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E9 M - Phrasal verbs and idiomatic chunks in context

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E9 M - Phrasal verbs and idiomatic chunks in context

Mini-Beschreibung: Erschließe einen begrenzten Satz häufig verwendeter phrasal verbs und fixed expressions aus Alltag, workplace und media contexts. Du verstehst sie zuerst im Kontext und nutzt sie danach selbst.

Level: Klasse 9, M-Niveau, Baden-Württemberg; B1-orientiert. Learning loop: English first → understand → respond → ask → hint → improve → use again.

Media starter: Watch the first part. Do not translate every word. Listen for words around the phrasal verbs. Then say: What helps you guess the meaning?

Deutsch-Hilfe

Nutze zuerst Situation, Bild, Tonfall und Wörter direkt vor oder nach dem Ausdruck. Schlage erst danach nach.

Einleitung

Phrasal verbs are common in spoken and written English. A verb and a short particle can form one meaning, for example set up, look into or turn down. Fixed expressions are useful chunks such as That makes sense or I see your point, but …. Learn them as whole chunks, not as isolated word lists.

Your target set

Phrasal verb	Meaning in simple English	Typical context
find out	learn or discover	everyday / media
figure out	understand or solve	everyday
set up	arrange or prepare	workplace
look into	investigate or check	workplace / media
deal with	handle a situation	workplace
point out	draw attention to something	discussion / media
carry on	continue	everyday
catch up	get up to date	everyday / school
turn down	refuse or reject	everyday / workplace
come up with	produce an idea or answer	school / workplace

Useful fixed expressions: That makes sense. · It depends on … · As far as I know, … · The point is … · I’m not sure about that. · I see your point, but … · Could you say that again? · Let’s move on.

I-can-Ziele

Listening: I can understand the main idea when familiar phrasal verbs appear in a natural conversation.
Reading: I can use context to work out the meaning of an unfamiliar chunk.
Speaking: I can use several target chunks while discussing, comparing and reacting.
Writing: I can write a coherent short message or report with suitable chunks.
Mediation: I can pass on the key message without translating every word.
Language awareness: I can notice when a phrasal verb can or cannot be split.

Vorwissen aktivieren

Quick start — 3 minutes

Kontext: What could turn down mean in “She turned down the offer”?
Wortbildung: Which word changes the meaning of look in look into?
Kommunikation: Which chunk can you use when you partly agree but want to add another view?
Strategie: Name two clues that help you guess meaning without translating everything.

Hint

Look at the object, the situation and the result of the action. For discussion, start with I see your point, but …

Input und Training

Listening and Viewing

First listen: gist. What is the speaker mainly doing: explaining, arguing, telling a story or giving instructions?

Second listen: notice. Write down three phrasal verbs. Add only a short English clue, not a full translation.

Third listen: use. Pause after one example. Say a new sentence with the same phrasal verb.

Close listening — find out: First watch for the situation. Then explain find out in easy English and make one new sentence.

Everyday English extension: Listen to a short section only. Notice turn-taking and useful expressions. Keep the active target list above; do not try to learn every new item.

Workplace task: Watch a selected section. Sort examples into problem, communication or progress. Then compare with a partner.

Deutsch-Hilfe

Beim ersten Hören nur die Hauptaussage erfassen. Beim zweiten Hören gezielt nach Chunks suchen. Untertitel dürfen als Hilfe genutzt werden; danach einen kurzen Abschnitt ohne Untertitel erneut hören.

Reading in context

Context A — workplace chat All names and data are fictional.

Maya: We need to set up the school podcast room before Friday. Leo: I’ll look into the microphone problem. Maya: Great. We also need to come up with a short intro. Leo: That makes sense. I’ll ask Sam to point out the most important changes. Maya: Perfect. If we finish early, we can carry on with episode two.

Context B — media update

A local youth magazine is trying to find out why fewer students use its website. The team will look into the reading habits of its audience. One editor points out that short videos are popular, but another says, “It depends on the topic.” The team wants to come up with a clearer homepage and check the results next month.

Reading move: Underline the situation around each chunk. Then explain the chunk in easy English.

Kontextwortschatz

Word / chunk	Simple clue	Example
offer	something you can accept or refuse	She turned down the offer.
issue	a problem or topic	We need to deal with this issue.
audience	people who watch, read or listen	The audience liked the clip.
deadline	the latest time to finish	We must finish before the deadline.
update	new information	Let’s catch up after the update.
solution	an answer to a problem	We figured out a solution.

