Teaching Idioms

Thomas C. Cooper
The Universityof Georgia,Athens
ABSTRACT Since idioms are figurative expressions that do not mean what they literally state
and since they are so frequently encountered in both oral and writren discourse, comprehend-
ing and producing idioms present language learners with a special vocabulary learning prob
lem. Idiom acquisition research, however, has uncovered a number of findings that have
pedagogical implications for idiom instruction. This article summarizes these research findings
and presents the language teacher with a systematic plan for teaching idioms to native lan-
guage learners, bilingual students, and foreign language learners.
-

ldioms belong to the category of nonliteral or be understood metaphorically. For example,

figurative language that also includes meta-
phors, similes, and proverbs. These forms of
language are difficult to understand and learn
because they do not mean what they literally
state. A metaphor, for example, is a nonliteral
usage of words in which one element, the
topic, is compared to another, the vehicle,
based on one or more shared features ( N i p
pold and Fey 1983). In the metaphor The ship
plows the sea, ship is the topic, plows is indicated in parentheses-would be readily
the vehicle, and the motion of the ship
through the water is compared to a plow
pushing through the ground. The comparison
of one thing to another is implied in a
metaphor. In a simile, the comparison is ex-
plicitly stated by the use of like or as. She is as
pure as the driven snow and He drinks like a
lish are similes. A proverb also uses words fig-
uratively, but the comparison is less obvious
than in metaphors and similes. In addition,
proverbs contain elements of folk wisdom, for
we are advised to follow (or not to follow) a
certain course of action, e.g., Let sleeping
dogs lie or Don tjudge a book by its cover.
An idiom is an expression whose meaning
cannot be predicted from the usual meanings
of its constituent elements (WebstersDictic
nary 1994). An idiom can have a literal mean-
ing, but its alternate, figurative meaning must
Thomas C. Cooper (Ph.D., Florida State University) is
Associate Professor of Foreign Language Education at
the University of Georgia, Athens.
over the hill can mean on the other side of the
hill, but the figurative meaning is to be very
old. Other examples of idiomatic expressions
include: wild goose chase (a senseless and fu-
tile pursuit), to bury the hatchet (to make
peace), and to lead a dogs life (to lead a mi5
erable existence). In an appropriate context
the literal meanings of these examples would
be farfetched, while the figurative meanings-
understood by native speakers of English.
Frequency of Idioms
Of the four kinds of nonliteral expressions,
idioms are the most frequently encountered
in discourse. In an attempt to estimate fre-
quency of use, Pollio and his colleagues
(1977, 6-9) analyzed approximately 200,000
words from political debates, taped psy-
chotherapy sessions, and compositions writ-
ten by students and adults. They counted the
number of novel and frozen figures of speech
(i.e.,idioms) and concluded that the speakers
(and writers) in their sample used about 1.08
novel figures of speech and 4.08 idioms per
minute. If one assumes that people speak
about four hours per day, then the rate of use
of novel and frozen metaphors would be 432
and 980, respectively. The comparable values
for just the use of idioms would be 6,860 per
week and 356,720 per year. Over a lifetime of
60 years, a person would use about 20 million
idioms.

