Making Idioms Comprehensible to English Language Learners

In this article in AMLE Magazine, Melanie Greene and Grayson Chell (Appalachian State University/Boone) say that many American idioms are incomprehensible to English language learners. Consider baseball expressions that a teacher might use without a second thought:  

• We’re setting the ground rules.
• Play ball!
• Who’s at bat? 
• Are you ready to step up to the plate?
• He’s a real rookie.
• Touch base with her.
• Can you be the pinch hitter?
• Looks like you dropped the ball.
• You’re way off base.
• That’s two strikes. If you get three, you’re outa here.
• Wind up for the pitch.
• Brush him off.
• Ted hit it out of the ballpark! 
• It’s a home run!

Hearing all this, say the authors, ELLs might “be so busy trying to determine where the ball was, who was up at bat, and who hit a home run that they miss the key concepts of the lesson.” 

The Common Core ELA standards expect students to master figurative language, word relationships, and nuances of word meaning, but students shouldn’t be expected to pick up these concepts “on the fly.” Here are some strategies to teach idioms more systematically:

• Introduce idioms in context, never in isolation. Show students how idioms are used in newspaper and magazine articles, songs, cartoons, videos, and advertisements. Another approach is to use the idiom in a conversation and ask students to try to figure out the meaning.

• Have students use idioms in conversation. Pairs of students might be asked to write a conversation using idioms and then perform it for the class.

• Make sure students understand. Many idioms are used in informal spoken exchanges, not in writing.

• Practice with games and activities. These are good ways to engage students and help them internalize idiomatic meanings. Here are some helpful websites:

• Busy Teacher: http://busyteacher.org/3712-how-to-teach-english-idioms-and-their-meaning.html 
• StickyBall: www.stickyball.net/idioms.html
• Activities for ESL students: http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/lk-idiomsp.html
• Using English: www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms
• ESL Mania: www.eslmania.com 

“Using Idioms with English Language Learners” by Melanie Greene and Grayson Chell in AMLE Magazine, January 2014 (Vol. 1, #5, p. 21-22), www.amle.org; the authors can be reached at greenemw@appstate.edu and chellgl@email.appstate.edu.

From the Marshall Memo #522