Teaching Idioms Is Teaching Fluency

Colorful language and powerful imagery make idioms a lot of fun for ESL learners. When you throw cats and dogs in a scene where they are falling from the sky, it’s hard to know exactly what a phrase might mean. It’s almost like a code-breaking game, where students must learn that when certain words come together in a phrase, they can mean something very different. 

It’s important to not only teach the meaning of idioms, but to also teach how to use them correctly and effectively. When a non-native speaker uses an idiom correctly, he or she will sound very fluent. But, on the other hand, if they bumble the phrase, they will sound the exact opposite.

Learning idioms is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students. If you teach an idiom lesson to beginners or low-intermediate learners, you may well be putting them in the bumbling category mentioned above. Teach idioms wisely and sparingly to ensure your students’ success.

Tips for Teaching English Idioms Wisely

Provide idioms in context, so students can fully understand the meaning. Be sure to provide a sampleconversation around it. For example, take the following dialogue featuring the idiom “to be a chicken” when at a local amusement park.

Jack: Ooh, wow. Look at that roller coaster, Jane! It goes upside-down!
Jane: My stomach aches just looking at it. I will not ride that.
Jack: Ah, come on. Don’t be a chicken!

Teach idioms in spoken form, not written, and explain to students how they are conversational, rather than formal. Have students practice the idioms in dialogue to help them understand they’re used in spoken colloquial English.

Be sure to explain how the individual words have different meanings from the whole idiom phrase. For example, how much does an arm and a leg actually cost? Who knows?

Don’t just hand out a long list of idioms. Be sure to provide a small selection of 5-10 idioms (or less!) and explain each one. If you provide too many examples, it’ll simply turn into an introduction of what an idiom is, rather than how to actually remember the meaning and use one effectively in dialogue.

That brings us to just how important it is to help your students understand idiom usage.

4 Exercises to Help Your Students Understand Idioms

1. Teach idioms with pictures

Provide a picture to explain the context. This works best if you show an image that humorously illustrates the literal meaning of the idiom. It will make students laugh, but also help them understand or guess what a phrase means. Idioms are full of colorful imagery, perfect for a flashcard or photo. Show the picture to your students and have them guess the meaning of the idiom.

From there, give examples of when you would use it and how the words and the actual meaning of the idiom are different. Looking for a good resource? Check out this website for an example of great images to explain the meaning of idioms. And for some beautiful images depicting idioms, be sure to check out this site.

2. Use small groups to present dialogues

Break your class into small groups and have each group look up two idioms. Dave’s ESL Cafe has a great collection of idioms and their meanings for student reference.

Before they look them up, have the students make an educated guess on what the idiom means, and then let them search for the real meaning. Have students explain the meaning to the rest of the class and use the idiom in a short sample dialogue.

3. Introduce Amelia Bedelia

No, Amelia! You don’t actually throw the tent into the woods!

You don’t have to be a kid to adore Amelia Bedelia and her literal mind. She’s the perfect teacher for an idiom lesson. Visit the publisher’s website for activities, book excerpts, worksheets and games. While the material is oriented for children, it’s also a great way for older students to learn English idioms through a fun and quirky character!

4. Use a theme

A great way to teach idioms is to use a theme. For example, you could use all weather-related idioms (see this great worksheet!). Or teach sports-related idioms with this helpful worksheet. By using a common theme to teach idioms, it’s easier for students to grasp the meanings of the phrases, and see how similar words can mean very different things.