Foreign Language Annals, 31, No. 2 , 1998

 FQREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS-SUMMER 1998

In an effort to collect a sample of everyday, wins out, depending on which best fits the
colloquial American English, the author re- context of the phrase. The third model, pro-
cently taped three hours of television pro- posed by Gibbs (1986), claims that a literal
grams and transcribed the idioms that analysis of an idiom is rarely attempted, for
occurred. The taped material included sev- the figurative meaning is retrieved directly
eral popular soap operas. Even though actors from the mental lexicon. This model is re-
follow a script, writers attempt to create dia- ferred to as the direct access model.
logue that reflects informal, everyday speech. According to Cronk and Schweigert (1992),
Results of the transcription revealed that id- no clearly superior theory for idiom process-
ioms occurred at the rate of about three per ing has emerged, although support has been
minute, which is close to what Pollio found. mustered for each of the three models. Stud-
Some of the expressions were: to swim up- ies looking into the merits of each have inves-
stream, a sight for sore eyes, a close shave, a tigated some of the variables affecting idiom
wolf in sheep's clothing, a long shot, to get the learning and comprehension. These vari-
ball rolling, and far be it from me. The idioms ables, which will be discussed in more detail
were used in all types of plot situations in the below, include the age of the learner, the use
soap operas, and more often than not, under- of figurative language by teachers, linguistic
standing them was crucial to understanding characteristics of idiomatic expressions, de-
the plot. gree of contextual support, grouping idioms
according to thematic categories, and the role
How W e Process Idioms of native language interference in the acquis-
The sheer number of idioms and their high tion of target language idioms. The aim of this
frequency in discourse make them an impor- article is to review studies on idiom research
tant aspect of vocabulary acquisition and lan- and then to take the findings into account in
guage learning in general, and research on order to develop a systematic plan for teach-
how idioms are learned has gained momen- ing idioms in the classroom.
tum in the last two decades (Fernando 1996).
Currently, there are three competing hy- Research on Idioms
potheses about how we process idioms. The
first one, the literal first hypothesis, states that Age o fLearner
One of the variables affecting idiom acquisi-
two distinct modes of idiom processing exist. tion is the age of the learner. Young children up
One mode processes the literal meaning of to the age of about nine generally tend to inter-
an idiom phrase and is the normally active pret idioms (and other figurative expressions)
mode. The other mode, which processes the literally (Brinton, Fujiki, and Mackey 1985;Cac-
figurative meaning of an idiom, is normally ciari and Levarato 1989; Douglas and Peel
inactive and only becomes active when the 1979;Lodge and Leach 1975). This finding was
literal interpretation of the idiom is inappre obtained from experiments in which children
priate in the speech context." (Cronk and of different ages ranging from five to twelve
Schweigert 1992, 135) were asked to respond to story situations that
contained embedded idioms. For example,
In the second model, the simultaneous p r e subjects were presented with a story in the fol-
cessing hypothesis, idiomatic expressions are lowing format (Gibbs 1991,620):
stored in and retrieved from the mental lexi-
con as individual vocabulary items. When the It was the third time this week that Sam had
first word of the idiomatic phrase is encoun- come home late for supper. His mother was
tered, both the literal and figurative meanings getting very tired of this. "Are you going to be
of the idiom are processed at the same time. on time," she asked Sam, "or a m I going to
Either the literal or figurative interpretation have to put my foot down?"

