Skkn some methods to help grade 11b8 students at bim son high school conquer english idioms at advanced levels

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BIM SON UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE SOME METHODS TO HELP GRADE 11B8 STUDENTS AT BIM SON HIGH SCHOOL CONQUER ENGLISH IDIOMS AT ADVANCED LEVELS Teacher : Do Thi Thu Nga Post : Teacher of English Subject : English skkn CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.1 REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH 1.2 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 1.3 RESEARCH SUBJECT 1.4 RESEARCHING METHOD CONTENT .3 2.1 THEORETICAL BASIS: 2.2 REAL SITUATION BEFORE APPLYING THE INNOVATION 2.3 SOME METHODS FOR TEACHING IDIOMS AT ADVANCED LEVELS EFFECTIVELY 2.4 RESULT AFTER APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING 17 CONCLUSION AND REQUEST 19 REFERENCE MATERIALS 21 skkn INTRODUCTION 1.1 REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH The English language being very flexible constantly enriches its vocabulary with words invented by language speakers, making it more colourful with new idiomatic expressions Idioms are pervasive They’re used in formal and informal speech, conversation and writing and are part of standard speech in business, education and the media Second- language learners are expected to understand a variety of common idioms, which is advantageous for those planning to work in a world that increasingly uses English as the language of communication and commerce Whether it is working in one’s native country or in an English-speaking country, idioms are important as part of the shared knowledge among English speakers Since vocabulary and culture are intertwined, speakers can gain more vocabulary through idioms and conversely, can learn more about idioms from being exposed to the target culture The more comprehensible input there is, the more learners’ listening, speaking, writing and reading skills will improve Teaching idiomatic expressions to EFL learning students at advanced levels require a number of pedagogical investigations Non native speakers face some difficulties while gaining knowledge of foreign language I myself found it so confusing to teach my students, many of whom got 6.5 ielts because of limited teaching materials and the difficulty of knowledge They always showed their depression when they couldn’t succeed in hard idioms A couple of years ago, I had some methods that helped students a lots with simple idioms It can be clearly seen that after applying some methods to help them learn English idioms which are at rather easy levels, students are no longer afraid of them and become more eager to practice more difficult idioms However, advanced idioms are not simple for students even for gifted students Therefore, they may be deeply frustrated Most of my students unveiled that they wanted to try more difficult exercises on idioms as they were studying to get IELTS band or in speaking and some writing to prepare for the entrance exam for top universities or to study abroad New changes in college entrance in recent years require that students must adapt to them Many top leading universities offer admission to universities with Ielts certificate and my students who are rather good at English try to get it successfully, but they are worrying about idioms in examinations However, they don’t have sources of suitable materials for studying and efficient assisstance In addition, limited kinds of exercises and uninteresting ones prevent them from obtaining what they want I tried to get solutions from other colleges, but they got the same trouble skkn Seeing their wants and needs, I myself made effort to think, explore , exchange and consult my group leader along with my colleges to release my innovation: “Some mothods to help grade 11B8 students at Bim Son high school conquer English idioms at advanced levels” Hopefully that the results of my study will be shared with any colleagues whose students have the same problem or anyone who is interested in this study And I am extremely greatful to any contribution to make the study more perfect 1.2 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH - To to gain a deeper knowledge of the creative expression of human thought and language development over time - To design different kinds of exercises on advanced idioms correctly - To help use idioms at advanced levels fluently and efficiently 1.3 RESEARCH SUBJECT - Scope : Researching in the process of teaching English at Bim Son high school - Object: This subject is concerned with ways of teaching English idioms at advanced levels for the students who are fairly good at English and practicing activities effectively in the class, English club or at home 1.4 RESEARCHING METHOD Reading reference books , discussing with other teachers of english, applying in teaching, getting feedback from students, basing on achieved results, searching on the Internet, observing and drawing out experiences CONTENT: 2.1 THEORETICAL BASIS: 2.1.1 What are advanced idioms? The word 'idiom' is a Greek term meaning 'own or 'peculiar.' Advanced idioms are idioms which are extremely difficult because they provide little or no context related to their meaning Without a definition, it would almost be impossible to figure out what they mean In contrast, easy idioms not cause any difficulty in guessing their meaning, take the sentence He's been on cloud nine ever since she agreed to marry him for example From the context, students guess the meaning of the idiom Thus, an idiom is a figurative expression