Teaching Idioms Research Articles

Idiom Comprehension using Multimodal Teaching Approach among Zanzibar University Students

The present study aims at investigating idiom comprehension through multimodal teaching approach among Zanzibar University students. The participants of the study were 120 male and female students and selected randomly. All of the students speak Swahili as their first language. The participants enrolled in a 3-year English program at the Department of Languages, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Zanzibar University, divided into two groups, the control and experimental groups. There were 60 students in each group with an age range between 20 to 30. Both groups were presented with the same twenty English idioms through different methods. The control group was advised to review the list of idioms using a traditional method, while the experimental group was presented with the idioms using a multimodal teaching approach. An idiom comprehension test was administered to both groups. The results showed that from a comparative t-test indicated that the students taught idioms comprehension using multimodal method had recorded a higher mean score (37.7) as compared to the use of a traditional method of teaching of idioms (25.55). This implies that to increase EFL/ESL students’ proficiency in idiom comprehension, teachers should implement more multimodal activities in the classroom so that the students will have better opportunities in comprehending and applying idioms. The study provides pedagogical suggestions for using a multimodal approach to teaching English idioms.

The Application of Conceptual Metaphor to English Vocabulary Teaching

This paper considers cognitive linguistics as the guide to explore the feasibility of vocabulary teaching based on conceptual metaphor. Following the classification of conceptual metaphor, the paper probes into concrete effects of vocabulary teaching under the guidance of ontological metaphor, structural metaphor and orientational metaphor. Through detailed analysis, conceptual metaphor illuminates polysemy teaching, lexical collocation teaching and idiom teaching. Hence, it contributes to tackling the existed problems in the course of vocabulary teaching and cultivating students’ competence of cognitive acquisition.

Application of Cognitive Linguistics in the Teaching of Japanese Idioms

The teaching of idioms is an important part of Japanese teaching. However, many students are fettered by traditional learning methods and learning thinking. They believe that idioms can only be acquired by rote memorization. Incomplete understanding and learning results in low learning efficiency, and some students even avoid learning idioms. From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, this article explores the teaching application of Japanese idioms and provides new ideas for idiom learning.

Exploring the meanings and grammatical functions of idioms in teaching Chinese as a second language

AbstractIdioms are an important part of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL), but current research on the meanings and grammatical functions of idioms is still quite weak. This study selected commonly used idioms in TCSL, extracted sentences containing these idioms from large‐scale modern Chinese corpora, and manually annotated the meaning and grammatical functions of each idiom in these sentences. It then analyzed the characteristics of the idioms in TCSL and revealed the importance of meanings and grammatical functions in idiom teaching. This study further examined the problems of the idioms in textbooks and learner's dictionaries, proposed methods and principles for setting example sentences, and introduced how to carry out idiom teaching. This research not only provides theoretical and practical references for Chinese language teachers and learners, but also helps to promote the development of textbook editing, dictionary compilation, and idiom teaching.

Teaching idioms with a color component reflecting a person's internal world

The present article aims at providing a comprehensive account of demonstrating the importance of the cognitive linguistic approach in teaching idioms with color components. This way of teaching can be considered as worthwhile and enjoyable substitute to the traditional method of teaching idioms, and hence to create more colorful and enjoyable atmosphere in the English classroom.

ԴԱՐՁՎԱԾՔՆԵՐԻ ՈՒՍՈՒՑՄԱՆ ԻՆՏԵՐԱԿՏԻՎ ՄԵԹՈԴՆԵՐԸ ՈՐՊԵՍ ՄՈՏԻՎԱՑԻԱՅԻ ՄԻՋՈՑ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԻ ՈՒՍՈՒՑՄԱՆ ԳՈՐԾԸՆԹԱՑՈՒՄ / INTERACTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING IDIOMСS AS A MEANS OF MOTIVATION FOR ESL STUDENTS

The article examines the role of idioms in the teaching of a foreign language as well as modern methods of teaching them. Special attention is paid to the use of idioms as one of the indicators of language proficiency. The authors introduce an interactive method of teaching idioms with the help of picture cards as one of the most effective methods, as well as other methods and types of exercises that can be included in the teacher's teaching kit as additional tools. A list of online resources is provided at the end of the article to help educators and other specialists.

