Some techniques to teach english idioms by topic in warm up activities at high school

After many years teaching English at high school, I realize that warm-up activities have a great impact on students’ motivation and it is an effective way for students to practice Englis

1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale of the study

English has attracted a large number of people all over the world It is not only the effective means of communication but also has the progressive effect on many aspects of life

However, in the process of studying the language, the learners encounter numerous obstacles One of them is understanding English idioms because of the following reasons Firstly, idioms reflect specific cultural characteristics, so they are considered as special factors of a language’s vocabulary system This makes students find it difficult to learn idioms and confused at first Secondly, studying idioms takes a lot of time and learners have to practice regularly It requires students’s patience and hard work

It is obvious that if students master English idioms, they will effectively communicate with others especially native speakers In addition, they can do many English idioms exercises that are required in the National examination

After many years teaching English at high school, I realize that warm-up activities have a great impact on students’ motivation and it is an effective way for

students to practice English idioms Therefore, I have been applying “Some techniques to teach English idioms by topic in warm-up activities at high school”.

That is the reason why I choose this topic for my research

1.2 Aims of the study

- To enrich students’ English idioms

- To assist students to express thoughts and affection accurately, polishedly, concisely and vividly with English idioms by topic in warm-up activities

1.3 Objectives of the study

- To present an overview of idioms, functions of idioms, characteristics of English idioms, classification of idioms, classification of English idioms, some examples of English idioms by topic

- To emphasize the importance of warm-up activities to teaching English idioms by topic

- To introduce some techniques to teach English idioms by topic in warm-up activities at high school

- To show how warm-up activities can be designed for teaching English idioms

by topic at Thieu Hoa upper-secondary school

1.4 Research Methodology

1.4.1 Research orientations

1.4.1.1 Research approaches

The study is carried out by basing on the quantitative and qualitative approach With the quantitative approach, the vast amount of data of English idioms is collected Besides, the researcher uses the qualitative one to describe and analyze the data of the research

1.4.1.2 Data collection

The data collection is the most vital step in any research This procedure

consists of two main stages Firstly, a large number of English idioms were collected in order to make the corpus of this study Secondly, the collection of

English idioms by topic was done to hold up the study

1.4.1.3 Data analysis

After assembling the data, the research is carefully studied, the following stages of analysis are applied

- The first stage is classification In an attempt to make the study more coherent the data is categorized into topics: Friendship, family, animals It is also

an effective way to analyze the materials

- The second stage is synthesis and generalization The data is summarized and

generalized

- The third stage is carrying out the survey in order to evaluate how effective the study is

1.4.2 Research methods

1.4.2.1 Major method

Descriptive method is mainly utilized to characterize the idioms in general and English idioms by topic in particular

1.4.2.2 Supporting methods

In addition to the above major methods, the study is also applied with some other supporting methods They are synthetic and analytic method These methods

make the research become more general and logical

1.5 New applies of the study

There have been a lot of authors whose studies generally relate to idioms Hoang Van Hanh (1973), Nguyen Thien Giap, Le Nhu Tien (1988), Nguyen Khac Hung (1988), Hoang Van Thang (1992), Trinh Duc Hien (1995), Phan Van Que (1995), Dang Anh Dao (1997) showed their concern for the ways how to use idioms in literature and in different kinds of act Studies on the roles of idioms in traditional culture were carried by some authors such as Duong Quang Ham (1956), Pham The Ngu (1969), Dinh Gia Khanh, Chu Xuan Dien (1972, 1973), Cao Huy Dinh (1974), Le Chi Que, Vo Quang Nhon (1990) etc

However, there has not been any research that studied about some techniques

to teach English idioms by topic in warm-up activities at high school It means that

in the scope of the research, it is mainly focused on idioms classified into topics Moreover, those English idioms are applied in warm-up activities for upper

secondary school students not only to introduce those idioms but also to motivate them before their new lessons