that can usually be interpreted literally but that takes a non-literal meaning when used in a specific context (Rohani & Ketabi, 2012) Idioms are pervasive in the English language They are used in formal style and in slang Idioms may appear in poetry, literature, exams even in everyday conversation And idioms at advanced levels make students depressed skkn 2.1.2 Opions about effective teaching Traditional methods of teaching idioms focus on rote learning and memorization They are time- and effort-consuming, as learners picked up idioms discretely without associations between forms and meanings (Chen & Lei, 2013) There has been the need of a flexible and dynamic approach towards the teaching of English idioms According to Thomas L Good, Caroline R H Wiley, and Ida Rose Florez, effective teaching is the ability to improve student’s achievement However, ideally, Homer coker, Donal M Medley, and Robert S Soar consider it mastery of the competence and effectiveness in the class room In short, there are many other opinions about it, but the aim of teaching focuses on student’s achievement 2.1.3 Unsuitable and limited materials The wicked problem at hand is the lack of resources in classrooms This problem affects students and teachers The lack of resources in classrooms can cause extreme distress on the students and teachers Not only are the students and teachers in distress, but they are unable to learn to their fullest potential because they are not being given the proper resources Once I realize these problems, I then can investigate solutions for this wicked problem Teachers are a key factor in teaching Without teacher, the learners will not gain and gather information In this problem the teacher is the most affected person If the teacher is a resourceful person, then this problem will be solved It is important that we as a teacher must make an alternate solution or ways on how to sustain our needs in teaching through this way teaching learning process will become and conducive The teacher is the one who spends time finding and create suitable exercises to meet the demand of her students 2.2 REAL SITUATION BEFORE APPLYING THE INNOVATION English is used more and more commonly in many aspects of life Learners want to get good knowledge of both grammar and vocabulary However, how to master English vocabulary, especially hard idioms, isn’t easy at all My students often ignored or chose the anwer at random in the tasks or the tests Then I collected one trial test on idioms and tested them The result made me disappointed Only ten students got from to mark and two got The rest got under five The real situation really made me think Inspite of being good at English, the students were not familiar with hard idioms So, how to teach them more effectively and interestingly is a raised question and I myself considered my role very important skkn 2.3 SOME METHODS FOR TEACHING IDIOMS AT ADVANCED LEVELS EFFECTIVELY 2.3.1.Teaching idioms in essay writing This helps advanced English learners improve their vocabulary It is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners and a good general practice for students taking IELTS, TOEFL & SAT English exams One of the ways to present idiomatic expressions is by integrating it into the teaching of essay writing as illustrated below: The teacher asked the students to write an essay describing an experience of being extremely happy After submitting the first draft, the students were introduced to the concept of metaphors Two-page handouts were distributed in class as the teaching materials The content was a few idioms as examples To illustrate the concept of metaphor, a short article about issues of emotion controls was given on the first page of the handout; the students were asked to read over the article and to circle the idiomatic expressions used in it Figure is the sample handout A Happy Day in Your Life Our life is not a bed of roses We have to face a lot of difficulties in our life There are a few happy days in our life When a happy day comes in our life, we are filled with joy Recently I have enjoyed a happy day in my life The memory of that happy is fresh in my mind The results of my annual examination were to be announced on the 23rd December I had not done well in the examination So, I was afraid that I might not obtain good marks When I reached school I was very sad I thought that I might be declared unsuccessful When the results were announced, I was surprised to know that I had topped the list of all the successful students of my class The headmaster congratulated me on my success I had never expected to secure the highest marks in my class My great success was unexpected So, I was filled with joy I was surrounded by my friends who all admired me When I returned home, my parents congratulated me on my success They felt like their feet barely touched the gound My father decided to arrange a feast to celebrate my success He went out to invite his friends to the feast My mother began to make preparations for the feast After some time my father returned home with a packet of sweets His spirits were flying high He told us that he had got the first prize in the Uttar Pradesh State lottery When we heard that happy news, our joy knew no bounds I started jumping and dancing My mother was mad with joy She said that she always prayed ot God for riches We went to a temple to offer our prayers We worshipped at the temple and distributed sweets among the beggars When we returned home, we found large crowds of people They congratulated my father on his good luck My father arranged a skkn