Why Collocation Marks the B2-C1 Gap
Advanced Collocation Categories
These high-frequency verbs have unpredictable collocations that must be memorized:
• make: a decision, a mistake, progress, an effort, an impression
• do: research, damage, harm, business, a favour
• have: a meeting, a problem, an argument, fun, second thoughts
• take: part, place, action, advantage, for granted
'Run a business' (not 'manage' in informal speech), 'launch a product,' 'seize an opportunity,' 'raise awareness.'
Strong: coffee, argument, opinion, smell (not 'strong light')
Heavy: rain, traffic, drinker, workload (not 'heavy sun')
Bright: light, sun, idea, future, colour (not 'bright rain')
Prepositions that follow verbs and nouns are largely unpredictable:
'Depend on' (not 'of'), 'consist of' (not 'in'), 'interested in' (not 'about'), 'responsible for' (not 'of')
Collocation at Advanced Levels
Delexicalized Verbs
Make/do/have/take — the 6 verbs whose collocations you must systematically teach
Restricted Combinations
'Heavy rain' but not 'heavy sun' — restriction patterns that must be learned
Prepositional Collocations
The most common source of C1-level collocation error — unpredictable and essential
Teacher Tip
“When a C1 student writes a composition, circle every verb + noun combination and check each against a collocation dictionary (Macmillan Collocations Dictionary, Oxford Collocations Dictionary). The error density is usually a surprise to both teacher and student. Make collocation correction a specific drafting stage.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Is collocation the same as fixed expressions?
Related but not identical. Fixed expressions are completely invariable ('by the way,' 'once upon a time'). Collocations are frequent, preferred word partnerships that aren't fixed — 'make a decision' is preferred over 'take a decision,' but both occur.
How many collocations can students learn per lesson?
For C1 students, 8-12 new collocations per lesson is a reasonable upper limit. The goal is depth of practice (using each collocation in at least 3 contexts) rather than width (learning 30 collocations shallowly).
How does DrillKit support collocation teaching?
DrillKit gap-fills can be configured to target specific collocation patterns — leaving out the verb (students provide 'make/do') or the noun (students provide 'a decision/a mistake'). This forces productive collocation retrieval rather than passive recognition.