SKKN combining teaching english idioms and writing skill by using contexts

Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The rationale for the study The objectives of the study The scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study 3 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 An overview of Dien Chau High School Orientation of Vietnamese education on teaching method Definition of idioms Types of English idioms Features of English idioms Some principles for teaching and learning idioms Definition of context The roles of contexts in teaching idioms The disadvantages of using contexts to combine teaching idioms and writing skill 2.10 The purposes of idioms in writing 2.11 Types of writing CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 The stages of a lesson 3.2 Sample lessons 3.3 The achieved results after the research 4 6 8 9 10 12 13 28 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 4.1 Conclusion 30 4.2 Suggestions 30 Appendix 1: Answer keys Appendix 2: Glossary Appendix 3: Rubric for assessment of writing skill Appendix 4: Some students’ writing products Appendix 5: Quick survey questions References Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The rationale for the study Learning the English language has become a necessity in many aspects so has become teaching it Apart from learning grammar, this includes learning and teaching vocabulary Building vocabulary helps Vietnamese students in an ESL classroom and outside of it speak more fluently There is still a problem when it comes to speaking English fluently: students’ ability to understand native speakers or when reading an authentic book or any other written material meant for native speakers One of the biggest challenges is understanding idioms and anything that has idiomatic meaning Therefore learning and teaching idioms are as important as learning and teaching other parts of the English language Idioms are frequently used in both formal and informal, spoken and written discourse They are common in movies, on television, in journalism, in books and literature, and in advertising, as well as in everyday life According to Polio, Barlow, and Fine (1977), most English speakers utter about 7,000 idioms per week This means that about four idiomatic expressions are produced in every minute of speech Erman and Warren calculated that “idioms make up a large portion of any discourse, constituting 58.6% of spoken English and 52.3% of written English” (Erman & Warren, 2000) Thus, idiomatic expressions create a significant portion of our everyday communication and they often appear in listening or reading tests It can be difficult to learn and understand their meanings without understanding the proper context in which they are used This is because the meaning of an idiom is not always obvious or literal Learning idioms is a significant way of contributing to the development of axiology in the sense of cross-cultural relations, because the students exposed to these already-made language structures, which are full of culture and wisdom from their native context, will learn to respect and understand the culture from where the idioms are coming, without losing their cultural values They will enrich their own culture by assuming the most outstanding values of the target language Moreover, to have a good preparation for the exams such as IELTS, GCSE, or gifted examinations students must have a wide range of English idiomatic expressions Teaching idioms is not an easy job for a teacher but it is one of the most important components of a language, Eliana Edith Roberto De Caro(2009) made a study where she explains that without idioms English would lose much of its variety and humor in both speech and writing In her experiment, she justifies that students who had the opportunity to travel to the United States experienced many difficulties, even when they were able to speak English because they did not understand the meaning of idioms, which are widely used by a native Although idioms are not very common in English teaching, it does not mean that they are not necessary If we choose not to teach students idioms, they will be missing an important cultural element of the language they strive to speak fluently Sometimes idioms can be Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts difficult to teach due to their components, but with the already acquired knowledge of the language and the use of context, it can be much easier to learn them It seems clear that many Vietnamese teachers even tend to avoid using or teaching idioms in classrooms because they believe that idioms are too difficult for learners, which leads to Vietnamese students’ poor idiomatic competence At the same time, students mainly learn idioms by heart and have difficulty using them in the right contexts and in writing It is thus very important for teachers to make idioms as understandable and memorable to the students as possible Among a variety of methodologies, using contexts is considered an effective way which helps learners to keep idioms in mind "Writing is not a spontaneous skill or it is easily acquired; in fact, it is probably considered the most difficult thing to in language " (Nunan, 2008) The ability to write a text is not only based on the good use of vocabulary or the correct use of grammatical tenses but there are also other components that we are leaving aside in education and at the same time they are important for communication Idioms are very helpful to the development of the student’s knowledge of the English language, "The knowledge of