The independent-user threshold. Learners deal with most situations while traveling, produce connected text on familiar topics, and explain their opinions, plans and experiences.
Printable one-to-one lesson plan
Collocations & word families
Learn common collocations and word families, like “make progress” (not “do progress”) and success, successful, and successfully. Practice with free exercises.
Use after the complete B1 sequence, not as a lesson quiz.
Open diagnostic →15–20 minutes optional: Tutor-read collocation retrieval, noun-verb progress stress, decide-family sounds, apply-family stress, register alternatives, and linked-chunk listening check · Next-day verb-noun partnership, grammatical slot, preposition, register alternative, and word-family stress retrieval
Derived from this lesson’s source
Lesson-specific teaching brief
This is not a second lesson registry. The plan reads the same native content that produces the learner page.
What the learner should do
Learn common collocations and word families, like “make progress” (not “do progress”) and success, successful, and successfully. Practice with free exercises.
What must become clear
Can-do: By the end, you can produce high-value verb-noun, adjective-noun, adverb-adjective, adverb-verb, and preposition partnerships; distinguish a conventional partnership from a universal grammar rule; choose noun, verb, adjective, adverb, person, and process forms from a word family; recognize important spelling, meaning, and stress changes; select a natural alternative for a neutral, conversational, or formal setting; create a reusable vocabulary record; and describe a fictional project with accurate chunks and flexible word forms.
High-value friction points
- The team made significant progress on the guide this month.Make progress is the broadly natural verb-noun collocation; on introduces the project receiving the work.
- Their successful application met every published requirement.Successful is the adjective that modifies application; successfully is an adverb and cannot fill this noun-modifier slot.
- The presenter explained the conclusion clearly to the board.Clearly is the adverb that modifies the action verb explained; clear would describe a noun or follow a linking verb.
Protect these lesson moments
- Reactivate chunks, adverbs, and work language
- Discovery check: retrieve the partnership and fill the slot
- Name the vocabulary relationship being tested
- Retrieve the complete partnership from the situation
- Choose the modifier that fits the exact noun or stance
Learner production
Chunk expansion: Begin with one noun, find two high-value verb partners, and explain how the verbs change the stage or meaning.
- Family map: Place four real family members into complete slots, then label action, person, thing or process, description, and manner.
- Register test: Give one neutral and one more formal version. Explain which relationship stays the same and what changes in tone.
- Retrieval test: Hide the English chunk, use a situation cue instead of a one-word translation, say the phrase, and reuse it in a new sentence.
Carry this language into the next session
Retrieve Collocations & word families in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only contrastive support
L1 Transfer Lens
Test a pattern. Do not label a learner. Use this only after the learner’s actual production gives you evidence.
Select a first language to reveal only the contrasts relevant to this lesson.
Spanish → English
3 patterns to test
Learn hacer phrases as English chunks
- Possible transfer
Can I make a question? / I need to make my homework.
- English rebuild
Can I ask a question? / I need to do my homework.
Why it can happen: Spanish hacer covers many actions that English splits among make, do, ask, take, and other verbs, as in hacer una pregunta or hacer ejercicio. The English verb is fixed by the noun, so these phrases are best learned as whole chunks.
Natural English:
- I usually do some exercise before work.
- Can I ask you a quick question about the invoice?
Explain something to someone
- Possible transfer
Can you explain me the plan?
- English rebuild
Can you explain the plan to me?
Why it can happen: In Spanish, the person receiving an explanation is marked with a pronoun such as me or te placed before the verb. English explain, describe, and suggest do not take the person directly after the verb, so the person moves into a to phrase.
Natural English:
- Could you explain the new schedule to the team?
- She described the problem to me in detail.
Verify cognates by meaning and collocation
- Possible transfer
I assisted the meeting. / I’m actually working in Bogotá.
- English rebuild
I attended the meeting. / I currently work in Bogotá.
Why it can happen: English and Spanish share many Latin-based words, which makes reading faster but can also invite false friends. A word is not fully known until its meaning, grammar pattern, register, and frequent partners all fit the message.
Natural English:
- I attended a lecture about public health.
- She was embarrassed by the mistake.
Brazilian Portuguese → English
5 patterns to test
Learn make, do, and ask as chunks
- Possible transfer
I made my homework. / She did a question.
- English rebuild
I did my homework. / She asked a question.