2 Contents

2.1 Theoretical background

2.1.1 An overview of idioms

Words have their own meanings They, however, do not just come individually; they also come in expressions or in groups Idioms are among the most common of these expressions Besides, it is impossible to master a language without learning idioms – a very important part of the language What is an idiom? The question may have many answers

Many linguists such as Robins (1989), Palmer (1981), Jackson and Amvela (1998) and others consider idioms as a special kind of collocation The meaning of

an idiom, however, cannot be deduced from the meaning of its constituents An idiom is distinguished from a collocation, for a collocation is a sequence of lexical items which habitually co-occur and each lexical constituent of a collocation is a semantic component Hornby (1995) argued in his Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, an idiom is “a phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit” Sharing the same point of view, Seidl and Mordie (1988) defined “an idiom is a number of words which, taken together, mean something different from the individual words

of the idiom when they stand alone” For instance, the collocation of kick and the bucket forms an idiom meaning die, which is not systematically determinable from the meanings of kick and the bucket This idiom or phrasal lexeme is formally identical with the phrase kick the bucket whose meaning is systematically determinable on the basis of the meaning of the lexemes of which it is composed -hit a certain type of container for liquids with their foot

Here are some more definitions of idioms:

- “An expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot

be worked out from its separate parts”

(Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992)

- “An idiom is a fixed group of words which is firm in terms of structure, complete and figurative in terms of meaning, and is widely used in daily speaking” (Hoang Van Hanh, 1994: 21)

- “An idiom is a fixed group of words with a special different meaning from the meaning of several words”

(Dictionary of English Idioms, 1979)

As can be seen from the above definitions, there are different ways of defining

an idiom In general, most of the linguists share the same point that an idiom is a

fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out by looking at the meaning

of its individual words

2.1.2 Functions of idioms

Idioms may play different roles They are used to name objects, actions or describe situations They may express certain generalizations, advice, make an evaluation, emphasize…

Traditionally, from the point of view of the function of idioms, we can refer to the following basis groups:

- Idioms with a nominative function - express concepts and name objects, states, processes, actions, qualities, etc They have the structure of a phrase

Examples: while elephant, pull somebody 's leg, cool as a cucumber; body and soul

- Idioms with a communicative function - describe situations and express

independent statements They have the structure of a sentence, e.g all that glitters

is not gold, the coast is clear

- Idioms with both nominative and communicative functions (including

idioms with a mixed, limited variable structure), e.g break the ice - the ice is broken, close the door on the door is closed, lead somebody by the nose -somebody is led by the nose

Idioms without any distinctive nominative and communicative function -linguists usually include here modal and interjectional idioms, or idioms which

have a cohesive function, e.g like hell; what on earth; on the other hand; as well as; by the way

In relation to words, within the group of idioms with a nominative func-tion (lexemic idioms), we can refer to idioms equivalent to single words, i.e they may

be replaced by a single word (of course = certainly, kick the bucket = die, in the family way = pregnant) They may also correspond to non-idiomatic phrases (collocations: a big fish = an important person, as red as a turkey cock = very

angry), or they may be correlated with approximate (free) description, e.g have green fingers = have natural ability in growing plants

Nominative idioms correlate with word classes (parts of speech) They may

be divided into: noun, verbal, adjectival and adverbial idioms, etc., for example: a dark horse (noun), make give up (verbal), as white as a sheet (adjectival), once in a blue moon, tooth and nail (adverbial) Their function is not completely identical

with that of single words, since their meaning usually includes a higher degree of both expressiveness and evaluation

From the pragmatic point of view and discourse, some linguists, including Fernando (l996) speak about:

- "Ideational" idioms ("the state and way of the world" idioms, expressing

namely: actions, events, situation, people, things, attitudes, emotions, etc.): red herring, bury the hatchet, as white as a sheet.