idioms can increase the comprehension of the texts and its use can make the verbal and written communication of the students more effective " (Irujo, Idioms, 1986) Nowadays, the constructivism approach has become an indispensable tool in English language classrooms and one of the most used theories for teaching English Hemant Lata Sharma and Poonam Gupta (2016) say that “constructivism is an innovative strategy in which students construct their knowledge themselves through interaction with each other based on previous experiences It is student-centered rather than teacher-centered in which the teacher acts as a facilitator”(p 788) In other words, the constructivism approach focuses on active learning “Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts” is the topic chosen to study in my research, which proposes the use of constructivism It means that materials are provided for students to work on their own and enrich their knowledge, making use of idioms, with which they have already worked and then put them into practice in writing This method is important because it forces students to remember, search and build their knowledge for themselves, it helps students to remember what they have already learned to get a new answer Learning idioms is not to find the meaning word by word, since its meaning will not be the same and will be altered It is hoped that the research will contribute to teaching and learning English well, especially in idioms and writing 1.2 Objectives of the study With the presented rationale, the specific aim of the study, accordingly, is to help learners keep idioms in mind for the long term and get better in writing At the same time, this is beneficial and innovative for teachers because it could be used as support Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts where the students can practice and learn, and the teacher will also be able to guide, observe and examine the learning process of the student The researcher also desires to join hands with other teachers to create a better learning English atmosphere at schools 1.3 The scope of the study: The concentration of this study is encouraging students to explore the English idioms through contexts and apply them properly in writing The research was applied in accordance with the writing types in Tiếng Anh 11, by Pearson, Vietnam Education Publishing House Limited Company, issued with the decision number 5209/QĐ-BGDĐT by the Minister of Education and Training on 23rd November 2012, in the school year 2021-2022 in Dien Chau High school, Dien Chau High School and Dien Chau High school 1.4 Methods of the study This research is a classroom action research with the intention of making contributions to helping students to learn idioms and practice writing by providing them with contexts 1.5 Significance of the study The main goal of the study is how to make students explore idioms and perform in writing, by preparing activities where they will develop their positive learning It is believed that the contextual teaching method is more appropriate than other types As a result, I will focus on the use and effectiveness of this method in teaching English idioms with the final product as writing This written presentation can be an enjoyable activity for learners since it gives a break away from textbooks Therefore, it is hoped that participants in the study (the teachers and learners at Dien Chau High School) can benefit immediately from my experience Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts 2.1 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND An overview of Dien Chau High School 2.1.1 Teachers A larger proportion of English teachers have a passion for the teaching profession and are active as well as enthusiastic about the work Most teachers agree that to apply language skills fruitfully and effectively, knowledge of idioms is essential Furthermore, changing teaching methods toward positive ways are being applied dramatically Teachers always make efforts to self-study, learn from others, explore, and be creative to widen their knowledge and meet the demand of teaching in the new age Although teachers have tried to renew their teaching, it is evaluated not to bring as many effects as expected Some educationalists not pay much attention to helping students explore the proper meanings of English idioms and seldom encourage students to apply the idioms to speaking or writing products, learners, as a consequence, will not get enough motivation to learn this figurative language This means that teaching English idiomatic expressions is still not included adequately in teaching English 2.1.2 Students Most of the students in Dien Chau High school have a desire to study English well However, a large number of the students not care about English idiomatic expressions because they believe idioms are difficult and it is not worth spending time learning them Also, learners are not encouraged to utilize English idioms in speaking or writing, even in their tests or exams at school Besides, students may not understand that there is a connection between idioms and culture, and the cultural value of idioms is not sufficiently explored As a result, learners’ knowledge on this kind of figurative expression in their language learning process seems to be inexplicit Moreover, some idioms are just introduced to students sometimes in their textbooks and they are not provided with enough practice or applications with the idioms, which leads to learners’ insufficient attention to this kind of language expressions and may not have a long-lasting