Collocations - Words that go together!

A problem that many ESL students face is collocations. What are collocations? Words that go together in a certain order. The native English speaker will feel like the expression sounds right it doesn't.

What is an example of a collocation? Let's use 'Salt and Pepper' as an example.

Source: www.tes.com - https://www.tes.com/lessons/GXxDALR09H8o1w/not-your-normal-salt-pepper-shakers

[NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE RAP GROUP 'Salt N' Pepa'].

Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Necessary#/media/File:Salt-N-Pepa-Very_Necessary_(album_cover).jpg

Why do we say 'Salt and Pepper' and not 'Pepper and Salt'? Structurally, the individual who says "Can you pass me the pepper and salt?" is not wrong. However native English speakers have grown accustomed to saying this in this order. In other words, the collocation is relative to the cultural preference in the order of the words. An example of the cultural preference would be the collocation "black and white". In English, this would be the correct order. In another language, say Spanish, you would express the collocation as "Blanco y negro" ("White and Black"). This preference goes into socio-linguistics, which is a topic for another day.

Questions regarding collocations:

Why is it "Aches and Pains" and not "Pains and Aches"?
Why is it "Help wanted' and not "I/We need help"?
Why is it "Book a flight" and not "Reserve a flight"?
Why is it "Fast food" and not "Quick food"?
Why do we eat a "Quick lunch", but not a "Fast lunch"?
Why is it "Day and Night" and not "Night and Day"?

This particular topic can be difficult for some students because the ideas expressed are usually processed in their native language (L1). So how to deal with this issue?

1. Introduce the idea of a particular collocation/collocations (Since I usually teach Beginner and Elementary students, they usually tend to blurt out the equivalent in L1, and the rest of the class catches on).
2. Go through an abbreviated process for vocabulary. This means going over (1) Meaning, (2) Pronunciation, and (3) Form. Except, students would typically figure out what the meaning is right away (e.g. "Salt and Pepper"). Stress the pronunciation (This includes the class repeating 2-3 times each vocab word/collocation, and then randomly selecting 1-2 students individually to say such vocab word/collocation out loud to further emphasize pronunciation). Lastly, form (whether the collocation are nouns; an adjective and a noun; etc...) to include correct order.
3. Have the students practice with each other (Pairwork or Group work) the collocations by asking each other relevant questions to elicit the correct collocation:
1. Example:
1. Students will be given a couple of pictures that express the collocation (For example, a picture of salt and pepper).
1.  
2. Source: www.tes.com - https://www.tes.com/lessons/GXxDALR09H8o1w/not-your-normal-salt-pepper-shakers
2. Student 1 holding up the picture above would ask Student 2 "If you are at the dinner table, and you want these, how would ask for them?". Student 2 would say/ask "Can you pass the salt and pepper, please?".
1. It is very important that not only the students understand the collocations, but also understand the target language associated with the activity set out. Make sure to be very clear with your instructions and demonstrate the production you seek out of the activity.

Collocations for the English language learner can be remedied with repetition, so he/she can come closer to expressing himself as a native English speaker.