- "Interpersonal" idioms (expressing greetings, agreement, rejections, etc.):

so long, never mind

- "Relational” idioms (ensuring cohesion, etc.) : by the way, in addition to, last but not least

Other linguists give more detailed categorization of idioms Some idioms may have more than one function Moon (1998), for example, distinguishes the following groups of idioms:

- Informational (conveying information of a different kind: in the red, rub shoulders with, one’s kith and kin)

- Evaluative (giving the speaker’s attitude to the situation: works wonders, wash one’s hands of sth, a different kettle of fish)

- Situational (expressing conventions, clauses, exclamation, relating to

extralingual context: walls have ears, so long, talk of the devil, long time no see)

- Modalizing (expressing modality, truth values, advice, request: mark my words, more or less, at all, in effect)

- Organizational (organizing the text, signaling discourse structure: by the way, all in all, let alone, in the light, on the other hand, in other words)

2.1.3 Characteristics of English idioms

According to many linguists, a group of words which has a fixed structure, indivisible meaning and can appear in speech like a word is called an idiom Therefore, idioms can be distinguished by their grammatical and semantic features

2.1.3.1 Grammatical features

It is very easy to realize that most idioms are fixed expressions There are no changes in structure, word order and lexicology We can take the idiom black and blue (of bruises) as an example It would sound uncanny if we changed it into blue and black It means that it wouldn’t make sense Moreover, when an idiom is used

in a complete sentence, it is hardly change into passive voice Let us consider the

idiom “to stuff one’s face” in the sentence “She is stuffing her face with chocolates” (She is eating a lot of chocolates) It would be unnatural to say “Her face is stuffed with chocolates”.

However, some other idioms are more flexible; we can make some changes if they don’t lose their idiomatic meaning This means that idioms are only fixed in some of their parts but not all The alteration of component words can help to form

a different idiom of the same or different meaning Appearing on the mass media is

in this way of using They no longer keep the full form of the idiom but add some more components to make it more vivid, particularly effective when writing articles We can change the tense of the verb in the idiom to give someone the cold shoulder (to treat someone in a cold or unfriendly way), or the verb in to have one’s finger with to get one’s finger

In addition, idioms may take many different forms or structures Some idioms are noun phrases such as tender age, a black sheep, forty winks, etc Some are verb phrases such as to spare one’s blushes, to make someone proud, to cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth, etc The most important thing is that an idiom can have its own regular, irregular or even incorrect grammatical structure To be at large is an example of grammatical irregularity The idiom is formed by verb + preposition + adjective In English, no structure like this is normally accepted because an adjective doesn’t usually come after a preposition singly However, this can be considered as an exception in language

2.1.3.2 Semantic features

When mentioning the semantic features of an idiom, we often talk about its meaning A linguist said “the meaning of an idiom is the special chemical mixture

of all components’ meaning, which is completely new in quality” This means that

it is very important to understand idioms metaphorically We can not usually discover the meanings by looking up the individual words in a dictionary when studying idioms; most of the idioms are metaphorical rather than literal For example, in order to understand the idiom (to feel) like fish out of water, we have

to consider its meaning metaphorically as to feel uncomfortable because of the unfamiliar surroundings

Another feature concerning itself with semantics is that idioms can range from positive, neutral to negative meaning Some idioms have positive meanings such as

a willing horse (a keen worker), to get it into one’s head (to deeply understand), or

to warm the cockles of one’s heart (to make someone feel pleased or happy) Some have neutral meanings as to watch the world go by (to observe the others while doing nothing oneself), etc Moreover, many other idioms are negative For instance, crocodile tears mean insincere tears, to waste one’s breath means to talk

or give advice without having any effects, or to wash one’s dirty linen in public means to discuss or argue about one’s personal affairs in public, etc All those examples show that the nuances of idiomatic meanings are very complicated They mainly depend on the nuances of their key components

2.1.4 Classification of English idioms by topic

Some authors have classified English idioms into topic groups and countries They have also listed the amount of idioms belonging to each topic or country However, in the scope of the study, it is mainly mentioned about the classification

of English idioms by topics Dividing idioms into thematic categories will make them easier to learn The themes that can be used is various such as idioms related

to family, friendship, job, film, sport, nature and environment, music, health, mass media and so on Moreover, those themes extremely relate to the topics they learn

from the textbook Therefore, learning the idioms systematically will help learners avoid mistakes and remember them well

