(Skkn 2023) techniques recommended to enhance learning of idioms for 12th graders at nguyen xuan on high school

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING () TEACHING INITIATIVE THEME TECHNIQUES RECOMMENDED TO ENHANCE LEARNING OF IDIOMS FOR 12TH GRADERS AT NGUYEN XUAN ON HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT: ENGLISH School year: 2022-2023 NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING () TEACHING INITIATIVE THEME TECHNIQUES RECOMMENDED TO ENHANCE LEARNING OF IDIOMS FOR 12TH GRADERS AT NGUYEN XUAN ON HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT: ENGLISH Co-author: NGUYEN THI THUY NGA VU THI THUY Phone number: 0983328302 0984378237 School year: 2022-2023 I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale……………………………………………………………… 1.2 Aim of the study………………………………………………………… 1.3 Research questions……………………………………………………… 1.4 Scope of the study……………………………………………………… 1.5 Design of the study………………………………………………… … II DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical and practical background Definition of idiom………………………………………………………… Types of Idioms………………………………………………………… .5 The characteristics of English idioms……………………………………… The importance of idioms……………………………………………………7 Difficulties of students’learning’idioms…………………………………… Chapter 2: Methodology Settings ………………………………………………………………… ….10 Participants…………………………………………………………… … 11 Data collection methods………………………………………………… 12 3.4.1 Interviews……………………………………………………………… 12 3.4.2 Questionnaires………………………………………………………… 13 3.4.3 Tests…………………………………………………………………… 13 3.5 Data analysis……………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion Findings ………………………………………………………………… .13 1.1 Before the study……………………………………………………….……13 1.1.1 From the questionnaires …………………………………………… .13 1.1.2 From the interviews ………………………………………………… .16 1.1 From the tests ……………………………………………………… .16 1.2 After the study ………………………………………………………… 17 1.2.1 From the questionnaires………………………………………………….17 1.2.2 From the interviews………………………………………………………18 1.2.3 From the tests ……………………………………………………………18 Discussion ……………………………………………………………… .19 2.1 Difficulty 1: Usually understand idioms’ meaning literally……………… 19 Solution 1: The transparency of an idiom………………………………… .19 Technique 1: Using pictures to learn idioms (pictorial elucidation)…………….19 Technique 2: Learning about the origin of idioms……………………………20 Solution 2: Learning methods to increase familiarity of idioms …………… 21 Technique: Translating idioms into Vietnamese idioms…………………… 21 2.2 Difficulties 2: Be less exposed to idioms in academic English ………… 22 Solution: Applying context to learning idioms……………………………….22 Technique 1: Making sentences, dialogues, or stories with idioms……….….22 Technique 2: Watching English movies, videos, or clips …………………….23 Technique 3: Using online games……………………………………… 23 Further examples of applications’ recommended technique in learning idioms ………………………………………………………… 24-51 The urgency and feasibility of the research…………………………… 51-54 III CONCLUSION Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 55 Recommendations ……………………………………………………………55 REFERENCES APPENDICES I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale There is no denying that English is a crucial language in the modern world The number of people learning English has substantially increased over the past few decades English is the only language used by everyone to stay up with technological breakthroughs in the age of computers Because of this, more people are interested in learning English, and parents are letting their children connect with the language from an early age in all skill sets The children must equally master speaking, listening, writing, and reading, the four fundamental skills One thing is necessary for kids to acquire all skills: vocabulary, which is regarded as the building block of language Vocabulary is the foundation or core of learning any foreign language in order to facilitate communication, as demonstrated by practice Without a vast vocabulary, learners will not be able to communicate or convey their thoughts effectively Vocabulary learning thus becomes extremely important and necessary for both teachers and pupils Idioms are a part of the vocabulary An idiom is a term that is frequently used in language to express certain sincere notions These words are crucial for expressing original ideas and bolstering the assertion Additionally, it results in a deeper comprehension of the language Idioms and phrases are frequently used in various competitive tests because of this The variety of English idioms may initially confound students It is a known fact that kids find it quite difficult to take examinations, especially high school exams, because they are extremely hesitant to acquire new words and idioms and because their vocabulary appears to be very little As a result of the aforementioned fact, teachers must develop novel approaches and discoveries to raise the