This ESL Collocations with Against Activity helps B2/C1- students practice high-frequency verb-preposition collocations with ‘against’ through sentence building and collaborative speaking. Designed for classroom and online ESL/EFL lessons, the activity includes a printable or shareable set of verb cards (e.g., protest against, decide against, stand against, lean against, rebel against).
Students draw cards and create affirmative, negative, or interrogative sentences using the collocation. Peers assess correctness, or points can be awarded in team-based game mode for a fun, competitive twist. Teachers can also use the set for grammar review, fluency practice, or collocation-focused speaking tasks.
It promotes collaboration, creativity, fluency, and accuracy while reinforcing essential dependent prepositions and natural phrasing in context.
Great for exam prep (FCE, CAE), speaking lessons, and as a flexible addition to any collocations or vocabulary-focused lesson.
This lesson comes with:
Teacher’s Copy – Includes detailed teacher’s notes and an answer key.
Student Version – Perfect for sharing via email for online lessons.
This is most suited to B2/C1- level.
25 minutes +
Why teach collocations with against?
Learning collocations with against is important because it helps students use English more naturally and accurately. Prepositional collocations—like be against, protest against, or decide against—are common in both spoken and written English, and knowing them allows learners to better understand English speakers and express complex ideas clearly. Mastering these collocations also supports vocabulary development and grammar awareness, improving overall fluency. By focusing on collocations with against, ESL learners can strengthen their ability to recognise patterns in language, avoid common errors, and build confidence in everyday communication.
Try this ESL Collocations with Against activity in class today!
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