Why it can happen: Portuguese fazer covers work, creation, causation, weather, elapsed time, and many fixed expressions. English uses several verbs, and the most reliable unit is the whole collocation rather than an abstract make-versus-do rule.
Natural English:
- We made a difficult decision.
- Could I ask you a quick question?
Choose what kind of absence miss expresses
- Possible transfer
I have saudade of home. / I lost the meeting.
- English rebuild
I miss home. / I missed the meeting.
Why it can happen: English miss can express emotional absence, failure to attend or catch something, failure to notice, or narrowly avoiding an event. Miss out on adds the idea of losing an opportunity or experience.
Natural English:
- I miss my friends back home.
- We missed out on the early-booking discount.
Store the English verb and preposition together
- Possible transfer
It depends of the price. / I’m married with Ana.
- English rebuild
It depends on the price. / I’m married to Ana.
Why it can happen: Prepositions rarely align word for word across languages. In English, many choices belong to a lexical chunk (depend on, interested in, responsible for, married to), so the verb or adjective should be learned with its partner.
Natural English:
- Who is responsible for this account?
- The result depends on the final interview.
Check the intended action behind a cognate
- Possible transfer
I pretend to apply next month.
- English rebuild
I intend to apply next month.
Why it can happen: Portuguese and English share many recognizable roots, but a familiar form may have developed a different meaning. English pretend means act as if something false were true; intend describes a real plan or purpose.
Natural English:
- We intend to expand the service next year.
- He pretended not to recognize the reporter.
Put the describing noun first in compounds
- Possible transfer
We have a meeting of sales at ten. / I need a cable of the charger.
- English rebuild
We have a sales meeting at ten. / I need a charger cable.
Why it can happen: Portuguese places the main noun first and links a describing noun with de: reunião de vendas, cartão de crédito, dor de cabeça. English often reverses the order and puts the describing noun first with no preposition: sales meeting, credit card, headache. The last noun names the thing, and the first noun usually stays singular.
Natural English:
- Can I pay with a credit card?
- Our team meeting moved to Thursday afternoon.
Turkish → English
2 patterns to test
Unpack a suffix into an English relationship
- Possible transfer
I arrived to the airport. / We discussed about the plan.
- English rebuild
I arrived at the airport. / We discussed the plan.
Why it can happen: Turkish case suffixes package location, direction, source, and other relationships compactly. English may use at, in, on, to, from, or no preposition, and the governing verb often determines the natural pattern.
Natural English:
- She arrived in Mexico City on Monday.
- We discussed the budget during lunch.
Learn make and do as fixed partners
- Possible transfer
I did a mistake. / I need to make my homework.
- English rebuild
I made a mistake. / I need to do my homework.
Why it can happen: Turkish yapmak covers much of the ground of both make and do: hata yapmak, ödev yapmak, and pasta yapmak all use the same verb. English splits these by collocation, so the reliable approach is to learn each noun together with its verb as one chunk.
Natural English:
- Can I make a suggestion before we decide?
- I usually do the shopping on Saturday mornings.
Russian → English
One pattern to test
Retrieve the English verb and preposition together
- Possible transfer
I arrived to New York. / We discussed about the plan.
- English rebuild
I arrived in New York. / We discussed the plan.
Why it can happen: Russian case endings and prepositions divide location, direction, source, and object relationships differently from English. The safest English unit is often the whole chunk, including a required preposition or the deliberate absence of one.
Natural English:
- She arrived at the station before noon.
- We discussed the revised schedule after lunch.
Ukrainian → English
One pattern to test
Store English relationships as complete chunks
- Possible transfer
I wait you. / It depends from the weather.
- English rebuild
I’m waiting for you. / It depends on the weather.
Why it can happen: Ukrainian cases and prepositions divide grammatical relationships differently from English. An English verb or adjective often selects a specific preposition, so the whole combination must be retrieved as one lexical unit.
Natural English:
- She is responsible for the final report.
- The result depends on the weather.
Czech → English
One pattern to test
Learn make and do as fixed partners, not one verb
- Possible transfer
I did a mistake. / I need to make my homework.
- English rebuild
I made a mistake. / I need to do my homework.
Why it can happen: Czech dělat and udělat cover both creating something and performing an activity, so the noun does not force a choice of verb. English splits the work: make often goes with results and products such as a mistake, a decision, or a plan, and do with tasks and duties such as homework, the dishes, or a favor.