Learning L2 Idioms through Visual Mnemonics

Due to the importance of idioms, many researchers and teachers have long sought to find ways of making idiom teaching and learning more effective. This study compared three visual mnemonic devices (pictures, mental imagery, and movie clips) in terms of their effect on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. Ninety intermediate level EFL learners who were preparing themselves for IELTS participated in this study. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each group was taught idioms using one of the afore-mentioned visual mnemonic devices. Receptive and productive tests of idioms were administered to all groups after the treatment. The one-way ANOVA procedure was used to analyze the collected data. The results revealed statistically significant differences among these devices, with pictures method being the most effective on both recognition and recall of idioms. The findings of the study can have significant theoretical as well as pedagogical implications for language researchers, textbook designers, curriculum developers, teachers, and language learners.

Learning L2 Idioms: The Role of Verbal Mnemonics

Researchers and teaching practitioners have been trying to find more effective methods of teaching idioms due to the significance of these expressions in language learning contexts. The present study sought to investigate the effects of three verbal mnemonic tools (grouping, stories, and conceptual metaphor) on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. Ninety EFL learners at intermediate language proficiency level who were preparing themselves to take IELTS participated in this study. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions and was instructed idioms using one of the verbal mnemonic devices. The collected data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA procedure. The results showed statistically significant differences among these devices, with ‘stories’ being the most effective on recognition and ‘conceptual metaphor’ being the most beneficial in the recall of idioms. The findings of the study can have potential theoretical implications for researchers and pedagogical implications for curriculum developers, language teachers, and learners.

Idiom Teaching and Learning in Vietnam: Challenges and Activities

The demands for learning English as a foreign language have been increasing over the last fifteen years in Vietnam. It is commonly believed that idiomatic expressions are not important in learning English as a foreign language. Strutz (1996), however, maintained that no one can be said to be really proficient in a language until he or she possesses an idiomatic command of it (vii). Drawing from relevant research and studies in the field of figurative language acquisition, this paper aims to present current issues of teaching and learning idiomatic language in Vietnam followed by some recommended teaching activities. Keywords: idiom, idiomatic language, idiomatic competence DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/67-04 Publication date: April 30 th 2020

Home Cultures and Idiom Processing: A Short Cut to Encyclopaedic Assumptions of Idioms

This paper forms a part of my PhD research on idiom comprehension and processing through home cultures. The article argues that using home cultural assumptions in teaching idioms could result in easy and quick processing of such figurative aspects of speech. Shedding light on the nature of teaching, however, reveals that teaching English in Algeria is a fairly target culture-based process. This can slow the comprehension process and on some occasions, confuse the learner. This paper reveals the results of a set of semistructured interviews and comprehension tests that were conducted with teachers and learners. Learners were divided into two groups and taught throughout a four-week period using teaching materials that assumed home and target culture lessons of idioms, respectively. Students sat for a pre- and a post-test and were also interviewed after finishing the lessons. The results revealed that students recorded positive reactions toward home culture based teaching of idioms. Comprehension tests also reported a significant difference between the two groups’ performance on idiom comprehension.

Rural ESL Teachers’ Acumen in Teaching Idioms: Traditional and Modern Methodology

Idioms pose countless barriers to natural language processing and linguistic theory. Investigating how teachers teach idioms in schools using various methodologies is important. The therapy of idioms is fundamentally distinct in traditional and modern methods. Thus, this article has outlined the placement of idioms in traditional and modern methodologies and determined the acumen of English as second language (ESL) teachers in teaching idioms. Additionally, this article has uncovered the problems concerning idiom teaching by comparing ways on how idioms are handled in traditional versus modern methods through illustrating teachers’ cognition and views. Data were collected from four rural ESL teachers through qualitative study by using interview protocol. Findings showed that rural ESL teachers prefer to apply traditional method in teaching idioms as they are akin to explicit instructions. The use of traditional and modern methods to teach idioms generally varies depending on teachers and the method’s unique implication on the learners. Thus, this research paper could be a guidance for the rural ESL teachers from all around the world to make instructional decisions in teaching of idioms by taking into account rural pupils’ proficiency level, preferred learning style and their socioeconomic background.

A Study of Idiom Teaching from the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor

As a part of vocabulary learning, the idiom is an important part of language teaching. This study is to investigate whether conceptual metaphor can promote idioms’ teaching and learning or not. In the course of study, we make use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, collecting data through the questionnaire survey and do experiments in teaching and learning idioms. We get the conclusion: the T value of the experimental group and the control group is p<0.05, the pre-test and post-test values is p<0.05. It is feasible to apply the conceptual metaphor in idiom teaching and learning.

An An Assessment of Teaching Idioms at College Level

The present study aims at investigating the presence of teaching idioms at English Department - College of Basic Education syllabi and the methods used in teaching idioms. A test, containing 45 idioms, was given to 40 fourth grade students to investigate their knowledge about idioms acquired through their learning at college. The researcher modified a test based on Vanderniet (2015) and Tran (2003), in which they have focused only on the most frequent idioms. The results of the syllabi analysis showed an unexpected result that only four hours are devoted to the teaching of idioms or any other figurative expressions throughout the whole four academic years at college. Teaching idioms is embedded within the syllabus of four coursebooks, which are: Communication (first grade), Communication (second grade), Culture (third grade) and Translation (third grade). The results of the test coincides with the lack of teaching idioms since, unfortunately, 21% of the students passed the test successfully. The neglect is due partly to the program designers who didn't pay attention to the teaching of the figurative language. Teachers also have a negative role in this avoidance and focusing on the other aspects of languages like grammar in teaching English language.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ СОЦИОКУЛЬТУРНОЙ КОМПЕТЕНЦИИ НА ЗАНЯТИЯХ ПО РУССКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ КАК ИНОСТРАННОМУ В НЕЯЗЫКОВОМ ВУЗЕ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ФРАЗЕОЛОГИЗМОВ)

By the example of phraseological units studying in classes of Russian as a foreign language the article considers the topical problem of sociocultural competence formation among foreign students at non-linguistic universities. The author distinguishes the stages of phraseological units studying, refers to semantization ways: the detailed interpretation of phraseological units, their comparative analysis, the selection of synonymous or antonymous idioms, the introduction of an idiom in a dialogue, visibility, etc. The connection of teaching idioms with interactive teaching methods is traced. To consolidate the material and activate phraseological units in speech, a system of exercises and speech tasks is proposed.

Eine harte Nuss zu knacken«. Phraseologismen im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache

In the present article I paid attention to teaching idioms in German as a second language. Is the knowledge of idioms possible to master? How many idioms does a student of foreign language need? How should we teach them? How can an idiomatic optimum be achieved? The article starts with a definition of phraseology and idiomatic competence. Then it presents my experience with teaching and knowledge of idioms by students.

Using Alternative Evaluation and Assessment Methods in Teaching Turkish Idioms to Foreigners

