One of the most challenging but interesting skills in teaching English vocabulary is phrasal verbs. I like to use pictures when teaching phrasal verbs (see examples attached) – otherwise, they become a long list of pretty word combinations which mean nothing to students. I simply browse the web for the most representative and/or peculiar/funny/memorable image to represent a phrasal verb. For example, I illustrate “get along” with a picture of tiger cubs playing with rabbits. Students look at the picture, read/repeat the phrasal verb. I also provide a sample sentence.
After going through 7 phrasal verbs, we take a short pause and then go through the pictures again, this time without the text. This is a simple yet effective and enjoyable activity that can be repeated again and again throughout the semester as phrasal verbs accumulate.