memory of the idioms From the above facts, the researcher finds that she should make activities which help to actuate students in studying idioms as well as applying them in writing 2.2 Orientation of Vietnamese education on teaching methods The educational programs for high schools of our nation were issued with the decision number 16/2006/QĐ – BGDĐT on June 5th, 2006 by the minister of education says that we must promote students’ positive, self-conscious and active creativity to be appropriate with the features of each subject, the characteristics of the object – students, conditions of every classroom; foster them the ways of selflearning, the ability of cooperation; train them the skills to apply theoretical Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts knowledge in practice; impact on their emotion; bring them happiness, interests and responsibilities in learning Strong renewal and innovation in education is the modern tendency of the world in the twentieth century, in order to continuously improve the quality of human resources In Viet Nam, this quality is still at a low level and has not yet satisfied the requirements of the need for developing the country in the age of international integration To address this problem, the 9th Central Committee of the Communist Party of VietNam, at the 8th plenum, issued the resolution 29 – NQ/TW 04/11/2013 about essential and comprehensive innovation in the education of Viet Nam One important solution in this resolution is that it firmly determines “continuously, strongly, profoundly innovates and synchronizes the fundamental elements of education following the direction of developing the virtue and ability of students” Nowadays, The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) requires that all levels of education utilize positive teaching methods Positive teaching is a concept that has numerous labels such as student-centered learning, learner-centered pedagogy, and teacher-as-tutor but all mean that an instructor revolves lessons around the students and ensures that students take a participatory role in the learning process, known as active learning 2.3 Definition of English idioms Generally, idioms are defined as a fixed expression of a group of words that cannot be literally translated or defined one by one, “idioms are expressions which have a meaning that is not obvious from the individual words, for example, the idiom drive somebody round the bend means make somebody angry or frustrated, but we cannot know this just looking at the words”.(Michael McCarthy, and Felicity O’Dell, 2017, p 6) The following are some examples of idioms in every day (not academic) English Raining cats and dogs - raining very hard Break a leg - said before a performance, meaning 'good luck' Behind one's back - secretly The following are some examples of idioms for academic English use: On the other hand - from another point of view (showing contrast) Bear in mind - think of something, especially as a warning The bottom line - the main or essential point Take on board - accept or deal with (a problem or idea) This can also be confirmed by Dadyan (2018) who supports that, “In some cases, when an idiom is translated into another language its meaning may be Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts changed or not make any sense as it once did in the source language” (p.174) Therefore, an idiom is an expression constructed by a group of words that generates problems for the learners because when it is translated, its meaning is different Idioms often summarize or reflect a commonly held cultural experience, even if that experience is now out of date or antiquated For instance, you might say that someone should “bite the bullet” when they need to something undesirable The phrase’s origin refers to wounded soldiers biting down on a bullet to avoid screaming during a wartime operation That common occurrence from the past resulted in a phrase we still use today 2.4 Types of English idioms Idioms have been a subject of study that has troubled many researchers since they represent not only the language, but also a town, a city or some specific places that involve customs, traditions or beliefs, and these, in return, also have a very unusual syntactic and semantic content that makes communication more difficult for people who are learning a language This is the reason why, currently, there are different classifications of idioms due to the number of characteristics they possess Fernando C (cited by Dadyan Ishkhan, 2015) proposes a classification of three groups based on the level of difficulty to understand an idiom such as: • A pure idiom is a type of conventionalized, non-literal multiword expression whose meaning cannot be understood by adding up the meanings of the words that make up the phrase For example, the expression spill the beans is a pure idiom, because its real meaning has nothing to with beans • A semi-idiom, on the other hand, has at least one literal element and one with a non-literal meaning Foot the bill (i.e “pay”) is one example of a semi-idiom, in which foot is the non-literal element, whereas the word bill is used literally • A literal idiom, such as on foot on the contrary is semantically less complex than the other two, and therefore easier to understand even if one is not familiar with these expressions (p.177) This classification helps to develop this research since it gives us an idea of a grouping of difficulty at the moment of learning these expressions Therefore, students are guided to start learning and practicing the easiest idioms