standard of instruction and assist students in making substantial advancements in their use of the language in authentic situations From my teaching experience, I see that 12th-grade students at Nguyen Xuan On High School, as well as other Vietnamese students, face significant challenges in learning and practicing Idioms Due to a lack of professional expertise and adequate learning methods, they frequently become confused when doing idioms questions As a result of the foregoing, I've come up with the concept of conducting an investigation into these issues and offering different techniques to make improvement the current situation Hopefully, the study, titled "Techniques recommended to enhance the learning of idioms for 12th graders at Nguyen Xuan On High School" may help people who have struggled with or become bored with learning idioms in the future 1.2 Aim of the study The goal of this experimental study is to determine a basic understanding of Idioms and other related topics My study's specific goals are as follows: - Getting a base on Idioms - Studying learning Idioms of 12th graders at Nguyen Xuan On High School and finding out the encountered difficulties in learning idioms - Recommending some more effective and acceptable techniques for students to use the right idioms in the right situations 1.3 Research questions: In order to achieve the above-stated aim, this action research project was designed and conducted to answer the two following questions: What difficulties 12th graders face when learning idioms? What are the techniques used by 12th graders to deal with those problems? 1.4 Scope of the study: Although English idioms are a fantastic treasure to discover for the benefits it brings, they are widely regarded as one of the most difficult subjects for English learners to master, requiring a significant amount of time and effort to research In addition, it is a fact that they can be seen in every situation when we learn English Therefore, it is impossible for us to go through all of them Due to the study's limited scope, it focuses mostly on learning conditions and effective techniques for reducing current challenges in learning idioms and helping students use them in the right situations On the whole, the participants of this study: - Being interviewed: teachers - Questionnaires are used for 135 students - Applying lesson plans using recommended techniques 1.5 Design of the study: A table of contents with page numbers makes it very easy for readers to acquire a clear overview of the research report It also makes it easier and faster for readers to find the information they require This study is divided into three main sections: - Part I: The Introduction includes: Rationale, Aim, research questions, Scope, Design, and Methodology of the Study - Part II: The Development consists of three small parts: Chapter 1: is the presentation of background theory which provides readers the basic knowledge of “Idioms” Chapter 2: set of the survey questionnaires, interviews, and tests - give the situation analysis, subjects, and data collection instruments Data Analysis - shows the detailed results of the survey and makes a comprehensive analysis of the collected data Findings and discussions Chapter 3: Gives suggested methods and techniques for 12thgraders at Nguyen Xuan On High School to learn idioms more effectively - Part III: The Conclusion presents an overview of the study, suggestions for further research, and limitations of the study II DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical Background Definition of idiom Most researchers agree that idioms in most cases not show flexibility (changeable) in form and grammar Until now, most of the studies on idioms have not come up with a theory that has been agreed upon among researchers Strässler also suggests that the very lack of idiom theories may be one of the reasons why the definition is so difficult (1982: 26) According to traditional grammar, idioms have always been considered a special lexical category not only because of their structure but also because of their very specific usage in each language Some authors consider idioms as units that are semantically, structurally, and functionally equivalent to words in a sentence Typical of this view is the definitions in the idiom dictionaries, Trask, Weinreich, etc An idiom is considered a phrase whose meaning extends beyond the meanings of the words that make up it (Trask 1999: 119) Weinreich (1969: 42) considers that an idiom is a word unit consisting of two elements with multiple meanings The Collins English Dictionary (2006) defines an idiom as an expression, such as a comparison, whose words have no literal meaning, but which are classed as multiword expressions that act in the text as a unified unit The Longman Dictionary of Idioms (2000) defines an idiom as a collection of words that have a different meaning from the meaning of each individual word when put together