Natural English:
- Could you do me a favor and check this email?
- We need to make a decision by Friday.
French → English
One pattern to test
Learn faire chunks as whole English collocations
- Possible transfer
I make sport every week. / I did a mistake. / Let’s make a break.
- English rebuild
I exercise every week. / I made a mistake. / Let’s take a break.
Why it can happen: French faire covers many actions that English splits among make, do, take, have, and play, along with single verbs such as exercise. The choice is fixed by the noun, so these are best learned as complete chunks rather than worked out from a rule.
Natural English:
- Can you do the shopping while I make dinner?
- We took a short walk after lunch.
Italian → English
2 patterns to test
Learn the English partner verb for each fare chunk
- Possible transfer
Can I make a photo? / I want to make a question.
- English rebuild
Can I take a photo? / I want to ask a question.
Why it can happen: Italian fare combines with many nouns where English uses different verbs: take a photo, ask a question, take a shower, have breakfast, take a walk. These are fixed partnerships, so the learner needs to store the verb and noun together.
Natural English:
- I usually have breakfast at the café near work.
- Can you take a picture of us by the fountain?
Verify cognates by meaning and collocation
- Possible transfer
Eventually, call me tomorrow. / What’s the argument of the meeting?
- English rebuild
If necessary, call me tomorrow. / What’s the topic of the meeting?
Why it can happen: English and Italian share many Latin-based words, which speeds up reading but invites false friends. A word is not fully known until its meaning, grammar pattern, register, and common partners all fit the message the learner wants to send.
Natural English:
- If anything changes, I’ll let you know.
- The main topic of the meeting was the budget.
German → English
One pattern to test
Choose do, make, or take by collocation
- Possible transfer
I make my homework after dinner. / Can you make a photo of us?
- English rebuild
I do my homework after dinner. / Can you take a photo of us?
Why it can happen: German machen covers a wide range of activities that English splits among do, make, take, and other verbs. These choices are fixed partnerships rather than logic, so learn them as chunks: do homework, make a mistake, take a photo, take a break.
Natural English:
- I made a mistake on the invoice.
- Let’s take a short break and do the rest after lunch.
Use while teaching
Operational teaching notes
Choose a route before class, but change it when the learner’s production gives you better evidence.
Ask before explaining
- Which examples in “Reactivate chunks, adverbs, and work language” express the same core meaning?
- How would you explain this decision in your own words: Can-do: By the end, you can produce high-value verb-noun, adjective-noun, adverb-adjective, adverb-verb, and preposition partnerships; distinguish a conventional partnership from a universal grammar rule; choose noun, verb, adjective, adverb, person, and process forms from a word family; recognize important spelling, meaning, and stress changes; select a natural alternative for a neutral, conversational, or formal setting; create a reusable vocabulary record; and describe a fictional project with accurate chunks and flexible word forms.
- What needs to change in this repair, and why: The team made significant progress on the guide this month.
Correct for the stage
- Controlled work: correct immediately, then require the complete repaired sentence.
- Fluency building: note repeated errors and reformulate after the learner finishes the thought.
- Communication: interrupt only when meaning breaks down or the target decision is the lesson’s main evidence.
Retrieve, do not reteach
Retrieve Collocations & word families in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Short, core, or extended
Choose the route
All three routes end in learner production. More time means more contrast and transfer, not a longer explanation.
Short route
Retrieve for 3 minutes. Notice and discover for 8. Use the two most diagnostic tasks from Reactivate chunks, adverbs, and work language and Discovery check: retrieve the partnership and fill the slot for 12. Protect 9 minutes for Learner production, then reflect for 3.
Core route
Follow the six-stage sequence below. Reduce repeated controlled items when accuracy is already stable, but keep the nearest useful contrast and final production.
Stretch route
Add Tutor-read collocation retrieval, noun-verb progress stress, decide-family sounds, apply-family stress, register alternatives, and linked-chunk listening check · Next-day verb-noun partnership, grammatical slot, preposition, register alternative, and word-family stress retrieval, then repeat the communication task with a new situation or stricter success criteria.
60–70 minutes core working plan
Session sequence
Protect the final communication and reflection time. If the learner needs more support, reduce the number of controlled items instead of removing production.
- 5 min
Retrieve
Activate what the learner already controls and check any prerequisite language.