to understand, until reaching the pure idioms which consist of a higher degree of difficulty to understand 2.5 Features of English idioms When mentioning semantic features of idioms we had better focus on the figurative meaning of idioms It is the most important characteristic of idioms to know whether an expression is an idiom or not because the meaning of components of an idiom is different from the meaning of the whole idiom According to Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary: Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts An idiom is a group of words that, when they are used together in a particular combination, has a different meaning from the one they would have if you took the meaning of the individual words in the group (Sinclair, 1987, p.718) Smiley and Goldtein(1998) also suggest that “idioms are certainly more than the sums of their parts” (p.76) That means the meaning of components of an idiom is different from the meaning of the whole idiom Whether we can guess the meaning of an idiom or not depends on open or closed classes As Yong and Peng (2007) suggest: In open class combinations, individual components are freely recombined and are used in a common literal sense As co-occurrence of individual components is expected of this class of combinations, both their meaning and structures are predictably amenable to analysis (p.178) For instance, we can guess the meaning of the idiom “turn over a new leaf” “Turn over” means to make something change position so that the other side is facing towards the outside or the top and “a new leaf” is a leaf which is more beautiful, more perfect Therefore, the meaning of the idioms can be guessed as “to change your way of life to become a better, more responsible person” However, in close class combinations, we cannot guess the meaning of idioms That is because “they are characterized by semantic opaqueness, syntactic restrictions and structural stability” (Yong & Peng, 2007, p.178) For example, the idioms “spread oneself too thin” or “for the birds” Idioms have “a fixed form - that usually cannot be changed” (Heacock, 2003, p.ix) However, Heacock (2003) also claims: Not all fixed phrases are idioms For example, “close your eyes” is a common fixed phrase, but not an idiom because each word in it is used in its standard meaning The phrase “keep your skirt” is an idiom, however, because the phrase does not mean “do not take off your skirt” - it means “stay calm” (p.ix) Idioms can be divided into six different forms or structures: + Idioms located at noun entries such as “in addition to”, “for the birds” + Idioms located at verb entries such as “look forward to”, “take off”, “hear about” + Idioms located at adjectival entries such as “in short”, “hot under the collar” + Idioms located at adverbial entries such as “once again”, “worse off” + Idioms located at pronominal entries such as “give it up”, “come to nothing” + Idioms located at numeral entries such as “give a hundred percent”, “one by one” It is really important to know that modifying any components and functional words can lose the idiomatic meaning (Yong & Peng, 2007) Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts 2.6 Some principles when teaching and learning idioms: Level: Many teachers not introduce idioms to students who are not at the advanced level In some ways, this seems like a good approach because idioms are complex and have different meanings than their words alone suggest However, idioms not have to be just for advanced students, you can introduce them earlier as long as you choose ones that are appropriate for your students Obviously, beginners may not have the vocabulary and comprehension skills to learn certain idioms however, intermediate students could definitely benefit from learning about this aspect of the English language Comprehension: Students have to know or understand the individual words of an idiom before understanding the idiom itself Avoid introducing idioms which use new vocabulary words and be able to simplify the meaning of idioms You could say, for instance, that “work like a dog” means to work very hard Students will have to know all the words you use in your explanation as well so use the simplest language you can Even with advanced learners, simplifying idioms to their basic meanings makes them easier to understand and learn Application When including idioms in writing learners should be reminded that overusing and irrelevance can cause inexpectant results It is important to avoid idioms in everyday (not academic) English in academic writing, business writing, and technical writing 2.7 Definition of context Context is the background, environment, setting, framework, or surroundings of events or occurrences Simply, context means circumstances forming a background of an event, idea, or statement, in such a way as to enable readers to understand the narrative or a literary piece 2.8 The roles of contexts in teaching idioms The role of context is central in language learning It is common that students have difficulty in understanding and applying English idioms Therefore, it is fundamental for teachers to provide rich contexts for students’ language learning and practice Linguistic contextual information enhances adolescents’ interpretation of idioms (Nippold & Martin, 1989) In fact, the contextual cues surrounding particular idioms can help readers get the meanings much more easily In contrast, context-reduced language will be hard for readers to comprehend (Brown, 2001) Consequently, it is more effective for students to learn a language