2.1.4.1 Idioms related to family

- Bring home the bacon: kiếm tiền nuôi gia đình

Eg: My mom – as a housewife, she does all the household chores, while my dad –

as an officer, works outside and brings home the bacon

- When the blood sheds, the heart aches: máu chảy, ruột mềm

Eg: When the blood sheds, the heart aches Everyone in the family has to take responsibility to stand by side and help them to go through sorrow

- Blood is thicker than water: một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã

Eg: You had better pay more attention to your family and relative than the neighbor Because blood is thicker than water

- Chip off the old block: con giống ba mẹ như đúc

Eg: Look at him, he reminds me much of his father He’s a chip off the old block

of Mr Son

- Apple doesn’t fall far from tree: Con nhà tông, không giống lông cũng giống cánh

Eg: This year, he has just won the 1st prize in Math Competition He studied so well, just as his father You know that, apple doesn’t fall far from tree

- Air one’s dirty laundry in public: vạch áo cho người xem lưng

Eg: My mom acts so sensibly, whenever I do anything wrong, she just helps me to fix it right away, not yells at me in front of people She doesn’t want to air my dirty laundry in public

- Like father, like son: giống hệt nhau

Eg: My dad and my brother is like father, like son, they match each other in every aspect

- Cleanliness is next to godliness: nhà sạch thì mát, bát sạch ngon cơm

Eg: My mom takes care for home very well, she thinks that cleanliness is next to godliness

- Black sheep of the family: khác biệt

Eg: Being the black sheep of the family, I’m the only one who works as an artist, while my parents are both teachers

- Men make houses, women make homes: đàn ông xây nhà, đàn bà xây tổ ấm

Eg: Folks rumoured that men make houses, women make homes So, in Viet Nam, men often work outside to earn money, while women take care of home

2.1.4.2 Idioms related to friendship

- A friend in need is a friend indeed: A true friend is a person who always helps

you when you really need it

Eg: As I always say, a friend in need is a friend indeed, and Paul is certainly a true friend

- Bosom friends: One’s best or closest friend.

Eg: Anne and Diana are bosom friends

- Fair-weather friend: When someone is a friend, but only when things are going

well for you

Eg: A really liked Priscilla, but I realized she was just a fair-weather friend She’s not there for me when I need her

- Friend-zone: When one person would like to be in a romantic relationship with

another, but the other person thinks of them only as a friend

Eg: Tyler said Shelly was in the friend zone, so she is quite sad about it

- Close-knit: Very close.

Eg: Johnny and Casper are close-knit

- Friends in high places: To have friends who have important or influential

positions

Eg: Ethan always brags about having friends in high places

- Strike up a friendship: To become friends with someone.

Eg: I want to strike up a friendship with Erin, she seems like a nice girl

2.1.4.3 Idioms related to health

- Alive and kicking: to be well and healthy

Eg: My aunt is ninety years old and she is very much alive and kicking

- Alive and well: to be well and healthy

Eg: The worker was alive and well after the accident

- Breathe one's last: to die

Eg: The man breathed his last after a long illness

- Pass away: to die

Eg: The man's father passed away when he was 96 years old

- Catch a cold: to get a cold

Eg: I caught a cold last week and had to miss four days of work

- Catch one's death of cold: to become very ill (with a cold/flu etc.)

Eg: The little boy was told to be careful in the rain or he would catch his death of cold

- Picture of health: a perfect example of health

Eg: The man is feeling very well and is the picture of health

2.1.4.4 Idioms related to books

- Bookworm: a person who loves to read and is devoted to reading

- Book smart: to be very smart or successful in a scholastic way (from knowledge

in books), but not very smart or successful in real world interactions

- An open book: to have very evident and clear emotions and thoughts

- To hit the books: to study hard

- “That’s one for the books”: This phrase is used to say that something is

‘amazing,’ ‘wonderful’ or ‘impressive.’