Word-learning rule: Save the whole phrase plus one short example: look into a problem, not only look.

Functional grammar: how the chunk behaves

Some phrasal verbs can be split when they have an object.

set up the room → set the room up → with a pronoun: set it up turn down the offer → turn the offer down → with a pronoun: turn it down

Other combinations stay together:

look into the problem → look into it deal with the issue → deal with it come up with an idea → come up with it

Useful rule: Do not move the particle just because another phrasal verb allows it. Learn the pattern with the chunk.

Deutsch-Hilfe

Bei trennbaren Verben steht ein Pronomen häufig in der Mitte: turn it down. Verbindungen wie look into oder come up with bleiben zusammen.

Pronunciation and fluency

Speak in chunks, not word by word:

Could you / look into it / today? I see your point / but I’m not sure / about that. We need to / come up with / another idea.

Stress the important words. Keep small grammar words lighter. Aim for clear meaning, not accent-free speech.

Private practice: Record 20–30 seconds only if you want to. Keep the recording on your own device unless your teacher gives a clear, safe class procedure. No unasked uploads.

Speaking: discuss, compare, negotiate

Scenario: Your fictional media team has one hour to prepare a school news clip. You have a broken microphone, two possible topics and a tight deadline.

Use at least four target items. Include one reaction chunk and one question.

Useful starts: The point is … I see your point, but … Could you say that again? Let’s look into … We need to come up with …

Spontaneous round: Your partner changes one condition. React without preparing a full script.

Writing

Task: Write a coherent 100–130 word email to a fictional project team. Explain a problem, what you have already done and what should happen next. Use at least four target chunks.

Possible structure: opening → situation → action → next step → friendly close.

Privacy: Use fictional names and invented project data. Keep your own text. Do not send private application, CV or social-media data to external tools.

Mediation

German note: „Das Medienteam hat noch keine Lösung für das Tonproblem. Alex prüft heute die Technik. Morgen soll das Team eine neue Idee für den Einstieg entwickeln. Wenn die Aufnahme nicht klappt, wird der Termin verschoben.“

Task: Tell an English-speaking team member the key message in 50–70 words. Do not translate sentence by sentence. Use at least two target chunks.

Hint

Start with the situation. Then give the action and the next step. Useful chunks: look into, come up with, deal with.

Hilfestufen

Hint 1 — Notice: Circle the verb + particle or the fixed expression. Hint 2 — Context: Ask: Who? What problem? What result? Hint 3 — Build: Copy one useful sentence frame and change the content.

Extra Deutsch-Hilfe

Wenn Du festhängst: Bestimme zuerst die Funktion des Chunks, zum Beispiel „weitermachen“, „ablehnen“, „untersuchen“ oder „eine Idee entwickeln“. Formuliere danach wieder auf Englisch.

Feedback and improve

Use two strengths + one next step.

Feedback: Is the meaning clear?
Wortschatz: Is the chunk suitable for the context?
Grammatik: Is the object in the right place?
Kohärenz: Do the sentences connect clearly?
Überarbeitung: Improve one sentence, then use the improved chunk again in a new sentence.

AI check: If you use AI feedback, check facts, examples and sources. Keep your original version so you can compare what changed.

Fehleranalyse

Find and correct the problem.

We turned down it.
Can you look the problem into?
She came with a good idea up.
I see your point because I disagree.
We need to set up it before lunch.

Check

Possible corrections: We turned it down. · Can you look into the problem? · She came up with a good idea. · I see your point, but I disagree. · We need to set it up before lunch.

Transfer: use again

Choose one target chunk and use it in three settings:

Everyday: a plan with friends.
Workplace: a project problem.
Media: a short news or content discussion.

Change the situation, tense or object. Keep the core meaning.

Can-do-Check

Mark each statement: yes / almost / not yet.

I can guess a chunk from context before using German help.
I can understand several target chunks in moderate natural speech.
I can react with a fixed expression without reading a full script.
I can place pronouns correctly in set it up and turn it down.
I can write a short coherent text with at least four useful chunks.
I can mediate the key message instead of translating everything.

Next course: Phrasal verbs and idiomatic chunks in interaction.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What does “look into a problem” mean? (investigate a problem) (!ignore a problem) (!repeat a problem) (!invent a problem)

Which sentence is correct with a pronoun? (We turned it down.) (!We turned down it.) (!We it turned down.) (!We down turned it.)