in meaningful contexts than learn isolated words through memorization and drilling Interesting stories usually draw students’ attention and easily make students absorbed in them Thus, a suggestion for a contextual teaching method is introducing English idioms Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts within interesting stories which can possibly help students to understand and remember the idioms better 2.9 The disadvantages of using contexts to combine teaching idioms and writing Thanks to technological development, teachers now can easily search for a variety of teaching resources on the internet However, it is quite time-consuming for teachers to figure out appropriate contexts containing idioms in accordance with the themes in students’ textbooks Teachers sometimes have to adjust the contexts so that they can meet the demand of the curriculum Moreover, idioms are a challenge for not only students but also for teachers Therefore, to assess learners’ writing products in which idioms are applied, teachers must have a wide range of idiomatic expressions and an ability of proper application In fact, the number of language teachers who fulfill this requirement is not large 2.10 The Purposes of Idioms in Writing Idioms are a type of figurative language that can be used to add dynamism and character to otherwise stale writing They can be used to: Express Complex Ideas in a Simple Way Oftentimes, idioms can help express a large or abstract idea in a way that is succinct and easy to understand For instance, you could say that two things are impossible to compare to one another because they possess different traits or meanings Or you could simply say that it’s like “comparing apples to oranges.” In this case, the use of an idiom helps to express the same idea in a much simpler way Add Humor To Your Writing Idiomatic expressions can help transform flat descriptions with the help of a funny turn-of-phrase For instance, rather than describing someone as being not very smart, the writer could say that he is “not the sharpest tool in the shed” or “not the brightest star in the sky.” In addition to conveying that the subject in question is not intelligent, the inherent comparison of a person’s brain to a toolbox or a star is unexpected and humorous Keep Your Reader Stimulated By inserting an idiomatic phrase into writing, writers force readers to shift from thinking literally to abstractly This can help keep the reader stay focused and excited, as they must activate a more conceptual part of their brain in order to comprehend the idiom’s meaning By describing someone taking on a larger task than they may have been prepared for as “biting off more than they can chew,” the writer encourages the reader to conjure a visual image in their head, which can help keep them engaged in the writing Establish a Point of View Since idioms are often used to express commonly shared or universal ideas, there are often dozens of idioms that apply to the same concept However, depending on which idiom writers choose, they can convey an entirely different attitude about the subject about which they are Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts The clear effect of my research is that it has created a positive learning attitude among students I mean that the final result can answer the two questions in my quick survey in the classes in which this study was applied (the survey questions are in Appendix 5) “ Do you find English idioms interesting?” and “ Your ignorance in learning idioms is due to ” Many students answer “yes” for the first question and “motivation”, “lack of proper practice” and “lack of application” for question This information helps educators see clearly the core problems hindering them from learning and using idioms In fact, students often use dictionaries or Google to look for the meanings because teachers seldom use exercises to teach idioms in the classroom Also, learners are rarely encouraged to utilize idioms in productive skills so they cannot find the interesting aspect of the language At the same time, students are not aware of the wide use of English idioms in daily life in native countries These lead to the fact that students not pay due attention to the idioms When teaching students, I realized that the best way of studying was using contexts and self-studying It is understandable that once students explore something by themselves, it will go more smoothly into their minds than being taught Besides, the feeling of having a deep idiomatic understanding helps stimulate students’ desire to explore more about it Having applied the context-based teaching method to integrate teaching idioms and writing in Tieng Anh 11, I can affirm that it really brings effectiveness to my lectures Not only the contexts add to students’ interest in exploring idioms but they also help my students improve their reading and writing skills as well This is the reason why students study idioms and writing better when the context-based approach is applied The result of these investigations is counted up in the following table: Grade 11A Before doing experiments Interest Having Applying in good suitable learning knowledge idioms in idioms of idioms writing (% (% (% students) students) students) 30 % 35% 20% After doing experiments Interest Having Applying in good suitable learning knowledge idioms in idioms of idioms writing (% (% (% students) students) students) 75 % 80 % 70 % 11D 25 % 20% 25% 70 % 85 % 75 % 11G 25 % 20% 20% 75 % 80% 70% Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 29 