256
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE A"ALS--SUMiUER
When asked what the idiom "put my foot
down" means or when shown pictures por-
traying the literal and figurative meanings of
this idiom, children under the age of nine
usually choose the literal interpretation.
Lodge and Leach (1975,52829) point out that
in children the "acquisition of idiomatic
meaning begins about the age of nine [and]
may signal the beginnings of [understanding]
the semantic duality which is often character-
istic of adult language." Piaget's theory of cog-
nitive development offers an explanation for
older children's increased comprehension of
figurative language, for with maturity, chil-
dren become capable of engaging in the level
of abstract thinking required for processing
nonliteral language (Piaget 1959).
Use of Figurative Language by Teachers
The mastery of idiom interpretation by chil-
dren is reflected in an increased use of figura-
tive language by teachers in classroom
discourse. Lazar et al. (1989), for example, ex-
amined the frequency of occurrence of sev-
eral types of figurative expressions in the
speech of 21 teachers in kindergarten to grade
eight. The multiple meaning expressions
(MMEs) included indirect requests (Do you
know the capital of Spain?- as opposed to a
direct request: Tell me what the capital of
Spain is.); metaphors; similes; irony (Try again
and see ifyou can do worse.);and idioms. The
most frequently occurring type of MME was
the indirect request, which was used by teach-
ers 27 percent of the time. Idioms occupied
second place but represented the only type of
MME to increase significantly @<.OOl)across
grade levels, so that by the eighth grade 11.5
percent of a teacher's utterances, or about
one out of ten, contained idioms. Although
11.5 percent may seem like a small number
compared to 27 percent, the researchers
maintain that idioms occurring in this fre-
quency in teacher talk can seriously impede
comprehension if children interpret them lit-
erally. lndirect requests may constitute less of
a comprehension problem because of the
availability of nonlinguistic support, such as
reference to pictures, gestures, and vaned in-
257
1998
tonation that can assist in comprehension
(Lazar et al. 1989,426).
Characteristicsof Idioms
Research has shown that the linguistic char-
acteristics of idioms, such as their degree of
syntactic flexibility and the closeness between
their literal and figurative meanings, affect the
ease with which they can be acquired. Gibbs
(1987) found, for example, that some idioms
cannot be syntactically transformed into the
passive voice and still retain their figurative
meaning. For example, John kicked the bucket
cannot be changed into passive voice and still
retain the figurative meaning of John died. If
rendered in the passive voice-The bucket
was kicked by John-it must be understood
literally. The expression roll out the red carpet,
however, is syntactically flexible, for it retains
its figurative meaning regardless of the syntac-
tic manipulations that are performed on it,
e.g., We rolled out the red carpet for the king or
The red carpet was rolled out for the king. Ac-
cording to Gibbs (1987, 571), both children
and adults "process syntactically frozen id-
ioms faster than they do syntactically flexible
expressions." Frozen idioms are learned more
quickly than flexible idioms because they are
heard more frequently in only one syntactic
form rather than in several and are, therefore,
internalized as a single lexical item.
The metaphoric transparency of idioms
also relates to the ease with which they can be
comprehended and learned (Brinton et al.
1985 and Gibbs 1987). If an idiomatic expres-
sion is transparent, there is a clearer and
closer relationship between the literal and fig
urative meanings of the expression than with
a n opaque idiom. In the phrase Her words
were a slap in the Face, the figurative meaning
of disappointment or insult is closely related to
the literal meaning; however, it is difficult to
see a logical connection between a literal in-
terpretation of John kept beating around the
bush and the figurative meaning of John kept
avoiding something because the relationship
between the literal and figurative meanings is
obscure or opaque. Research by Brinton and
colleagues (1985) and Gibbs (1987) has indi-
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE AALS--SUMMER 1998
cated that children younger than nine tend to
opt for a literal interpretation of opaque id-
ioms when, after hearing a story containing an
opaque idiom, they are asked to point to the
picture that best portrays the meaning of the
idiom.
Role of Context
To measure the effect of contextual support
on the comprehension of idioms, researchers
presented subjects from different grade levels
with idioms either in isolation or in a story
context. Results of experiments of this sort
showed that for learners of all ages the com-
prehension of the idiomatic expressions was
facilitated by contextual support (Cacciari
and Levorato 1989; Nippold and Martin 1989).
When the idiomatic expression is encoun-
tered in a context, learners use an already
constructed representation of what has gone
before (the context) as a conceptual frame
work for interpreting a target sentence, or any
other linguistic unit (Ortony et al. 1978,467).
Grouping tdioms According to Theme
Idioms can be categorized in various ways.
They can be grouped according to the main
words they contain, such as verbs (to be car-
ried away, to carry something too far, and to
carry on) or nouns (nothing to write home
about, nothing doing, and nothing short 00.
Another option is to categorize idioms ac-
cording to their underlying metaphorical
themes. In their book, Metaphors We Live By,
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) discuss how many
of our concepts of the world are reflected in
the idioms we use to define everyday realities.
Often these idioms are tied together by an un-
derlying metaphorical theme.
For example, the following expressions re-
late to the metaphor Time is money.
Yourewasting my time.
This gadget will save you hours.
How do you spend your time?
You need to budget your time.
He S living on borrowed time.
Other metaphorical themes associated with
258
groups of idiomatic expressions are: argument
is war, e.g., Ive never won an argument with
him; the mind is a machine, e.g., Boy, the
wheels are turning now; and ideas are fash-
ions, e.g., The idea of revolution is no longer in
vogue in the United States.
Second Language Learners
If idioms are difficult to comprehend and
acquire for native language learners, they are
especially problematic for bilingual and sec-
ond language learners (Adkins 1968; Yandell
and Zintz 1961).
lrujo (1985), one of the few researchers
investigating the acquisition of idioms in a
second language, conducted a study to deter-
mine whether advanced learners of English
used knowledge of their first language, Span-
ish, to comprehend and produce second lan-
guage idioms. Irujo created three lists of
English idioms that were either identical to,
similar to, or different from Spanish idioms.
An idiom identical in both languages is to take
the bull by the horns, rendered in Spanish by
agarrar el tor0 por 10s cuernos. An idiom simi-
lar in both languages is to cost an a m and a
leg, which in Spanish is costar un ajo de la
cara (to cost an eye of the face). An idiom
completely different in both languages is to
take the rap, for the Spanish equivalent is
pagar el pato (to pay the duck).
Subjects were tested on their comprehen-
sion of these groups of idioms with recogni-
tion and production tests. Results showed that
identical idioms were the easiest to compre
hend and produce. Similar idioms were un-
derstood almost as well as the identical
idioms, but in production tests, interference
from Spanish was prevalent. The idioms that
were completely different in both languages
-for example, to have a free hand is rendered
in Spanish by tener carta blanca (to have
carte b1anche)-were the hardest to com-
prehend and produce, but there was little evi-
dence of positive or negative transfer from the
Spanish idioms in the comprehension and
production test results. Irujo did find a lot of
variation in test results and notes that the id-
ioms that were comprehended and produced
 MlREIcN LANGUAGE ANNm-SUMMER 1998