Larson (1984: 142) calls idioms "special combinations", or "fixed word combinations" that have only a total meaning, but the meanings of these combinations are not the meanings of the individual words added together each other, but rather a metaphor (249) An idiom is a phrase of at least two words that is not taken literally and that semantically functions as a unit (Beekman and Callow 1974 - quoting Larson 1984) According to Baker (1992: 63), idioms and fixed phrases are at the bottom end of the word association scale: flexible associative and clear in meaning They are constant combinations, rarely have variation in form and, in the case of idioms, the meaning cannot usually be inferred from the individual elements unless the speaker is trying to make a joke or play on words, otherwise, you cannot any of the following with an idiom: change the word order, remove a word, add words, replace the word with another word, change the grammatical structure Therefore, Makkai (1972) has noted users as well as researchers about the complexity of idioms Makkai describes idioms as a unit of meaning but syntactically unpredictable, and very complex, so it's easy to get lost when used Vietnamese language researchers have also tried to come up with some definitions of idioms, but due to different research approaches as well as the semantic and grammatical complexity of idioms, there is still no consensus unified Most Vietnamese researchers consider idioms to be units equivalent to words in terms of function, grammatical structure, and semantics Cu Dinh Tu (1973) said that "idioms are built-in units that carry the function of naming, in other words, used to name things, properties, and actions" Similarly, Ho Le (1976) defines "idiom as a combination of words - many words combined and have solid properties in structure, glossy in meaning, used to describe an image, an image, a character, a certain attitude” Diep Quang Ban (1998: 6) calls them "given structures consisting of two or more words that are lexical and linguistically stable France" According to Do Huu Chau (1999: 71), these are phrases that have been fixed, so they have the same strict, available, mandatory, and social nature as words Referring to the figurative and semantic unity of idioms, Nguyen Van Tu defines: "Idiom is a fixed phrase in which the words have lost their independence at a high level of meaning, linked into a solid, complete block Meaning they are not created by the meaning of each element These idioms are figurative or may not be” (1986) In addition to the completeness of meaning, Nguyen Thien Giap (1999: 77) argues that idioms have an additional sensuality The common point of the above viewpoints is that they all consider idioms to be syntactically and semantically complete units, even though they are composed of many words, and are stable and structurally invariant Thus, to facilitate the analysis in this study, we consider an idiom as a combination consisting of at least two words: structurally, it is not possible to change the position or replace the words, syntactically complex and unpredictable; about semantically, the meaning of an idiom is not the sum of the meanings of the words, it acts in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Vietnamese Studies as an independent, complete and unified unit in one language and get community use that language acceptable For examples: 1: “Break a leg” means good luck e.g Today's the big game, eh? Break a leg! “Have one's head in the clouds” means be unaware or unrealistic about something e.g Amy “has her head in the clouds” if she thinks she's going to pass her exams without studying “Keep one's chin up” means try to be cheerful e.g Keep your chin up I'm sure you'll make some friends soon “Pat on the back” means recognition or a thank-you e.g The party organizers deserve a pat on the back for a job well done “Cat’s got one’s tongue” means said about someone who doesn’t speak (usually due to shyness) e.g It looks like the cat’s got one’s tongue, Lucy Are you always this quite? Types of Idioms: According to Palmer in his book: Semantic: A New Outline (1976), idioms could be divided into three types: phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, and partial idioms According to grammatical function, idioms can be divided into five types: Nominal idioms (subject and objects), Adjectival idioms (complements), Verbal idioms (predicates), Adverbial idioms (adverbials), and Sentence idioms In O'Dell and McCarthy (2010: 22-32) idioms are classified into eight The types include (1) Similes, which compare two things and always include words such as 'as' or 'like'; (2) Binomials, a type of idioms in which two words are joined by a conjunction, usually 'and'; (3) Trinomials, which are similar to binomials, which three words are joined; (4) Proverbs, which are short sentences which refer to something most people have experienced and give advice or warnings; (5) Euphemisms, a