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 4.1 Conclusions Since it is vital for learners to learn English idioms in order to master English, it is important for teachers to design various activities for students to use with English idioms and subsequently acquire them efficiently Moreover, students learn better when they are provided with collaborative activities because they can interact with peers and share the fun in learning Within this study, when teachers integrate reading and writing activities together in teaching English idioms, students can be involved in the application of English idioms in the skills Thus, it is effective to teach learners English idioms when they are provided with various activities to practice and utilize English idioms in contexts 4.2 Suggestions In order to improve the quality and efficiency of applying context-based teaching method in combining teaching idioms and writing skill, at this initiative, I would like to propose some of the following recommendations: On the teachers’ side: There must always be a sense of cultivating knowledge and creativity in teaching Teachers should be responsible for encouraging students to discover the meaning of English idioms in contexts and create chances for learners to apply the figurative language in different skills To this effectively, teachers have to regularly refer to documents, read books and seek from the Internet resources to enlarge their knowledge of idioms and collect or create suitable contexts so that they can develop their competence in teaching and assessing students On the students’ side: students need to be bold and proactive in the lesson that context-based teaching techniques are applied Regularly practice English writing skill in which suitable English idioms are included in to gain both goals – keeping idioms in mind and developing writing skill On the side of the school: it is important to emphasize that the fact of having supporting materials in place would help teachers to introduce idioms in the class frequently in different skills such as speaking and writing Therefore, providing teachers with upgraded books on teaching idioms and English skills is really necessary On the side of Nghe An Department of Education and Training: it is necessary to open more training and retraining classes on positive teaching methodology in order to help teachers revise teaching methods and have good opportunities to learn teaching experience from many other colleagues Above are some of my ideas to get the objectives, to help the students unfold in the classroom through written communication, to make students be interested in the figurative language, to promote the use of idioms in writing, which contribute to making creative writing and deepen idiom learning, and mainly to get better the Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 30 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts students’ English level I know that there are many deficiencies in my study I look forward to receiving the evaluation from all the readers to help complete my research Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 31 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 1: ANSWER KEY Sample lesson 1: Exercise 1: A= First picture B= Second picture D= Third picture E= First picture C= Second picture Exercise 2: a) to desert a sinking ship b) to hit the road d) living out of a suitcase c) in the same boat e) have itchy feet Exercise 3: a) living out of suitcase b) to desert a sinking ship d) in the same boat e) to hit the road c) has itchy feet Sample lesson 2: Exercise 1: A= Second picture B= First picture C= Second picture D= Third picture Exercise 2: a) passed with flying colors b) drop out c) cut out for d) falling behind e) hit the books f) a piece of cake Exercise 3: a) drop out b) falls behind d) cut out for e) drawing a blank c) passed with flying colors Sample lesson 3: Exercise 1: A=Second picture B=First picture C=Second picture D=Second picture E=Third picture F=First picture G=First picture H=Second picture Exercise 2: a) live from hand to mouth b) socking away c) get her ducks in a row d) lives off the fat of the land e) make hay while the sun is shining Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 32 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts f) in the twinkling of an eye g) salt of the earth h) on the spur of the moment i) by the seat of my pants j) the powers that be k) throw in the towel Exercise 3: a) socked away b) as free as a bird c) a new lease on life d) in the twinkling of an eye e) jack-of-all-trades f) live from hand to mouth g) tilting at windmills Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 33 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 2: GLOSSARY Sample lesson 1: - In the same boat: be in the same difficult circumstances as others - Desert a sinking ship: Abandon a failing enterprise before it is too late - Have itchy feet: Have or develop a strong urge to travel or move from place to place/ a strong desire to leave a place and to travel - Hit the road: To depart; to begin one's journey, especially on a road trip; to leave for home - Living out of a suitcase: Means to stay very briefly in several places, with only the belongings in your suitcase / a person who travels a lot Sample lesson 2: - Drop out of: Abandon a course of study Fall behind: Fail to keep up with one's competitors Be cut out for: Have exactly the right qualities for a particular role, task, or job Pass with flying colors: pass with distinction A piece of cake: something is very easy - Draw a blank: not be able