most correctly were those that were fre- edge of grammar and a high level of vocabu-
quently used in everyday speech, were trans- lary attainment.
parent, and that had simple vocabulary and
structure. Teaching Idioms
Through a teacher's conscious effort, stu-
Summary of Research Findings dents can receive effective practice in com-
The principal findings of research studies prehending and producing idioms. The
on idiom acquisition are listed below. teaching suggestions and procedures that fol-
low have been designed to take into account
1) Children younger than nine years of age the research findings on idiom acquisition.
generally choose literal interpretations They are organized according to Gardner's
of idioms. The awareness that idioms must theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner
be understood figuratively begins around 1993) for diversifymg instruction so that all stu-
the age of nine. dents can be reached and given a chance to
2) Idioms that are syntactically frozen are eas- succeed in learning, not just those who excel
ier to learn than those that are syntactically in verbal and mathematical ability (Arm-
flexible. strong 1994; Campbell, Campbell, and Dickin-
3) Idioms whose meanings are metaphori- son 1996; Gabala and Lange 1997). The theory
cally transparent are easier to learn than of multiple intelligences provides a useful
those with opaque meanings. framework for creating and organizing a wide
4) Idioms are easier to comprehend if they range of instructional activities that will ap-
are given contextual support than if they peal to the language learning ability of stu-
occur in isolation. dents. Table 1 (on the next page) briefly
5) Many idioms can be categorized according defines the seven intelligences and c a t e g o
to underlying themes. rizes suggested idiom teaching activities that
6) Idioms are difficult for second language relate to each intelligence. Of course, the lin-
learners to comprehend and produce. guistic intelligence is the o n e that language
7)Second language learners make use of learners and teachers work with most, so all
their native language when processing tar- activities naturally fit into this category. Never-
get language idioms. theless, there are many learning activities that
tap into the other intelligences. These are out-
Idioms present a special problem for native lined below, for they present the learner with
and second language learners. In fact, N i p complementary ways to learn idioms.
pold (1991, 101) states that "there seems to be
no clear point in human development when it Teaching Suggestions
can be said that idioms have been mastered." Examples of specific idioms to illustrate the
Since idiomatic expressions are so frequently teaching suggestions that follow are given in
encountered in both spoken and written dis- English and German.
course, they require special attention in lan-
guage programs and should not be relegated I . Choosing Idioms
to a position of secondary importance in the A first step in creating an instructional p r o
curriculum. Idiomatic expressions are often gram is to select idioms to teach that students
left until last or are ignored in language class- will be able to learn with a minimum of diffi-
rooms, for they are difficult to learn and mas- cully.
ter for all groups of students, including young
native speakers, bilingual students, and for- A. Choose idioms that are frequently encoun-
eign language learners. Yet sooner or later, im- tered in the target language. A native speaker
precise idiomatic usage will cause difficulties can perhaps judge best whether a n expres-
even for a student with a n excellent knowl- sion is regularly encountered in contempo-

