversation One last tip about phrasal verbs: When you are writing for a formal audience, keep in mind that phrasal verbs sound informal Instead of writing something

like, “The patient had her tonsils taken out when she was ten years old,” you may want to write “The patient had her tonsils removed when she was ten years

old.” It will sound more appropriate

2.1.8 The number of phrasal verbs in English.

Most phrasal verbs consist of two words (verb + adverb or verb + preposition) but a few consists of three words Think of them as you would any other English vocabulary Study them as you come across them, rather than trying to memorise many at once

2.2 Definition and types of phrasal verbs.

As if there was not enough vocabulary for our students to learn, English has certain multi-word expressions that have a different meaning as a whole than the meaning of the separate parts The most common types of these expressions are idioms and phrasal verbs, and they can be difficult for students to master Because phrasal verbs are so prevalent in our culture, they are important to becoming fluent in English So what exactly are phrasal verbs? What is the best way to teach them? Read on to get some ideas, and feel free to share your favorite method in the comments section below

2.2.1 The definition of a phrasal verb.

A phrasal verb is a phrase with two or more words, usually involving a verb and a preposition (This is how most grammar books present it, and it is easiest for students to understand if you explain it in this way Technically

speaking, though, some phrasal verbs involve a verb + adverb combination See

my post Preposition or Adverb? for more information.)

A regular verb + preposition combination has two meanings whereas a

phrasal verb has one meaning For example, the verb look means to use your eyes to see something and the preposition up means the direction above, as

in look up at the sky This is very different from the phrasal verblook up, which means to check, as in look up a word in the dictionary.

Make sure your students always write phrasal verbs as two separate

words Phrasal verbs are never hyphenated or combined into one word, thoug h

their noun or adjective forms often are

2.2.2 Types of phrasal verbs.

During this lesson you will learn about the five different types of phrasal verbs and how to use them in everyday situations

2.2.2.1 The first of the five types of phrasal verb are called Intransitive verbs.

Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb has no object

Examples:

Get up: to rise from bed.

Get up, Mr Bean! You have to be at the airport in two hours.

The words highlighted are the phrasal verbs and they are on their own; they don’t take an object

Slow down: drive more slowly or walk more slowly.

Slow down, Sally you are driving too fast.

2.2.2.2 The second of the five types of phrasal verb are called transitive

verbs.

A transitive verb has an object that can also be a moveable object

Fill out: complete a form

Can you fill out the application form using only a black pen please?

Can you fill the application form out using only a black pen please?

The verbs are highlighted black come the object (the application form).

These verbs can come after the phrasal verb or they can be used in the middle of it

Sometimes these phrasal verbs are called separable phrasal verbs, this is because you can separate the two parts of the phrasal verb fill and out with the

object (the application form).

2.2.2.3 The third of the five types of phrasal verb are called transitive verbs

with fixed object in the middle of the verb.

Transitive with fixed object in the middle of the verb

When using these verbs, the object the object must always be in the middle of the phrasal verb

Set apart: distinguish

Mr Beans training as a special agent really sets him apart from the other agents

around the world

2.2.2.4 The forth of the five types of phrasal verb are called Transitive with

fixed object after the verb.

Transitive with fixed object after the verb:

Transitive with fixed object after the verb the phrasal verb must always come before the You will sometime hear people call these verbs inseparable; this is because the parts of the phrasal verb must not be separated by the object Run into: Meet by chance

Sally ran into Sarah the other day at her local cafe, she had not seen her since

leaving school

Warning: (DO NOT say ‘Sally ran Sarah into the other day at her local cafe,

she had not seen her since leaving school’)

2.2.2.5 The fifth and last of the five types of phrasal verb are

called Transitive with two objects, separable.

Transitive with two objects, separable:

Put down to: Attribute to something

Ann’s parents were really pleased and put her results down to plenty of revising

The above example shows phrasal verbs that have two objects (‘her results’ and ‘plenty of revising’)

The examples shows that the objects separates the verb (‘and put her results down to’) and the other comes after the verb itself (‘plenty of revising’).

2.3 The approach to phrasal verb teaching.

The following methods are some that I have tried over the years The third method is my favorite because my students seem to catch on and retain phrasal verbs better with it

2.3.1 From a list.

A lot of textbooks/classes will have a list of phrasal verbs that are relevant

to the course, such as Business English, TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, etc A long list like this can be overwhelming to students, so consider presenting five phrasal verbs a day or using fun vocabulary activities such as cutting up the phrasal verbs and their definitions and having students match them up

2.3.2 In contex.

A fun way to teach phrasal verbs is in the context of a story Seeing the phrasal verb in context helps students grasp and retain the meaning I have seen some textbooks dedicated to idioms that are grouped into themes, and a lot of them include phrasal verbs

2.3.3 As groupings.

Grouping phrasal verbs into categories based on the same verb is another way to go This is my preferred method because it presents phrasal verbs in small, logical, and manageable groups I think students remember the phrasal verbs more easily this way Here are some common groupings to try with your students:

Look after – take care of

Look down on – think less of

Look into – investigate, find more information

Look out – be careful

Look over – review, examine

Look up – check, find

Look up to – admire

Take after – resemble

Take away (from) – learn

Take off – leave

Take on – start

Take out – take on a date

Take over – replace

Get along (with) – have a good relationship

Get away – go on vacation

Get away with – not get caught while doing something bad

Get out of – no longer have to do something

Get through – survive, bear

2.3.4 Separable or inseparable.

Which phrasal verbs can have an object between the verb and preposition,

and which cannot? For example, you can say I called on my cousin yesterday but you cannot say I called my cousin on yesterday, so call

on is inseparable You can say I picked my cousin up at the airport or I picked

up my cousin at the airport, so pick up is separable (Remind students that

while noun objects can go between or after the phrasal verb,

a pronoun object can only go between the phrasal verb E.g., I picked her up is correct I picked up her is incorrect.)

2.4 Teaching students to deal phrasal verbs which they do not understand.