to remember something Sample lesson 3: - sock away = to save money live from hand to mouth = to live with just enough money to survive live off the fat of the land = to live from the products of nature make hay while the sun is shining = To take advantage of favorable conditions; to make the most of an opportunity when it is available in the twinkling of an eye = instantly, immediately as free as a bird = completely free and without responsibilities get one's ducks in a row = to all the necessary preparations in order to something salt of the earth = simple, honest person without pretensions on the spur of the moment = deciding something without thinking about it by the seat of one's pants = Without a clear plan or direction money to burn = money to waste the powers that be = phrase used to speak about those in power tag along = to follow or go with others throw in the towel = to quit jack-of-all-trades = person who does many different types of jobs not able to see the forest for the trees = become so focused on details that you lose knowledge of the more important things in life tilt at windmills = to work on things or dedicate oneself to impossible tasks get a new lease on life = to develop a new attitude towards life the prime of life = the best period of one's life Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 34 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts - throw something down the drain = to waste something - lose one's marbles = to go crazy Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 35 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 3: RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT OF WRITING SKILL Aspect Information Score Content - Content is in accordance with the title accordance - Content is fairly in accordance with the title with the title - Content is not in accordance with the title Text harmony - Harmony of the text is precise - Harmony of the text is quite precise - Harmony of the text is not precise 0.5 0.5 Vocabulary - Vocabulary and idiom selection is appropriate and idiom - Vocabulary and idiom selection is quite appropriate selection - Vocabulary and idiom selection is inappropriate 0.5 Grammar options Writing tidiness - Selection of grammar is proper - Selection of grammar is quite proper - Selection of grammar is not precise - Writing is neat, long enough and easily readable Writing is neat, long enough but not easily readable Writing is neat, easily readable but not long enough Writing is long enough but untidy and not easily readable Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 0.5 1.5 0.5 36 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 4: SOME STUDENTS’ WRITING PRODUCTS Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 37 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 38 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 39 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 40 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 41 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 5: QUESTIONNAIRES QUICK SURVEY Please answer the following questions: Question 1: Do you find English idioms interesting? Question 2: Do you think the context-based teaching method is useful for you? Why or why not? Question 3: What is your main difficulty when you apply idiomatic expressions in your writing task? Question 4: Your ignorance in learning idioms is due to A B C D Lack of motivation Lack of a good approach to teach idioms Lack of proper practice Lack of application Question 5: Why should we learn idioms in learning English? Question 6: Can you find some Vietnamese idioms which have the same meanings as English idioms? Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 42 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts REFERENCES Decision number 16/2006/QĐ – BGDĐT on June 5th,, 2006 Resolution 29 – NQ/TW 04/11/2013 about essential and comprehensive innovating the education of Viet Nam Teachers’ book, Tiếng Anh 11 McMarthy, M.,& O’Dell Felicity (2008) English Idioms in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press McCarthy, M (2010) Cambridge Idioms Dictionary (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Adkins, P G (1968) Teaching idioms and figures of speech to non-native speakers of English Modern Language Journal, 52(3), 148-152 Clarke, D.F., and Nation, I S.P (1980) Guessing the meaning of words from context: Strategy and techniques System, 8(2), 211-220 Li, X (1988) Effects of contextual cues on inferring and remembering meanings of new words Applied Linguistics, 9(4), 402-413 Mola, A J (1993) Teaching idioms in the second language classroom: A case study for college-level German (MA Thesis) Graduate School of Georgetown University 10 Moon, R (1998) Fixed expressions and idioms in English Oxford: Clarendon Press 11 Heacock, P.(Ed) (2003) Cambridge dictionary of American idioms New York: Cambridge University Press 12 Sinclair, J.(Ed) (1987) Collins cobuild dictionary of the English language New York: Williams Collins Sons & Company 13 www google.com.vn Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 43 ... School 39 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 40 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn... and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 38 Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 39 Combining. .. Combining teaching English idioms and writing skill by using contexts APPENDIX 4: SOME STUDENTS’ WRITING PRODUCTS Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu High School 37 Combining teaching English idioms and