- “You can’t judge a book by its cover”: This idiom is used to say, ‘you should not

judge people by their appearance alone.’ This idiom also is used to remind people that the outside of something is not always the same as the inside

2.1.4.5 Idioms related to jobs

- Learn the ropes: Become more familiar with a job or field of endeavor; be trained

Eg: It will take me several months to learn the ropes, but I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with my performance

- Get the sack/ Be sacked: To be fired

Eg: I just got the sack, and so did 20 other people I have three hours pack up my things and leave the office

- Off the hook: Free from blame or responsibility to do something

Eg: Jason said he’d finish the project tonight, so you’re off the hook

- Burn the candle at both ends: Work very long hours

Eg: I’ve been working two jobs so we can buy a car, but I’m very tired I’m burning the candle at both ends

- Out of work: Unemployed

Eg: I’ve been out of work since December Hope I find a new job soon!

2.1.4.6 Idioms related to films

- Film at 11: A phrase used in broadcast journalism during clips of news stories that

are to be featured in greater detail later (when a news program airs, traditionally at

11 PM) Although it was once reserved for serious news stories, the phrase is often used now in a joking or sarcastic manner in conversation or news parodies

Eg: A five-alarm fire engulfs a historical landmark - film at 11 Ooh, Jill and Megan are fighting again! Film at 11!

- Film over: To begin to display a film, a thin membrane that can develop on the

surface of some things

Eg: Don't eat that soup It's been sitting out so long that it's filmed over

- Popcorn film: A film that is entertaining to watch, but is generally not of a very

high quality or rich in emotional or intellectual depth

Eg: A: "So what film do you want to go see later?"

B: "I don't feel like watching anything too heavy or complex Let's just see whatever popcorn film is out."

- Snuff film: A film that shows the actual murder or death of a person.

Eg: Although snuff films are illegal, they are still widely circulated on the black market.The death scenes were so realistic that the director and producers were actually arrested at one point for making a snuff film

- Tentpole film: A film with a very large budget and production value that is meant

to provide substantial revenue to the production company

Eg: Big blockbusters used to be quite the rare cinematic event, but we've gotten to the point now where there's a tentpole film coming out nearly every weekend of the year

2.1.4.7 Idioms related to nature and environment

- A shrinking violet: A shy person

Eg: She was quite a shrinking violet until she left home and went to university

- On cloud nine: Very happy

Eg: He was on cloud nine after winning the competition

- Cuts no ice: Doesn’t have any effect or influence

Eg: That sort of romantic attitude cuts no ice with money-men

- Calm before the storm: Unusual or false quiet period before a period of upheaval

Eg: Charity should have recognized it as the calm before the storm, but she didn’t

- Many moons ago: A very long time ago

Eg: It all happened many moons ago

- A ray of sunshine: Something that brings happiness to someone

Eg: Her visit brought a ray of sunshine into the old man’s life

- Once in a blue moon: Very rarely

Eg: We go out to eat once in a blue moon

- Out of the woods: Out of danger

Eg: The nation’s economy is not out of the woods yet

2.2 Practical problems before the study

Before applying the research, I had a lot of difficulties in teaching English idioms for students in my workplace Although I took some measures, they were not effective I decided to find out the reasons for this situation I talked with my students, colleagues, friends and I realized the following problems Firstly, my students’ vocabulary was still poor while the meanings in English idioms are very diverse Consequently, they could hardly understand or misunderstood their meanings Secondly, they were less likely to utilize English idioms in their daily life and their learning environment Therefore, they did not have a chance to practice frequently and they could not remember well As a result, my students often felt inconfident when encountering exercises related to English idioms

Due to the above reality, I needed to find an effective solution to the proplems

I consulted my colleagues about this as well as got more information from books, newspapers and the Internet I found that English idioms should be classified into topics for students to remember easily In addition, warm-up activities were extremely suitable for students to practice with English idioms by topic In fact, warm-up activities appear at the beginning of every lesson That is the reason why