Study skills · Book page 20 · collocations · synonyms and antonyms · idioms
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Words are the key to everything! 🔑 In your final exam (Abschlussprüfung) you need a big vocabulary in every part: reading, listening, use of English, writing and speaking. School alone is not enough – the best learners also collect new words outside school: in films, songs, games, on social media … Today you learn how to do that.
Australians love sport. How much do you know? Guess first – then check!
Sources: Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics · AFL Grand Final 2024 (100,013 fans) · AusPlay survey 2023–24 (Australian Sports Commission) · Go Ahead 9, p. 21 (Across cultures)
💬 Talk to your partner: One question pops up at a time – talk for 1 minute, then go on.
Useful phrases: I play football / I go swimming / I do judo … · I train twice a week. · My favourite team is … · I’d love to see … live.
➡️ Did you notice? We say play football, but go swimming and do judo. Words like these that go together are called collocations – and that’s what today is about!
Aussie Rules football (“footy”) is Australia’s own ball sport. Talk to your partner – 1 minute per question:
Video not working? Open it on YouTube.
Compare with your partner: Did you tick the same words?
Write 4–5 sentences: players, ball and field, how to score, what you are not allowed to do. Use at least three collocations (e.g. kick the ball, score a goal, score points, win the game).
Check your answers from the video! Australian Rules football (“Aussie Rules” or “footy”) is a ball sport that was invented in Melbourne in the 1850s. It is one of the three most popular sports in Australia. Two teams of 18 players play with an oval ball on a big oval field. Players can run with the ball, kick it and hit it with their fist – but they are not allowed to throw it.
👉 Swipe the table to see all three sports.
| 🏉 Aussie Rules | ⚽ Football (soccer) | 🏈 Rugby (union) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| players per team | 18 | 11 | 15 |
| ball | oval | round | oval |
| field | oval (like a cricket ground) | rectangle (pitch) | rectangle |
| goals | 4 posts at each end: 2 tall goalposts, 2 short behind posts – no net! | one goal with a net | H-shaped posts |
| hands? | kick, run with the ball, hit it with your fist – no throwing | only the goalkeeper | yes – but you may only pass the ball backwards |
| points | goal (between the tall posts) = 6 · behind = 1 | goal = 1 | try = 5 (and more ways to score) |
| time | 4 quarters of 20 minutes | 2 halves of 45 minutes | 2 halves of 40 minutes |
3 × 6 + 4 × 1 = 22 points 🏉
💡 Collocations from the game: kick the ball · score a goal · score points · win the game · catch the ball (book, p. 21)
One word alone is easy to forget. Learn it together with its partners. Here are your five tools:
| Tool | What is it? | Example | Why does it help you? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 🧩 CollocationsKollokationen | Words that often go together. You learn them as one block. | play + football score + a goal sports + fan | Your English sounds natural. ❌ make sport → ✅ do sport |
| 2 ⚖️ Synonyms (=)Synonyme | Words with the same meaning. | fast = quick hard = difficult | No boring repetition in your texts. |
| 3 ↔️ Antonyms (≠)Gegenteile | Words with the opposite meaning. | fast ≠ slow win ≠ lose | You learn two words at once – and you can explain words you don’t know. |
| 4 💬 IdiomsRedewendungen | A phrase with a special meaning. You can’t translate it word for word. | The ball is in your court. = It’s your turn. | You understand native speakers, films and songs better. |
| 5 🔎 Online dictionariesOnline-Wörterbücher | Look up a word – and read the example sentences. A collocations dictionary shows you which words go together. | search: goal → score a goal, miss a goal | You find the right word – and use it correctly. |
fast – quick = synonyms · play tennis = a collocation · win – lose = antonyms · throw in the towel = an idiom
Which verb goes with which sport? Drag each sport into the right box.
💡 play + games with a ball / against others · go + sports with -ing · do + other sports and martial arts
👥 Partner talk – 1 minute per question:
Words that go before sport: amateur sport, ball sport … And words that go after sports? Two of these pairs are not real collocations. Which ones?
Find a synonym and an antonym for the word in brackets.
⏱️ 3-minute challenge: With a partner, make a list of as many synonym and antonym pairs as you can!
What do these idioms mean? Match them.
Don’t just write English – German. Use more columns:
| word | word class | collocation | = / ≠ | example sentence | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spectator | noun | thousands of spectators | = viewer | The spectators cheered loudly. | Zuschauer/in |
| score | verb | score a goal / points | ≠ miss | She scored two goals. | (ein Tor) schießen |
| fast | adjective | a fast runner | = quick ≠ slow | He is a very fast runner. | schnell |
Copy a prompt, change the words in [brackets] and use it in the AI tool we use at school. ⚠️ Always check the results – and learn the words yourself. AI makes the list, you make the progress!
Choose A or B. Copy the prompt and use it in the AI tool we use at school.
Paste your checked result here and add your 3 own words at the end.