Lesson goal: Students can sound more natural and precise by using strong collocations, including adverb + adjective pairs such as bitterly disappointed and highly unlikely, to discuss controversies and crises.
Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.
Lesson plan
- 1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- What's the difference between sounding correct and sounding natural in a foreign language?
- Can you think of an English word combination that surprised you?
- When did a news story last make you really angry?
- 2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
Fill the gapWheel of fortunea foregone conclusion · bear the brunt of · a vested interest · wreak havoc · a sweeping generalisation · pay lip service to · a glaring omission · flatly refuse · a far cry from · vehemently deny · come under fire · a daunting task · strike a balance · utterly devastated · deeply entrenched
All words in the set - 3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
- Fill the gap
The storm wreaked ___ along the coast, destroying hundreds of homes.
Answer: havoc - Fill the gap
Low-income families will bear the ___ of the new tax.
Answer: brunt - Fill the gap
The spokesman ___ denied that the company had known about the fault.
Answer: vehemently / strenuously / categorically / strongly / flatly - Fill the gap
After losing in the final minute, the players were ___ disappointed.
Answer: bitterly / deeply / hugely - Multiple choice
Which adverb sounds most natural? 'It is ___ unlikely that the minister will resign.'
highlybitterlydeeplystrongly - Multiple choice
A company that says it values diversity but does nothing about it is ...
paying lip service to diversitystriking a balance with diversitybearing the brunt of diversitywreaking havoc on diversity - Multiple choice
'The result was a foregone conclusion' means ...
everyone knew the result in advancethe result was a complete surprisethe result was announced too earlythe result was later overturned - True / false
Read: "When floods struck the valley last winter, the poorest districts bore the brunt of the damage. The council's emergency plan, critics pointed out, contained a glaring omission: it made no mention of residents without cars. Officials at first flatly refused to comment, but after coming under fire in the local press, they promised a full review." Officials immediately accepted the criticism and apologised.
Answer: False - True / false
Read the text again. According to critics, the emergency plan ignored people who had no way of driving to safety.
Answer: True - Discussion question
Describe a controversy in your town, workplace or country. Use at least four collocations from the set.
Sample answer: The plan to build a shopping centre on the old park has come under fire from local residents, who were utterly devastated to lose the last green space in the area. The developers, who clearly have a vested interest, vehemently deny that the park was ever much used. To my mind, the council has only paid lip service to public opinion, and striking a balance between growth and quality of life now looks like a daunting task.
- Fill the gap
- 4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Is it ever fair to make sweeping generalisations about a generation, such as 'Gen Z' or 'boomers'?
- Which groups in society usually bear the brunt of an economic crisis?
- Do politicians who come under fire usually deserve it?
- How can you strike a balance between being honest and being tactful?
- Which attitudes are most deeply entrenched in your country, and can they change?
- 5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz