Idioms - to teach or not to teach?

Most researchers today have reached the consensus that idioms are, by nature,
semantically non compositional entities (Cacciari, 1993; Chomsky, 1965; Colombo,
1993; Cronk & Schweigert, 1992; Cutler, 1982; Flores d’Arcais, 1993; Gibbs, 1980;
McGlone, Glucksberg, & Cacciari, 1994; Titone, 1994; Titone & Connine, 1999). In
other words, the sum of an idiom’s individual parts as in ​to let + the cat + out + of +
the bag​ does not lead one to the figurative meaning of that idiom, to reveal a secret.
This is perhaps best expressed by the classic and most often cited Oxford English
Dictionary (1989):
A form of expression, grammatical construction, phrase, etc., peculiar to a language;
a peculiarity of phraseology approved by the usage of the language, and often
having a significance other than its grammatical or logical one. (OED 1989 s.v.
idiom)

Amusing note:
Consider the following interaction between Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock in the film
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Nimoy, 1986).

Captain Kirk: If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those
whales are being released.
Dr. Spock: How will playing cards help?

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1156198.pdf
https://www.londonschool.com/blog/why-teach-idioms/

Advantages
1. Idioms help learners to encounter and understand the workings of natural
human language; that is, they help them to gain a deeper knowledge of the
creative expression of human thought and language development over time.
2. Idioms are so common in everyday speech that Hoffman (1984), referring to
native speakers of English, estimated their usage at 7,000 per week, although
this admittedly has yet to be corroborated by empirical evidence. SInce usage
is so common - it would make sense to teach learners examples to prepare
them for speaking to a native user. While they may not need to produce
idioms actively, they might need passive awareness for comprehension.
3. Students very often describe situations for which an idiom is the best way of
expressing what they want to say. Giving them the idiom therefore expands
their ability to communicate their meaning.
4. Learners are often keen to give a translation of an idiom in their language and
very often I can supply the equivalent expression in English. For example, I
used to teach a lot of French students in London and they taught me “La
prunelle de mes yeux” (the plum of my eyes vs the apple of my eye).​ ​This was
 great for relationship building as it inspired lots of conversation about our two
languages.
5. It’s difficult to avoid idiomatic language altogether, and many expressions
which seem natural to a native speaker have a metaphorical meaning which,
once understood, clarifies the expression for learners. For example native
speakers often use the expression ‘fed up’ to mean bored and frustrated
because they have had enough of something. But how much easier is it to
remember once you understand that this feeling has arisen because you have
‘eaten’ something until you are completely full of it?
6. Idioms are common in English for Specific Purposes, because specialist
areas often develop their own terms and phrases for specialist situations. For
example in Business English we often talk about ‘thinking outside the box’ to
mean not being constrained by conventional thinking.
7. Idioms are an enjoyable way of using language and enjoyment helps us to
learn more effectively.
8. A learner may feel more comfortable if they can produce native like utterances
in their social group. It can act as a confidence raiser and motivator to achieve
this level of proficiency.
Disadvantages
1. Some feel that idioms are difficult to teach and that they create more
problems than they solve—perhaps because, as Kadden (1996) states
“Idioms are tricky little devils. They travel incognito. Seeing them in print or
hearing them doesn’t necessarily offer any hints to their true personalities.
Taking them apart and analyzing their components is akin to examining an
alien from outer space. They just don’t volunteer many clues.”
2. Idioms are such “specialized lexicalized items” that perhaps language
learners are best left on their own to acquire them when traveling abroad or
when coming into close contact with native speakers.
3. It is best not to focus on idioms since there is so much non-idiomatic material
to learn in a second language class, teaching idioms would presumably come
at the expense of other, more important, aspects of language learning.
4. It may well be redundant depending on the learner’s needs - if they need
English for a specific purpose, Idiomatic knowledge probably won’t be
required. Imagine an Italian employee working in a coffee shop in London who
wants to improve their English to deliver better service - will idiomatic
language really help?
5. Teacher’s may feel pressured to teach language they themselves don’t
understand. For example, I have taught students “kick the bucket” as an
informal way of describing someone’s death. Inevitably, the question of ​why?
arises. I have no answer for this and the student immediately questions why
would you use a phrase that you don’t understand.
Example 2 “How can ​a fat chance​ and ​a slim chance​ be the same?”
 6. To compound the difficulties of learning an idiomatic phrase, learners will
encounter shortening of many phrases.
E.g.
● The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
● The grass is always greener on the other side
● The grass is always greener
(is this a disadvantage?)
7. There are dangers associated with teaching inappropriate usage/over usage
of idioms. According to IELTS ADVANTAGE.COM, the following are issues in
IELTS exams - using informal idiomatic language in writing tasks (e.g. data
analysis, processes, essays), overusing idioms in the speaking sections,
using idioms out of context or in the opposite sense, mixing word order of
idioms, overthinking during speaking to try and produce an idiom.