259
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANN-lJMMER
TABLE 1
Summary Chart of Intelligences and Suggested Activities
For Teaching and Learning Idioms
Core Components
Sensitivity to the sounds,
being word smart structure,meanings, and
functions of words and
language
Sensitivity to, and capacity
I being logic smart to discern, logical or
numerical patterns; ability
to handle long chains of
reasoning
Capacity to think in visual
images and to recreate,
transform, or modify images
Ability to control ones
being body smart body movements and to
handle objects skillfully
Muid- Ability to produce and
being music smart appreciate rhythm, pitch,
melody, and timbre
Interpersonal- Capacity to understand
being people smart and respond to the moods,
temperaments, motivations,
and desires of other people
Intrapemnal- Ability to assess ones own
beingselfsmart emotional life and to have
knowledge of ones own
strengths and weaknesses
260
1998
Teaching Suggestions
Suggestion #2:
Discuss idioms and
figurative speech
Suggestion #7:
Nacherzahlung exercise
Suggestion # 11:
Idioms from TV shows
Suggestion #1:
Choose idioms logically
suggestion # 4
Sort idioms into
thematic categories
Suggestion US:
Add-on story
Suggestion 112:
Paragraph completion
exercise with idioms
Suggestion #5:
Illustrate idioms to show
the contrast between
figurative and literal
meanings
Suggestion # 9
Idioms from comic strips
Suggestion #lo:
Idioms from cartoons
Suggestion 614
Mobile of favorite idioms
Suggestion #6:
Act out the meaning of
idioms
Suggestion #15:
Make idiom board game
Suggestion #16:
Idiom jazz chants
Suggestion #3:
Define the social situations
for the use of various idioms
Suggestion # 1 3
Interview classmates
Suggestion #5:
Students can create a dictionary
of their favorite personal idioms
and explain how the expressions
give insights into understanding
themselves
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE A N N W U M M . . 1998

rary speech and writing, or whether it is r e mouth, and shake a leg. On the other hand,
served for very specific circumstances that a the expressions to spill the beans, a red her-
learner would rarely experience. ring, and to string someone along will be diffi-
To look toyour laurels (to protect your good cult for a learner and will require special
name) would be an infrequently used English explanations from the teacher before the stu-
idiom not worth the trouble to learn. dent can understand them.
A German idiom that would be difficult to
comprehend and learn is: Du bist wohl im D. At the beginning of an idiom teaching p r o
Calopp durch die Kinderstube geritten, mein gram, start with expressions that are identical
Cuter! (Friend, you must have galloped in the L1 and L2. Then add idioms that are
through the nursery = your manners leave a similar in both languages. Those that are very
lot to be desired). Besides being grammati- different will be the hardest for the learner
cally complicated, this expression is hard to and will require more practice time and ex-
understand because of the word play on planation.
Kinderstube, which means both "nursery" and Below are some German idioms arranged
a child's "upbringing." according to their degree of similarity to Eng
lish expressions.
B. Choose expressions that d o not present
special problems with vocabulary and gram- Identical idioms: Teach first
mar. Mit offenenAmen empfangen (to receive
Six of one and halfudozen of the other with open arms)
(two things are the same) would present Den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen(to hit the
problems to an ESOL learner because of its nail on the head)
extended length and complicated grammati- Ein Hundeleben fuhren (to lead a dog's life)
cal structure.
The German idiom, Mir ist eine h u s iiber Similar idioms: Teach second
die Leber gelaufen (A louse has run over my In die Luff gehen (to go into the air = to go
liver = I was very angry), is difficult to learn b e through the roof)
cause of complex grammatical aspects, such Aus einer Miicke einen Elefantenmachen (to
as the irregular verb of motion in the present make an elephant out of a gnat = to make a
perfect tense (ist.......gelaufen),the dative p r o mountain out of a molehill)
noun (mir), and the preposition iiber, which Jemandem ein Dom im Auge sein (to be a
in the sentence takes the accusative case thorn in someone's eye = to be a thorn in the
(uber die Leber) due to motion implied in the side)
verb laufen.Although this idiom is very color-
ful and might appeal to the determined Idioms that are dissimilar: Teach last
learner, most students will have more success D a s ist ein dicker Hund (that's a fat dog =
learning it after having mastered the grammar something unpleasant happens)
elements mentioned above. An effective way Jemandem die Wiimer aus der Nase ziehen
to control for grammatical complexity in the (to pull the worms out of someone's nose =to
selection of English idioms is to choose ex- worm a secret out of someone)
pressions that are syntactically frozen, for the AufDraht sein (to be on wire = to be on the
learner is faced with mastering only one ver- ball)
sion of the idiom. Schwein haben (to have pig = to be lucky)

C. Choose expressions with transparent figu- 2. Discussing Idioms

rative meanings. Students of all ages often lack a clear idea
For the ESOL student, transparent idioms of what figurative language is. To prepare
might include: to be in deep water, to be a big them for learning idioms, the teacher can lead