grand feast at night About two hundred quests attended the feast Sunshine flooded my soul and I could not sleep at night I thought that it was a day of great happiness in my life I had never enjoyed such a happy day I cannot forget that happy day I wish such a happy day might come again in my life The teacher then led the students to think about general metaphoric themes of the idiomatic expressions, and to draw linking diagrams for expressions which belonged to the same metaphoric themes In the meantime, the teacher explained to the students that the linking diagrams were the logical mappings for the metaphors (i.e., metaphoric mappings) The teacher then directed the students to complete the exercise on the second page of the handout: to create metaphoric mappings for the idiomatic expressions of anger Figure is the sample handout English has a lot of expressions/ idioms to describe happiness For example: full of joys of spring, have a ball To make your language more varied, other expressions or idioms can be used to specify the kind of happiness Following are expressions Think about the corresponding characteristics and relationships between happiness and comparable concepts, and briefly write down these relationships Happiness is colour The color red or pink is bright and -Her students are all gonna paint the can be assoiciated with happiness town red - I was tickled pink to be invited to their wedding anniversary Happiness is the moon, cloud and air -Mai is over the moon when she gets fyling colours -Her brother was on cloud nine to get that job -After being elected Prime Minister of Education, her father walked on air Happy people are animals -The participant was like a dog with two tails when she got the award -A few weeks ago he was strutting around like the cat that got the cream skkn The handouts were collected back to the teacher after the students completed the exercise At the end of the class, the students were told to revise their first draft at home, and were encouraged to integrate as many idiomatic expressions as possible They submitted both the original and the revised essays a week later The essays were then analyzed by the teacher to investigate how the students used idiomatic expressions 2.3.2 Teaching idioms through online games Teaching idioms to the students at advanced levels still remains a challenging task for the teachers who adopt traditional way of teaching Hence, I myself try to explore the novel ways of teaching idioms through online games to the students Burke (1998) goes as far as claiming that there is ―absolutely no way a nonnative speaker of English could fully understand an American movie, TV show, or news broadcast without help because English language is loaded with nonstandard English, i.e., “slang and idioms” He explains that nonnative speakers not understand idioms, they will never be able to completely integrate and, instead, they will always be outsiders Cooper (1998) agrees, Sooner or later, imprecise idiomatic usage will cause difficulties even for a student with an excellent knowledge of grammar and a high level of vocabulary attainment because English language is loaded with nonstandard English, i.e., “slang and idioms” Thus, the fact that students most definitely will encounter idiomatic expressions is definitely a main reason as to why their idiom awareness needs to be developed during their language learning Students have been instructed on how to play the online games of idiom They have to play the game again and again till they get mastery over the meanings of idioms placed in the video The more they play, the more they learn the meanings of idioms Each game consists of from eight to ten idioms in it Each idiom has four options The student has to select one among the four options If he chooses the wrong answer, it will sound “boom” Ultimately, one has to go for another option For example: Beat a dead horse - wasting energy on a lost cause or a situation that cannot be changed A little bird told me - not saying from whom you received the information Gone to the dogs - something that has gone wrong Down to earth - one who is realistic & practical Get your ducts in a row - organize yourself To give your eye teeth - to give up a precious possession skkn 10 Being hrough the mill Hit the hay Have a ball Open a can of worms - undergoing an unpleasant experience to go to bed to have a really good time to cause more trouble than it’s worth Thus, Games online have great attraction and make students think they are playing, not studying Therefore, studying is of less pressure and becomes effective in improving the process of idiom learning at advanced levels 2.3.3 Teaching idioms through storytelling Teaching will be successful only when the appropriate methodology is chosen according to the concept In a writing, Mr sc Mauro Dujmović, Visoka učiteljska škola, Pula ragarded storytelling the art of narrating a tale from memory rather than reading Storytelling involves two elements – selection and delivery Many teachers are interested in storytelling as a resource in teaching A successful storyteller chooses adequate stories and must be a good performer since the delivery is crucial and requires both preparation and rehearsal Storytelling has the potential of fostering emotional intelligence and help students gain insight into human behaviour Storytelling also promotes language learning by enriching learners’ vocabulary and acquiring new language structures Moreover, storytelling can provide a motivating and low anxiety context for language learning I believe that storytelling