Which chunk is useful when you partly agree? (I see your point, but ...) (!Carry on it.) (!Turn down the point.) (!Set up your point.)

What does “come up with an idea” mean? (produce an idea) (!refuse an idea) (!copy an idea) (!forget an idea)

Which phrase means “continue”? (carry on) (!turn down) (!find out) (!set up)

Which sentence fits a workplace problem? (We need to deal with this issue.) (!We need to catch this issue up.) (!We need to turn this issue down.) (!We need to point this issue on.)

What does “find out” usually mean? (discover information) (!hide information) (!refuse information) (!delete information)

Which form is correct? (Can you look into it?) (!Can you look it into?) (!Can you into look it?) (!Can you it look into?)

Which fixed expression can move a discussion forward? (Let’s move on.) (!Let’s turn down.) (!Let’s point out it.) (!Let’s set on.)

What is a good first strategy for an unknown chunk? (use the context around it) (!translate every single word first) (!ignore the whole sentence) (!guess only from the first letter)

Memory

set up	arrange
look into	investigate
deal with	handle
carry on	continue
turn down	reject
find out	discover
figure out	solve
come up with	create

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
look into	a technical problem
turn down	an unwanted offer
set up	a meeting
catch up	after missing a lesson
point out	an important detail
come up with	a new idea

Kreuzworträtsel

continue	What do you do when you carry on?
reject	What do you do when you turn down an offer?
investigate	What do you do when you look into a problem?
solution	What can you figure out for a problem?
context	What helps you guess the meaning around an unknown chunk?
particle	What short word combines with a verb in many phrasal verbs?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Chunk-Sammlung: Find five target chunks in this course and add one new English example for each.
Mini-Dialog: Write and perform a six-line everyday dialogue with three target chunks.
Bildimpuls: Choose one Commons image from the course and describe a short situation in which two target chunks fit.
Fluency: Read three chunked sentences aloud twice and mark where you pause naturally.

Standard

Podcast-Plan: Create a one-minute fictional podcast plan and use at least five target chunks.
Workplace-Rollenspiel: Negotiate how to solve a fictional team problem. React spontaneously to one new condition.
Media-Vergleich: Compare two short media messages and explain which chunks would help discuss their claims.
E-Mail: Write a 120-word fictional project email, then revise it after peer feedback.

Schwer

Mediation: Summarise a short German school notice for an English-speaking visitor without translating sentence by sentence.
Fehlerwerkstatt: Create five realistic phrasal-verb errors and an answer key explaining the correction in simple English.
Mini-Präsentation: Present a two-minute plan for a fictional media project and answer two spontaneous questions.
Transferprojekt: Build one everyday, one workplace and one media scenario that reuse the same three chunks with different wording.

Lernkontrolle

Kontext erschließen: Read a new short dialogue containing two unfamiliar chunks. Explain which context clues help you infer a plausible meaning.
Sprachhandeln: In a partner task, negotiate a solution to a fictional deadline problem and use suitable reaction chunks naturally.
Grammatik im Gebrauch: Rewrite a short message by replacing nouns with pronouns and keep the phrasal-verb word order correct.
Schreibtransfer: Write a coherent 120-word workplace or media message that uses at least five target items for a clear communicative purpose.
Sprachmittlung: Pass on the key information from a short German note in English, selecting what the listener needs instead of translating every sentence.
Reflexion: Choose two chunks you still avoid. Explain why and design one practice sentence for each in a new context.

Lernnachweis

For a successful Lernnachweis, show that you can:

understand the main idea of a short B1-oriented listening or reading input with familiar chunks,
infer meaning from context and explain your reasoning,
use several phrasal verbs and fixed expressions appropriately in speaking and writing,
control key patterns such as set it up, turn it down and look into it,
react, compare, negotiate and ask for clarification,
mediate key information without full translation,
improve your own text after feedback and explain at least one change,
work with fictional or privacy-safe data and keep personal recordings private unless a safe class procedure is agreed.

OERs zum Thema

Media note: The images are hosted on Wikimedia Commons. Verified licences: Conversation.png and Listening icon.png — CC BY-SA 4.0; Speech bubbles.svg — CC BY-SA 3.0; Microphone icon.svg and Newspaper Pinhead icon.svg — CC0; Team Meeting.jpg — CC BY 2.0. Check each file page for author and licence details. The learning videos are embedded from YouTube.

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