26 1
 IDREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS-SUMMER 1998
a discussion about metaphors, similes, and id-
ioms and the purposes they fulfill in speech
and writing. When dealing with young stu-
dents whose native language is English or with
ESOL learners who have some background in
English, an effective way to introduce stu-
dents to figurative language is to have them
read Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish.
Amelia is a ten-year-old girl who repeatedly
gets herself into trouble because she under-
stands idioms literally and acts accordingly.
When told to Hit the road, for example, she
picks up a stick and does just that. Young stu-
dents never fail to enjoy the humor in these sit-
uations.
3. &fining Idioms
After class discussions about the concept of
figurative language, the teacher can show the
class carefully selected idioms and define
them. A crucial aspect of the definition phase
is to present the new idiom within the larger
context of a short paragraph or a dialogue.
Since there is a dearth of instructional materi-
als that include adequate contextual support,
the teacher will probably need to create his or
her own materials?
The context sets the stage for giving the d e
finition of the idiom by contrasting the literal
and figurative meanings and showing how
they are related and how the figurative mean-
ing originated, if that information is known.
For example, a context setting for the German
expression etwas durch die Blume sagen (to
say something through the flower[s] = to say
something in a nondirect or roundabout way)
might be: Sie ist sehr empfindlich.Sag ihr lieber
durch die Blume, dal3 ihr das KIeid nicht steht.
(She is very sensitive. It would be better to tell
her in a roundabout way that her dress is not
becoming to her.) According to Lupson
(1991,22), the origin of the expression comes
from the German custom of giving flowers as
a way of expressing ones feelings of appreci-
ation or affection. Thus, to express something
unpleasant by means of flowers is to take the
sting out of an uncomplimentary statement.
During the definition phase of idiom teach-
ing, the connotations of the example expres-
262
sion should also be pointed out. Idioms vary
in their degree of formality: some belong to
the slang register (You got it);some are collo
quial in tone (He hit the nail on the head);and
others fit best within a standard or formal con-
text (The judge weighed the eoidence care-
ful&).
An effective technique for developing in
learners an awareness that there is an appro
priate time and place to use every idiom in-
volves the construction of situational vignettes
in which the teacher briefly sketches a setting
that will elicit responses in the slang, collo
quial, and formal or standard speech regis-
. ~ is an English example:
t e r ~Here
Your friend seems to be unduly upset about
something, and you try to calm him down.
Some possible responses might be:
1) Chill out, Jim. (Slang)
2) Take it eusy, Jim. (Colloquial)
3) Dont wony about it; eoerything will be
all right. (Standard)
Here is a German example:
Auf der Stral3e siehst du jemanden, den du
kennst. Du begriil3t diese Person. (You see
someone on the street whom you know. You
greet this person.)
1) Ceorg, was Iuuft? (George, whats
shakin?) (Slang)
2) Ceorg, was treibst du hier? (George,
whats up?) (Colloquial)
3) Cuten Tag, Hew Schneider. Wie geht es
Ihnen? (Hello, Mr. Schneider. How are you?)
(Formal)
Other themes that could be incorporated
into situational vignettes include: getting some
ones attention, reassuring a friend, asking
someone for money, talking about a bad situa-
tion, and expressing anger (Cooper 1994);
Dialogues seeded with idiomatic e x p r e
sions are another teaching device for demon-
strating to learners the relationship between
social situation and appropriate language
choice. The teacher can develop models and
then have the students, either individually, in
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE A N N m - S U M M E R 1998

pairs, or in small groups, try their hand at c r e English Idioms Expressing Emotions
ating dialogues.
Anger
4. Diuiding Idioms into Categories a To be bent out o f shape
Dividing idioms into thematic categories To be fit to be tied
will make them easier to learn, for the student To be hot under the collar
can study them as groups composed of ele-
ments that have common features rather than Happiness
as lists of unrelated expressions to be memo- a To feel ones oats
rized. Both teacher and students can work t e To be in seuenth heaven
gether to set up the thematic groups. 0 To be on cloud nine