Bu çalışmada, tamamlayıcı ölçme ve değerlendirme teknikleriyle (tanılayıcı dallanmış ağaç, yapılandırılmış grid, kelime ilişkilendirme testi, ürün dosyası, performans görevi, kavram haritası, proje görevi ve grup değerlendirme) tasarlanmış öğretim sürecinin Türkçe deyimlerin öğretiminde uygulanabilirliğinin ve bunun Türkçe öğrenen yabancı öğrenciler tarafından nasıl değerlendirildiğinin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada, nitel araştırma desenlerinden durum çalışması yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma, Yemen Sana’a Üniversitesi Diller Fakültesi Türk Dili ve Tercüme Bölümündeki 20 dördüncü sınıf öğrencisiyle yürütülmüştür. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen Deyim Testi (çoktan seçmeli, eşleştirme, açıklama), Yarı Yapılandırılmış Öğrenci Görüşme Formu ve Alternatif Ölçme Değerlendirme Etkinlikleri kullanılmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre, öğrencilerin deyimlerin öğretim sürecinde uygulanan tamamlayıcı ölçme ve değerlendirme tekniklerine ilişkin görüşlerinin olumlu yönde olduğu, bu tekniklerin deyimlerin öğretimini kolaylaştırdığı ve süreci daha zevkli hâle getirdiği görülmüştür.

삽화구성을 통한 관용어 이해지도가 청각장애학생의 관용어 이해능력과 자기효능감에 미치는 효과

삽화구성을 통한 관용어 이해지도가 청각장애학생의 관용어 이해능력과 자기효능감에 미치는 효과

The Effect of Input Enhanced Task Activities on L2 Idiom Learning

This study examined how three task activities with receptive (R) reading, cloze (CZ) and receptive-productive (RP) integration differently lead to L2 idiom recall and retention by Korean EFL adult learners when they are enhanced with bolding, L1 glossing and three repetitions. It further looks into what features of the enhanced input tasks influence L2 idiom gains. The theories of input enhancement, receptive and productive task input are the basis for the present study. The results revealed that overall the three tasks contributed to high score of L2 idiom gains in immediate receptive, productive recall and delayed receptive retention, except delayed productive retention. There was no significant difference in idiom recall and retention by the three tasks. The descriptive analysis showed R group performed better on immediate receptive recall, while CZ group led the highest score of immediate productive recall. In terms of retention gap between immediate and delayed tests, the three tasks yielded high percentage of receptive idiom retention. The CZ task yielded the highest percentage of receptive retention but relatively low percentage of productive retention, while the R group retained most memory of productive knowledge. The results suggest some implications for effective L2 idiom teaching materials using input enhanced tasks such as bolding, L1 glossing and repetition.

A tradução de expressões idiomáticas presentes na dublagem do seriado “El Chavo del 8” para o ensino de espanhol como língua estrangeira

Idioms are formulaic constructions specific to each language and culture that, in the field of teaching a foreign language, deserve special attention. The unconscious translation process performed by students in the classroom should conflict when literally translating such expressions, because not all of them have a grammatically and syntactically similar equivalent in the target language. In this article, we try to offer a theoretical basis that will help teachers understand how to position themselves in front of students when teaching idioms in Spanish and how to approach this content. To achieve this, we are based on the definition of idioms given by Dicionario Priberam da Lingua Portuguesa, on the theoretical basis of idiomatic expression (XATARA, 1998), equivalence (HURTADO ALBIR, 2001), levels of learning of idiomatic expressions (RIOS, 2010), and translation in the acquisition of foreign languages (HARBORD, 1992). To help with this process, we present fifteen examples of Spanish idioms extracted from nine episodes of the Mexican series El Chavo del 8, with their respective meanings and equivalences in Portuguese.

Preserving cultural heritage by teaching idioms to young learners as part of imaginative language in Setswana

Teachers need creative strategies and techniques when teaching idioms in Setswana. However, they do not know what idioms are nor are they aware that through idioms cultural heritage can be preserved and that idioms can be taught as part of imaginative language, especially in Grade 3. As a result, teachers and learners in Grade 3 Setswana classes lack the understanding of the role of idioms and language proficiency in using and writing idioms. The aim of this paper was to show how intervention could help teachers with new strategies for teaching idioms. Constructivism and the five subtheories of decoding idioms were used (Liu 2008). The project consisted of two research-based phases and the findings showed that teachers can now use their own initiative and creativity in language teaching and the learners learned and retained the idioms they have learnt.