Lost in Translation? Not Quite.
Grammar: Verb + preposition (dependent prepositions)
A Level 5 English lesson exploring culture.
What's in this lesson
A Level 5 (advanced) ESL lesson on culture, practising verb + preposition (dependent prepositions). The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: Lost in Translation? Not Quite.
In 2019, the Dutch researcher Erin Meyer published a deceptively simple grid. It placed countries along eight axes — from how directly they give feedback to how much they rely on relationships before doing business. What the grid revealed was not chaos but pattern: cultures cluster in predictable ways, and once you understand where a country sits, you can often predict what its business meetings will feel like before you walk in the door. Meyer had stumbled onto something linguists and anthropologists had long argued about: that communication style is not personality, it is infrastructure.
Vocabulary
- brush up on
- push back on
- stumble onto
- tune in to
Grammar: Verb + Preposition
- Verb + preposition: on
- She depends on context to interpret silence. — fixed preposition after verb
- Verb + preposition: to
- They referred to the grid before every meeting. — verb + to (not for/at)
Discussion questions
- Have you ever misunderstood someone from a different country because of communication style?
- Which matters more in professional communication: honesty or politeness?
- Do you think your country communicates directly or indirectly?
Lost in Translation? Not Quite.
Grammar: Verb + preposition (dependent prepositions)
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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