type of idioms used to avoid saying words which may be offensive or considered unpleasant; (6) Cliché, often used in certain common, everyday situations, such as everyday conversation, advertising slogans, and newspaper headlines; (7) Fixed Statement, an idiom that we can often hear and use in daily conversation; and (8) Other Languages; mostly from Latin or French English Idioms can be classified in different ways but in this study, idioms are classified in two main ways: syntactic classification and semantic classification It often uses a variety of metaphors/personification methods, common phrases, and which are used very commonly in most written texts + Example: - Pull up one’s socks: try harder - Boil the ocean: taking up an almost impossible or over-ambitious project - Hit the sack: go to sleep The characteristics of English idioms: Generally, idioms have the following characteristics: a non-compositionality: Katamba (1993) says that “The meaning of an idiom is not a straightforward composition of the meaning of its parts” And according to Langacker (1986), “Idioms are widely defined as being noncompositional or even compositional after the meaning is known” Although the word that makes up the idiom has its own literal meanings, in the idiom they have lost their individual identity We cannot predict the meaning of an idiom from the sum of its parts: E.g: “One smart cookie” means” a very intelligent person” “Wear the trouser” means “be in charge, make the rules” b non-substitutability: Constituents cannot be replaced: Constituents of idioms cannot be changed or replaced For example, “kick the bucket” (which means “to die”) cannot be changed to “kick the pail” or “strike the bucket” Word order cannot be changed: The word order cannot be inverted or changed For instance, “by twos and threes”, “at sixes and sevens” and “tit for tat” cannot be turned into “by threes and twos”, “at sevens and sixes” and “tat for tit” Constituents cannot be deleted or added to: The constituents of an idiom cannot be deleted or added to, not even an article Take the idiom “out of the question” for example, it means “impossible” If the article “the” is deleted, the idiomaticity will be lost and it will signify “no question” instead c non-modifiability: We cannot modify an idiom or apply syntactic transformations Some idioms are fixed and not present internal variation, while there is also a large proportion of idioms that allow for different degrees of internal variability, and with a variable number of elements Syntactically frozen idioms cannot be syntactically transformed into the passive and still retain their figurative meaning E.x.1: I don’t give a pin # A pin isn’t given by me (means don’t care about someone, something…) E.x.2: I’ll eat my hat # My hat will be eaten by me (means that you are absolutely sure that you are right to let other people know that there is no chance of your being wrong) d Institutionalization: According to Grant and Bauer (2004), institutionalization refers to the degree of recognition a particular phrase meets in a speech community There are idioms that have cultural roots and are understood only by those communities that share the same cultural values APPENDIX When you start to know about Idioms? 134 trả lời when I started learning English When I was a high school student In grade 11 I've known since I was in high school it's been a long time years old years ago years ago When I read books and newspapers The last year When I read books and newspapers, when I was watch films and movies about 2020 years ago when I was 10 years ago I started to know this when I was a I’ve started since I studied in secondary child school when I was I don’t know when I was 14 When I have free time to get ready to when I was learn English Idioms grade 10 when I am 12 years old years ago years ago when I learn English in the lass year when I travel secondary school when I read English stories I don't know When I started to learn English Now When I find out the English Culture When I learn E with my teachers When I watch English films and movies Many years ago When I was in grade In 9th grade Present The last year I start to know Idioms when I watch Lower secondary school films and movies, read books, In university newspapers When I was 15 years old No since the beginning I don't know when I started to learn English I don't no when I was 10 years old I know it from TikTok grade qq js when I took an exam When I go to school learning English When I learn English with my friends in grade English centers When I started learning English When I was 10 years old can't remember when I was in class in primary school grade 10 When I watch a cartoon film When I was biet iu nguyen manh tien ok when I study Ielts when I am in English Classes When I was ten When I have free time LXII I have no idea When I am a lower-secondary school student I don’t know 22/2/2023 When I read books and magazines when I just started learning English I don't know I know it from TikTok I don't know Bây I don’t know 16 years old when I am 14 years old When I learned English II APPENDIX What difficulties you have in using Idioms? 