Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Work and Resources
Explore work and resources with eight useful expressions, including take stock of, scale back, phase out. Read the meanings and examples, then use the language in eight C1 discussion questions.
What’s in the worksheet?
- Eight expressions with meanings and example sentences
- Eight matching discussion questions
- One printable page
- Open-ended speaking practice
Use eight C1 expressions to examine workload and limited resources. Learners distinguish scaling back, phasing out and cutting corners, then consider bottlenecks and long-term benefits.
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A simple way to teach it
Before the lesson
Prepare the one-page discussion sheet, with no fixed answer key. Check that spreading yourself too thin means accepting more tasks than you can do well.
- Compare reducing an activity with gradually ending it. Explain why cut corners carries disapproval rather than simply describing efficiency.
- Discuss the eight questions about fair work, priorities and slow processes. Ask learners to identify evidence of a bottleneck instead of assuming the busiest person causes it.
- Propose an imaginary project revision using take stock of, scale back and in the long run. Evaluate what could be lost as well as saved.
Support and extension
Offer a club-event budget scenario for support. Extend by distinguishing necessary checks from avoidable delays, without treating every reduction as neglect.
Suggested approach. Adjust the pace and number of questions to suit your class.
