# Unlike

Most of us use emojis and although a well-placed emoji can add nuance to positive statement, adding them to tragic news stories - as USA Today did – just looks sinister, says Rhiannon Lucy Cosslet.

1) Make up your mind..

- Take ten minutes to discuss the statements.

- Do you frequently use emoticons or emojis? Why (not)? When?

- Why is the emoji so popular?

- Could they be inappropriate under certain circumstances?

- Do you know the differences between emoticons, emojis and kamojis?

2) Using emotions and expressions without emoji’s…

- Look at the Idioms list. Discuss their meanings with a partner. Look up the expressions you do not know.
- Choose 1 expression from every column (so 10 in total) and write a funny story around/using them.

3) Collocations (Word Combinations)

Often words are not freely combined by speakers because, despite the different possibilities we have, we always tend to use the same chunks stored in our memory as a whole. For instance, nobody says "I will talk about my opinion", but: "I will give my opinion". If you know these word combinations it will help you improve your accuracy and fluency as you will not need to stop to choose every single word you use. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for you to be aware of the existence of collocations and to learn to identify them in the input you receive. Also, you'll find it much easier to understand native speakers if you recognize collocations when used without emoji’s ;)

- Use at least 10 collocations from the lists to write a short summary of a book or film/series that you have recently read or seen (250-300 words approx).

4) Opinion piece…recent news events..

Write your opinion piece. Use at least 300 words. It should contain a title, an introduction, a main part ( in which you explain your points of view and give examples if necessary) and a conclusion.

Also include at least 10 new expressions and collocations.