Pros & Cons of teaching Idioms

Pros

- It teaches about the culture

- They are engaging (amusing at times) and therefore help acquiring the
language more efficiently

- They are easy to remember (once the meaning of the expression has been
clarified) (retention)

- Build fluency (help attain automaticity)

- Makes the user sound more natural – a native-like command of English

- They increase communicative competence (interact appropriately with others

by knowing what to say, to whom, when, where, and how)

- They are often seen in written texts so teaching them helps reading skills as
well – ex: Newspaper headlines

- Create awareness of various combinatory possibilities of a word and extends

the vocabulary base of the learner

- a person’s language proficiency level can be assessed based on his/her good

grasp of / usage of idioms.
 - Beneficial as a cognitive process bec learners need to select accurate and
relevant idiomatic words to convey their ideas

Cons

-The meaning might be difficult to grasp (especially if the context is missing)

-They are fixed and cannot be adapted/changed so learners might make mistakes
(trying to change the expressions etc. (correct: to sit on the fence, incorrect: to sit
on the fences)

- a problem for non-native speakers is that the frequency with which they
encounter idioms is lower. Either they are not exposed to enough native
speakers or they haven’t read English texts,​ ​stories​, literature

- there is a lack of available teaching materials that specifically address the

teaching of idioms in a typical classroom setting.

- contextual reference is needed to teach them. Teachers need to be aware of the

conceptual metaphor, or how much knowledge of the target language the
student has, in order for them to be able to understand idioms

References

https://www.teflcourse.net/blog/teaching-english-idioms-as-an-important-part-of-la
nguage-acquisition-ittt-tefl-blog/

http://www.wordsworthelt.com/blog/importance-teaching-idioms-proverbs-esl-learn
ers/

How to teach idioms

Cooper (1998) presents concrete teaching and learning suggestions that relate to
Gardner‟s theory of multiple intelligences:
1. Choosing Idioms – It is important to find those that are frequently encountered
in everyday situations that are not grammatically complex and have
transparent figurative meanings. L2-learners benefit from starting with idioms
identical in both languages before moving on to those that require more
practice and explanation.
2. Discussing Idioms – Learners often lack the knowledge to comprehend an
idiom, simply because they do not know what figurative language is. “The
teacher can lead a discussion about metaphors, similes, and idioms and the
purpose they fulfill in speech and writing” (Ibid., p. 262).
3. Defining Idioms – After the initial discussion, the teacher should “present the
new idiom within the larger context of a short paragraph or a dialogue” (Ibid.,
p. 262). If the information about how the figurative meaning originated is
available this can be used to contrast the literal and figurative meaning. The
degree of formality should also be explained before letting students practice
idioms in different constructed situations.
4. Dividing Idioms into Categories – “Dividing idioms into thematic categories will
make them easier to learn, for the student can study them as groups
composed of elements that have common features rather than as lists of
unrelated expressions to be memorized” (Ibid., p. 263).
5. Drawing Idioms – The relationship between the literal and figurative meaning
of an idiom can be illustrated by using pictures. The class could create a
dictionary of idiomatic sayings, which then can be illustrated or developed by
interviewing relatives about their favorite idioms.
6. Dramatizing Idioms – Since misinterpretations of idioms can easily lead to
humorous situations, these can be acted out. By creating skits or playing
charades the class can create a game where the literal meaning is acted out
and the figurative has to be guessed.
7. Retelling Exercise – The students retell a story made up by the teacher, using
as many idioms as possible.
8. Add-on Story – The teacher starts the narrative by using one of the idioms
written on the board, after which each student adds a sentence including one
of the idioms.
9. Discuss Idioms from Newspaper Comic Strips - Each student selects a comic
strip containing an idiomatic expression. These are then written down on the
board and discussed.
10. Idioms in Cartoons – The teacher collects samples where the literal meaning
and the figurative meaning are used to achieve humorous situations and
discusses it with the students.
11. Idioms from TV Shows – “Running lists of idioms can be compiled from TV
shows” (Ibid., p. 264), shows can be shown in class and the idioms discussed.
12. Paragraph Completion – Students complete a paragraph or dialogue with the
appropriate idiom and can be shown that they were able to use the correct
one because of the context provided.