132 câu trả lời Hard to remember using them in the right situations I don’t know the way to use idioms Can react immediately I don’t understand and I can’t remember them difficult to remember hard to remember, hard to understand Do not know about the meaning, how to use vocabulary It’s quite difficult to learn by heart language It is hard to understand the meaning It's really hard to learn the massive amount of idioms Vocabulary Mesmerize idioms There are too many idioms and it’s hard to remember them it's pretty hard to understand English idioms can not easily be understood by defining their components no I don’t remember it Sometimes I can't get the exact meanings of them Unknown its meaning Sometimes I don’t know if it’s an idiom or not And I will understand it in a different sense I can’t translate them correctly Meaning Don't know much Sometimes it is difficult to be learned by heart I don't know when to use it I don't know the meaning Remember prepositions in idioms sentence I can’t remember them So many I don’t know much and I can’t remember it too long I don't come across situations in which using idioms would be wise and appropriate It is hard to remember and use Sometimes, I know the meaning of an idiom but I still don't know how to use it when I make a conversation with others Theirs meaning and what situation I can use them? Inaccuracy in putting the idioms in a suitable context Too hard to remember Don't know how to use idioms properly I can’t remember It is hard to remember and use for me Sometimes I know the meaning of the idiom but I can't use it when I talk with others don't remember idioms Em thấy sử dụng idioms việc giao tiếp ngày làm cho câu chuyện khơng tự nhiên E học idioms với mục đích thi cứ, việc áp dụng vào giao tiếp ngày khơng có Với em, khó khăn lớn việc sử dụng idioms tính tự nhiên mang lại khơng cao meaning hard to remember I can't remember Meanings Don't know when to use it I don’t remember any idioms Maybe some idioms are hard to make out, or too long to remember It is hard to learn by heart these idioms and use it in real life Using it in wrong situations Don't know it's meaning using Idioms in right situations - know the exact meaning of idioms use them correctly remember their meanings - make conversation with idioms listening Misuse of words The meaning of the phrases APPENDIX What are the ways you use to learn English Idioms? 132 câu trả lời Learn by heart In speaking test Reading books Quizlet, flashcard Flashcard in my exams recite On youtube Learn by heart the Idioms Haven't found a way yet Add idioms in sentences of speaking in regular life no Read many times I don't really know Memorize with tips Learn idioms by topic and story or guided discovery Associating pictures or reality makes it easier I don’t know Must be learning by image To the exam Watching films, searching for their meanings before using them Hear it - First, you need to hear or read a new expression or come into contact with it in any other way In order to spice your vocabulary up with idioms and phrases, you first have to constantly be on the prowl for them Write it - Next up is writing the new phrases or idioms down, lest you forget them I will translate the whole sentence and then guess the meaning of the phrase Then I record it and memorize it At School Study Social media, learn every day I don’t know I learn films and learn from lessons in school Reading English books and using the Internet to find more of them I have learned English idioms from my teacher and video from YouTube, I usually write them down on paper and learn by heart Speaking, Texting, etc Study with teacher and internet Just take note of each EI Internet To sound more profound Write them in my notebook to bear in mind Learn idioms every day Bear in my mind E-learning E-learning Note Studying I have learned idioms from my teacher and video in the internet I usually write it down on my notebook and manage to remember them write in notebook Em học idioms giống đọc thuộc sử, địa, công dân Em đọc nhiều lần để quen miệng, sau tưởng tượng tinh huống, hình ảnh để nhớ dễ lâu Sau vài ngày em ơn lại idioms để gợi nhớ kiến thức ask a friend or teacher and study hard film, music search google Grammar and vocabulary I never have used idioms Just catch them up in newspapers and every source I have Taking note and watching YouTube Through website Reading books and Studying I learn it online and also through my friends I have my parents teach me reading read idioms in the book the idiom exercises - use Idioms in daily conversation practice using Idioms daily learn Idioms on the youtube use mind map to learn Idioms - write idioms on the paper and stick them to the wall doing exercises books in the internet on TV Study and