Teacher move: Open with the first practice route: Reactivate chunks, adverbs, and work language · Discovery check: retrieve the partnership and fill the slot · Name the vocabulary relationship being tested.
- 6–8 min
Notice
Let the learner observe meaning and form in a small sample before naming the rule.
Teacher move: Keep the noticing conversation anchored to this decision: Can-do: By the end, you can produce high-value verb-noun, adjective-noun, adverb-adjective, adverb-verb, and preposition partnerships; distinguish a conventional partnership from a universal grammar rule; choose noun, verb, adjective, adverb, person, and process forms from a word family; recognize important spelling, meaning, and stress changes; select a natural alternative for a neutral, conversational, or formal setting; create a reusable vocabulary record; and describe a fictional project with accurate chunks and flexible word forms.
- 8–10 min
Discover
Connect form, meaning, use, word order, and the nearest useful contrast.
Teacher move: Test the learner’s explanation against this repair: The team made significant progress on the guide this month. Make progress is the broadly natural verb-noun collocation; on introduces the project receiving the work.
- 12–15 min
Build + drill
Move from accurate choices to faster retrieval and sentence construction.
Teacher move: Prioritize these lesson tasks: Reactivate chunks, adverbs, and work language · Discovery check: retrieve the partnership and fill the slot · Name the vocabulary relationship being tested · Retrieve the complete partnership from the situation. Reduce repetitions if needed, but keep the final production time.
- 12–15 min
Communicate
Use the target language for a real adult purpose the learner cannot complete by copying.
Teacher move: Learner production: Chunk expansion: Begin with one noun, find two high-value verb partners, and explain how the verbs change the stage or meaning.
- 3–5 min
Reflect
Make progress visible and choose one specific next use.
Teacher move: Retrieve Collocations & word families in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only source
Listening scripts
Read these lines from the tutor plan while the learner lesson remains on screen. Each clip names the learner item it supports.
Tutor-read collocation retrieval, noun-verb progress stress, decide-family sounds, apply-family stress, register alternatives, and linked-chunk listening check
- Clip 1
Read: The team made PROgress, and the project will proGRESS next month.
Supports: Clip 1. What does the stress shift mark?
- Clip 2
Read: They deCIDE, explain the deCIsion, and take deCIsive action.
Supports: Clip 2. Which description is accurate?
- Clip 3
Read: Her appliCAtion was sucCESSful.
Supports: Clip 3. What jobs do the two stressed family members perform?
- Clip 4
Read: I STRONGLY recommend the course. / I HIGHLY recommend the course.
Supports: Clip 4. What does the pair demonstrate?
- Clip 5
Read: We need to reach_an_agreement by Friday.
Supports: Clip 5. What connected-speech feature supports retrieval?
Keep only useful evidence
After-lesson notes
These notes are for deliberate tutor records or printing. Nothing is stored in the learner’s browser.
The learner can now…
Write one observable use of the target language.
Still needs support with…
Record one repeated error, contrast, or point of hesitation.
Next retrieval prompt
Write one short prompt the learner will answer at the next session.
Anonymous live-lesson evidence
Learner pilot worksheet
B1 · Collocations & word families
Pilot 1 of 30 recorded · 3 remaining
Date
Approximate starting level
Core lesson time
Starting evidence
What did the learner already control? What was the first misconception, hesitation, or contrast that mattered?
Did the principle become clear?
Can-do: By the end, you can produce high-value verb-noun, adjective-noun, adverb-adjective, adverb-verb, and preposition partnerships; distinguish a conventional partnership from a universal grammar rule; choose noun, verb, adjective, adverb, person, and process forms from a word family; recognize important spelling, meaning, and stress changes; select a natural alternative for a neutral, conversational, or formal setting; create a reusable vocabulary record; and describe a fictional project with accurate chunks and flexible word forms.
Did the first hint help?
Record the first item that caused difficulty and whether the contextual hint led to self-correction before the full repair appeared.
Could the learner do the outcome?
Learn common collocations and word families, like “make progress” (not “do progress”) and success, successful, and successfully. Practice with free exercises.
Listen for: The learner uses the target language independently for a real purpose.
What remained available?
If possible, check before rereading in the next session. Record what returned independently and what still required a cue.
Keep, revise, or investigate?
Note any explanation the tutor still had to supply, the smallest useful revision, and whether another pilot should test the same issue.