Below are examples of English and German To be tickled to death

idioms arranged according to the themes of 0 To be tickled pink
body parts, animals, and emotions.
5. Drawing Idioms
German Idioms with Body Parts Since idioms are usually picturesque and
convey a concrete image-e.g., to hit the nail
The Eye on the head-drawing them is an effective a p
0 Vier Augen sehen mehr als zwei. (Four proach of showing the contrast between the
eyes see better than two = two heads are literal and figurative meanings. A good way to
better than one.) get students into the spirit of this activity is to
0 Das pafit wie die Faust auk Auge. (Thats show them Pieter Brueghels famous six-
like a fist in the eye = thats like a square teenth-century painting The Netherlandish
peg in a round hole.) h u e r b s , which portrays in a n arresting way
0 Er ist seinem Vater wie aus den Augen 78 Flemish proverbs and idioms, many of
geschnitten. (Hes cut out of his fathers which are current even today. Other exam-
eyes = hes the spitting image of his father.) ples of proverb and idiom illustration are the
posters of the artist Breitenbach (1993), who
The Finger illustrates many current American expres-
0 Er hat fingerspitzengefihl. (He has feeling sions literally. The viewer must match them
[emotion] in his fingertips = h e has tact or against the key provided at the bottom of
finesse.) each poster.
0 Er macht oft lange Finger. (He often has Bromley (1984) recommends having the
long fingers = h e often steals.) class produce a dictionary of idiomatic say-
ings. Through brainstorming, the class can
German Idioms with Animals produce a reference list of expressions, and
0 Er ist weder Fisch noch Fleisch. (Hes nei- then each student can choose one or two to il-
ther fish nor flesh = hes neither fish nor lustrate. Individual students could also create
fowl = hes hard to understand or catego- dictionaries of their own by interviewing their
rize.) parents and older relatives to find out what
Die Schule ist einen Katzenspmng entfemt. their favorite expressions and proverbs are.
(The schools a cat jump away = a stones These can then become the contents of the
throw away.) dictionaries, and the students can write com-
Wir miissen Schlange stehen. (We have to mentaries about how the chosen idioms help
stand [like a] snake = we have to stand in them understand themselves better.
line.)
Ich bekomme eine Gansehaut. (1 get goose 6. Dramatizing Idioms
skin = I get goose bumps.) An activity related to illustrating idioms is
acting them out, for skit scenarios can easily

263
 FOREIGN LANGUAGE A"ALS4UMMER 1998

be created to compare in a humorous way lit- the discrepancy between the literal and figu-
eral and figurative meanings of idioms. This rative understanding of expressions. The
was the approach followed by Kenyon and teacher can collect cartoons and have the stu-
her colleagues (1984) in working with hear- dents discuss the humor in them.
ing-impaired students who were having diffi-
culties in learning idioms. Kenyon reported a I I . Idioms from TVShows
higher rate of successful idiom recall for stu- Running lists of idioms can be compiled
dents who wrote, acted out, and videotaped from TV shows. Sitcoms are especially good
their own skits portraying selected idioms sources of colloquial idioms, and taped shows
than for students who explored the same id- can be viewed in class and discussed.
ioms through extended class discussion. A
kinesthetic approach for teaching idioms 12. Paragraph Completion
would, no doubt, be just as effective with sec- The teacher can write a paragraph or dia-
ond language learners for whom compre- logue containing an idiom in context, but the
hending and producing nonliteral language is idiom is omitted. Students then complete the
also problematic. passage with a phrase that fits the context.
Another dramatic activity is charades. In When this has been done correctly, the omit-
class, volunteers can be called upon to act out ted idiom can be given, and the students can
the literal meaning of an expression, and the be shown how they already inferred the id-
class must guess the figurative meaning. Play- iom's meaning from the context (ltujo 1986).
ing charades can also be turned into a game
between teams where the teacher passes out 13. Interview Classmates
note cards containing the idioms that are to ESOL students can interview their native
be acted out. speaker classmates to collect a list of the in- ex-
pressions that are currently being used. These
7. Nacherzahlung (retellin& Exercise can be discussed in class as to their meaning
The teacher creates and tells a story con- and appropriateness in a given situation.
taining several idioms. The students retell the
story or write it down as a Nacherzahlung 14. Idiom4f-the-DayMobile
(retelling) exercise, trying to use as many of The teacher can set aside classroom space
the expressions as they can. to post idioms that the students collect. There
can also be a spot for the Idiom offheDay. The
8. A d d a Story expressions can be made into mobiles that
Students tell an a d d m story. A list of idioms can be hung from the ceiling.
is written on the board, and the teacher starts
the narrative by using one of the idioms from 15. Idiom Board Came
the list. Students are then called upon to add The students can create a board game that
to the story by each contributing one sen- tests their knowledge of idiomatic expres-
tence containing a new expression. sions. Such a game might consist of a winding
road or path drawn on poster paper. The road
9.Discuss Idioms h m Newspaper Comic Strips would be divided into numbered segments.
Students select from a Sunday newspaper a Each segment would correspond to a note
comic strip that uses idiomatic language. card. On one side of the note card would be
They list the idioms on the board and then dis- an idiom; the other side would have a clue
cuss them. Often humor in comic strips results that helps the student to guess the idiom cor-
from a literal interpretation of idioms. rectly. (For example, How do you soy y o u k
really happy? Hint: You're high in the air! An-
10. Idioms in Cartoons swer: I'm in seventh heaven or I'm on cloud
Cartoons also employ humor resulting from nine.) Players would roll dice to travel along