study APPENDIX 8: PRE-TEST Circle the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word or phrase CLOSEST m meaning to the underlined expression in each off the following questions 1.Hey Jimmy, you are taking the final exam tomorrow, right? Break a leg! Break a legs! A good luck B Good night C Good bye D Good job 2.Dad will hit the roof when he finds out I dented the car A become angry B become sad C become worried D become nervous 3.Where were you? I have been looking for you high and low A here and there B everywhere C nowhere D both A and B 4.Working irregular hours is all part and parcel of being a journalist A integral B crucial C essential D all the correct I’m pretty sure I did well on that last exam, so it looks like I’m home and dry for the semester A hopeless B hopeful C unsuccessful D successful I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but it was me who came up with the idea for the project in the first place A say how fit I am B say how healthy I am C say how clever I am D say how tall I am If the factory closes, that will be a million dollars’ worth of investment down the drain A has been overtaken B has been confirmed C has been wasted D has been confused As far as Alex was concerned this was the last straw and he vowed he would never risk money on a horse ever again A the final decision B the final moment C the final disaster D the final occasion He had gone to Mumbai on a business trip, while there, he killed two birds with one stone and visited his relatives also A get things done twice B get something done two times C get two things done at the same time D get two things done twice 10 I suppose she was the apple of your eye at the time A your favourite fruit B your favourite meal C your favourite person D your favourite book Pre-test Key Đáp án A Giải thích: Thành ngữ: break a leg (chúc may mắn) Đáp án A Giải thích: Thành ngữ: hit the roof (tức giận) Đáp án D Giải thích: Thành ngữ: high and low (khắp nơi) Đáp án D Giải thích: Thành ngữ: part and parcel (phần thiếu) Đáp án D Giải thích: Thành ngữ: home and dry (êm xi, thành cơng) Đáp án C Giải thích: Thành ngữ: blow my own trumpet (khoe khoang) Đáp án C Giải thích: Thành ngữ: down the drain (đổ sông đổ biển, bị lãng phí) Đáp án A Giải thích: Thành ngữ: the last straw (đây lần cuối cùng) Đáp án C Giải thích: Thành ngữ: killed two birds with one stone (một mũi tên trúng hai đích) 10 Đáp án C Giải thích: Thành ngữ: the apple of your eye (là người mà bạn yêu thích) APPENDIX 9: What you think about using those suggested techniques to learn English Idioms in the future? 111 câu trả lời I find learning Idioms easier because of the help of these techniques these suggested ways help me a lot to learn idioms Thank you to the teacher for giving me useful techniques They are really useful and effective techniques they are useful 12th graders Although idioms are a little bit difficult, these techniques should be applied to help students to idioms exercises easily they are wonderful and useful techniques Good they are good for students when learning Idioms Wonderful Idioms are still difficult but these suggested ways help me a lot Idioms are still difficult because I can't find the effective ways Great How wonderful Good job Useful Hope other students to know more about these techniques I hope these techniques should be applied to help students to idioms exercises easily really effective wonderful, magic, good, useful, should be applied more, They are magic techniques No hope It might be useful Very good I find it quite easy to remember I can memorize and use idioms more effectively Cu Quang Trung: Kiểu như:Cù Quang Trung wonderful, magic, good, useful, should be applied more, They are really useful techniques feel good I don’t want to learn E idioms because I think they are useless wonderful, magic, good, useful, should be applied more, I don't know feel good not problem Useful techniques should be applied they are wonderful and useful for my study of English (12th graders) I like these techniques I think it help me very much in future Incredible to help me a lot whatever No problem Good techniques for learning idioms Thank you for these techniques I find idioms difficult That is a wonderful thing these techniques are effective for me Useful and effective Amazing these techniques are not effective for me useful for my speaking skill will be effective Should be applied Idioms are a little bit difficult, hope to find another effective technique to ease this problem I think it's very impressive Hope another teacher to use them to teach really useful Benefits Absolutely I don’t know I have no idea Great job Should be applied more I like these techniques for my learning idioms I don’t exactly know Bruh I think it's really necessary in the present age because of its convenience Amazing techniques i don't know Feel good important Really good it's an effective way It will be very helpful Let other students use when doing