is a pedagogical tool teach and to learn English idioms for students in an efficient way Storytelling aids the learners to comprehend and remember the idioms at high levels more easily I use an idiom story to teach ten English idioms I ask my students to underline the idioms to check if they are able to recognize the idioms used in the story Then, students will explain each of them one by one This is one of the best ways to learn English Idioms The story following is an example The Sleep Over By: Michael F It was a very rainy day—it was raining cats and dogs! It was way too cold to go outside to play, and I (Ryan) was having my friend Adam comes over We were planning on riding our scooters and bikes, but it was way too wet and windy The door made a loud knocking noise I answered it, and Adam had an apple in his hand He gave it to my mom—boy, what a goody two shoes he is! I and Adam aren’t two peas in a pod He was always clean as a hound's tooth and I, well, I’m a backseat driver—well, at least that's what people say about me Time went by and it was already 9:30 I was planning on playing some video games and eating ice cream, but Adam just wanted to burn the skkn midnight oil because it was a weekend! We decided to go to bed, so I got into some sweat pants and a shirt and got in bed, but like a bolt from the blue Adam came out in bunny pajamas I could not stop laughing! “Take those off and change into normal clothes!” I demanded “People are right, you are a backseat driver!” That's when I totally hit the roof! “Oh yeah, well you're just a bull in a china shop!” That's when we both started to get mad “I’ll call my mom Maybe she will pick me up and take me home!” Adam said It was 9:45 and Adam was calling his mom She finally answered, and boy did she sound down in the mouth “What's wrong, Mom?” asked Adam All she said quietly was, "I’m just down in the dumps today because I lost my job today.” “What!” I yelled “When?” “Just today; He just called me!” “Then I guess you wouldn’t be able to come pick me up from Ryan's house, 'cause I am about to blow my stack!” Adam said Adam's mom always called the shots so when she heard that Adam wanted her to pick him up at 1:00 a.m she just blew her stack! “Adam, it's eleven o'clock You need to work out your guy problems, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Soon Adam and Ryan solved their problems, and they were then all ears to what each other had to say Soon they became two peas in a pod, and they promised to be best friends through thick and thin There are ten idioms in the stories which need explaining goody two shoes: person always does everything right and always follows the rules, so much so that it becomes annoying two peas in a pod: look very similar or are always together clean as a hound's tooth: very clean, spotless burn the midnight oil: staying up very late in order to study or some other work a bolt from the blue: something completely unexpected that surprises you very much a bull in a china shop: a person who breaks things or who often makes mistakes or causes damage in situations that require careful thinking or behavior down in the mouth: unhappy or depressed blow my stack: you become very angry with someone and shout at them called the shots: to be in charge of what is happening and what should happen 10 through thick and thin: through many difficult times over a long period skkn To make use of the maximum advantage of this method, some tips following should be given to help the teacher prepare for an excellent storytelling performance for students -First, learn the story Learning the story means to make the story your own Read it from beginning to end several times Read it out loud Master the structure of the story: the beginning (introduction of characters), the body (building of conflict), and the climax (resolution of conflict) Visualize the succession of scenes Work on creating sensual setting and character descriptions Note unusual expressions, word patterns, rhymes, and dialog -Second, outline the story Storytellers agree that memorizing word for word is not useful Learn a story incident by incident, and prepare notes that will help you remember this structure Typed skeleton outlines stick in the minds of visual learners Cue card outlines are also useful in preparation and storage of tales, but should not be used in telling -Third, control the story's length Long stories can be simplified or serialized, but not excessively modified or censored Time yourself during practice A "story hour" should probably include a mixture of activities: reading storybooks, listening to story tapes, reciting poetry, singing songs, playing games, etc besides the oral story itself -Fourth, control the story's vocabulary A rich vocabulary, with carefully chosen adjectives ,adverbs and phrasal verbs or expressions gives colour and texture to the telling However, you need to be comfortable with your use of language and not try too hard to get things "right" or the story will come out flat and nervous Don't worry if the listeners don't already know every word; guessing is part of language learning -Fifth, refine your storytelling style Tell the story aloud to listen to your voice – your instrument - which you can exercise, train, and even change A pause and dropped voice are often more effective than shouting Take poetic passages slowly; report conversation at natural speed; tell narration more rapidly, building toward the climax - Sixth, practice, practice, practice Practice aloud to yourself, your family or friends You could practice on audio or even video tape