264
the idiom path, and the winner would be the
first student to reach the end of the road.
16. Idiom Jazz Chants
Idioms can be practiced through a musical
approach involving jazz chanting. A jazz
chant is a rhythmic expression of the material
to be learned that is sung, rapped, or chanted.
For example, here is a jazz chant of expres-
sions for giving and receiving compliments in
English (Graham 1986,17).
You look wonderful today.
So d o you.
You look wonderful today.
So d o you.
Thats a nice color on you.
Thanks a lot.
Thats a nice color on you.
Thanks a lot.
Im glad you like it.
Most idioms can be incorporated into a jazz
chant format and practiced in a musical
modality. Students can create the chants and
even lead the class in the practicing.
Conclusion
Even though all groups of language stu-
dents may have difficulties understanding and
learning idioms, it has been the authors ex-
perience that students are fascinated by these
expressions and are eager to learn and prac-
tice them in class. Students seem to benefit
most from a plan of instruction that incorpo-
rates a wide range of activities that appeal to
the various intelligences, for they are given a
greater chance to succeed in learning idioms
than with an instructional plan that is re-
stricted to only linguistic exercises. It is impor-
tant that language students gain facility in
using idioms in their oral and written dis-
course, since success in this area of language
will generate confidence in the student and
respect in those with whom he or she comes
in contact.
265
NOTES
I The following are excellent childrens books
dealing with figurative language. They can be used
with ESOL learners, too, who possess an inter-
mediate knowledge of English.
Gwynne, Fred. 1976. A Chocolate Moose for
Dinner. New York: Windmill Books.
Parish, Peggy. 1963. Amelia Bedelia. New York:
Harper and Row.
-. 1979. Amelia Bedelia Helps Out. New
York: Avon Books.
Wood,Audrey. 1982. Quick as a Cricket. Singa-
pore: Childs Play Ltd.
* The following dictionaries are good resources
for creating instructional materials. The Internet is
also a good source for lists of idioms; these can be
found with help from the various search engines
such as Yahoo, the Web Crawler, and Aka Vista.
Makki, Adam, M.T.Boatner, and J.E. Gates. 1995.
A Dictionary of American Idioms. Hauppauge, NY:
Barrons Educational Series.
Griesbach, Heinz, and Dora Schulz. 1981. I000
deutsche Redensarten. Berlin: Langenscheidt Verlag.
Standard language is the kind of vocabulary and
usage that is taught in school and used in serious
writing. It is more formal in style or register than
colloquial language or slang. It is what Joos (1961)
labels consultahue style or the style of standard
exchange between strangers. Colloquial language
is characteristic of, or appropriate to, ordinary or
familiar conversation rather than formal speech or
writing (Websters Dictionary 19941. Slang is also at
the informal end of the infomal-formal continuum,
but in addition, slang is used by members of a
specific group for a humorous, often satirical effect,
and using slang expressions signifies membership in
that group: for example, college undergraduates or
high school teenagers Gghter 1994).
An excellent reference book for the German
teacher is Kontaktschwelle: Deutsch als Fremd-
sprache (1980), which lists along with key
vocabulary and phrases topics that can be used for
the construction of additional situational vignettes.
Topics include: Informationaustausch (= exchange
of information), Bewertung und Kommentar
(= comments and evaluation), Geliihlsausdruck
(= expression of feelings), Handlungsregulierung
(= modifying or adjusting actions), and soziale
Konuenhonen (= social conventions).
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