exetcises They are effective Popularize for all students to know Useful techniques that's a good way to learn Can help the sentence become natural and close to APPENDIX 10: POST-TEST Circle the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word or phrase OPPOSITE m meaning to the underlined expression in each of the following questions Question I think we cannot purchase this device this time as it costs an arm and a leg A is cheap B is painful C is confusing D is expensive Question I’ll spend the weekends hitting the booksas I have final exams next week A reviewing the books B studying in a relaxing way C damaging the books D studying in a serious way Question 3: These days, many people only read printed newspapers once in a whileas they tend to access information online A regularly B attentively C occasionally D selectively Question 4: It is very difficult to tell him to give in because he is so big-headed A.wise B generous C modest D arrogant Question 5: She’s a bit down in the dumps because she’s got to take her exam again A sad B embarrassed C confident D happy Circle the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word or phrase CLOSEST m meaning to the underlined expression in each of the following questions M2: I had an interesting conversation with Caroline today F1: Really? Where did you see her? M2: I bumped into her in the cafeteria A) met her unexpectedly (B) had an accident with her (C) crashed into her (D) had a cup of coffee with her M2: So, Rita, you left work early yesterday? F1: Yeah, and did I ever get in hot water for that! (A) be in trouble (B) take a warm bath (C) get so tired (D) be sorry M1: I talked to Chuck at the party F1: What did you think of Chuck? M1: Oh, we hit it off right away A) argued as soon as they met (B) quickly became friends (C) didn’t like each other (D) stopped talking soon M2: How was the test? F1: Piece of cake! (A): The exam was simple (B) She had a snack after the test (C) She could a little (D) She didn’t the test well F1: Robert, are you ready to leave? M1: At the drop of a hat! (A) I can’t leave until he finds his hat (B) I’m ready to leave immediately (C) Just a minute (D) Wait I have to get my hat POST-TEST KEY 1-A: I think we cannot purchase this device this time as it costs an arm and a leg A is cheap: rẻ tiền 2-B:hitting the books (thành ngữ): học cách nghiêm túc, căng thẳng hitting the books >< studying in a relaxing way 3- A: Once in a while (exp) : Thỉnh thoảng A Regularly (adv): thường xuyên Once in a while >< regulary 4-C: It is very difficult to tell him to give in because he is so bigheaded (Rất khó để bảo nhượng tự mãn.) C modest (adj.): khiêm tốn Vậy big-headed có nghĩa tương phản với phương án C 5-D: She’s a bit down in the dumps because she’s got to take her exam again D happy Circle the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word or phrase CLOSEST m meaning to the underlined expression in each of the following questions A met her unexpectedly A be in trouble A argued as soon as they met B She had a snack after the test A I can’t leave until he finds his hat APPENDIX 11 The urgency and feasibility of the recommended solutions to the research: Please, take time to participate in the survey below to get my initiative experience in "Techniques recommended to enhance the learning of idioms for 12th graders " completed Thank you very much! Which school and grade are you teaching now? According to teachers, is it really urgent and feasible to offer methods of enhancing learning idioms for students, especially 12th graders, so that they can get high scores in both tests and exams? A Not urgent and feasible B Less urgent and feasible C Urgent and feasible D Very urgent and feasible Are the following solutions really URGENT to enhance leaning idioms for students, especially 12th graders, so that they can get high scores in both tests and exams? Solutions Very urgent Increased transparency of idioms withusing pictures Increased transparency of idioms with exploring the origin of idioms Increased the familiarity of idioms with " translating English idioms into Vietnamese idioms Applying context to learning idioms by making funny sentences, dialogues, and stories with idioms Applying context to learning idioms by watching English movies Using games to learn idioms Not urgent Less urgent Urgent Are the following solutions really FEASIBLE to enhance leaning idioms for students, especially 12th graders, so that they can get high scores in both tests and exams? Solutions Increased transparency of idioms with using pictures Increased transparency of idioms with exploring the origin of idioms Increased the familiarity of idioms with translating English idioms into Vietnamese idioms Applying context to learning idioms by making funny sentences, dialogues, and stories with idioms Applying context to learning idioms by watching English movies Using games to learn idioms Not urgent Less urgent Urgent Very urgent