Practice in front of a mirror to eliminate poor gestures and facial expressions Some say practice makes storytelling artificial and studied, but it is essential to the beginner -Last, relax before telling Warm up as the situation allows with breathing, stretching, and vocal exercises 2.3.4 An Idiom notebook Through time, students accumulate more complex idioms The idioms may be forgotten and not be used because students don’t have anything to keep the idioms with them That’s why my students often complained to me that how difficult it was to memorize them or said the idioms appeared somewhere in 10 skkn given materials but they didn’t remember After each lesson, therefore, I asked my students to note the idioms down in their notebook having formated form They themselves can add new hard idioms into it and use the internet to search for use and exercises Here is the form of the notebook I gave to my students and it is really useful It’s small enough and easy to be taken to anywhere and it helps relieve stress to brain Full name: Nguyễn Hoàng Nam Anh Lớp : 11 B8 STT Idioms Meaning a cog in the wheel One who holds a minor but necessary post in a large organization take down a peg to make (someone) feel less important or proud  Sentence example Fred knew he was just a cog in the wheel of this giant corporation.  He was taken down a peg when an even better player 11 skkn joined the team bore the pants off be extremely boring The professor bored the pants off everyone Some students even fell asleep … … … … … Practice activities and test In order to check the students’s improvement and their mastery, I introduced them some kinds of practice activities and tests a Fill suitable idiom in the gap Use the following idioms in their correct situations A flesh and blood D under the weather G paint a picture J make ends meet M my heart sank B have a ball E hit the sack H odds and ends K call it a day N drop me a line C make yourself at home F know-it-all I go all out L lift a finger O a long face when I opened the letter and realized I had not been accepted into graduate school Little Mikey had when he was told he couldn’t go outside to play I’m so tired that the only thing I want to is take a shower and This weekend I stayed at home and did some around the house Look, it’s already 4:30 Time to Thanks so much for inviting us to the party We really Why don’t you some time to let me know how you’re going? All of our came to the big family reunion I’m glad you could come Please 10 Jane’s head and neck hurt, and her nose is stuffy She must be 11 Every month we have to plan our budget carefully in order to 12 skkn 12 No one listens to Greg at meetings because he always acts like such a 13 The nation’s leading economist about continued growth in the automobile industry 14 No one will complain if you but still don’t succeed 15 Mrs Waters is upset with her husband because he doesn’t to help with chores around the house on the weekend He just watches sports programs on Key: M my heart sank O a long face E hit the sack H odds and ends K call it a day B have a ball N drop me a line A flesh and blood C make yourself at home 10 D under the weather 11 J make ends meet 12 F know-it-all 13 G paint a picture 14 I go all out 15 L lift a finger b Describes the situation in the picture by making short sentences with the correct idiom from the list burn the midnight oil compare notes let oneself go lose the thread of something send someone packing work wonders catch someone in the act lay down the law look daggers at someone pip someone at the post wait one's turn For example: Picture 1: The injection will work wonders 13 skkn Verbalidioms 53 Suggested answer: The policeman has caught him in the act./The burglar's been caught in the act He's burning the midnight oil He's going to pip him at the post He's letting himself go They're maiting their turn She's lost the thread of the story Her mother's laying down the law They're comparing notes They are looking daggers at each other 10 She's sent him packing 14 skkn c Complete each of these idioms with ONE appropriate word This kind of exercise is more difficult than others as it requires large and deep knowledge of idioms Yet my students were eager to it The more challenging activity is, the more excited they are Teacher can low difficulty by designing activity such as exercise on subject of fruits, parts of body, noun and noun, etc Below is an exercise of filling ONE correct adjective Arrangements that are decided or final are said to be cut and _ A person in a cheerful mood may be described as being _ and breezy A place that looks clean and tidy is said to be _ and span A casual, relaxed person may be described as being free and _ A person who is no longer young but who is physically fit may be described as being hale and _ Key: dried bright spick easy hearty d Correct the mistakes in these idioms Minh’s mother didn’t pull a hair when he told her he was going to get married She wishes her boss would let her get on with her work instead of breathing down the neck You should tell him directly how you feel rather than just giving him the cold shoulders My teacher is worried about her husband’s illness but she’s putting her brave face on it Keep your hair up! If you take what they say with face value, you’ll soon get disappointed Having to homework is such an ache in the neck! I have to tell you a terrible secret I’ll go mad if I don’t get it on my chest soon The answer: Mistakes in idioms turn a hair the neck shoulders her brave face up with an ache on Correction pull a hair my neck shoulder a brave face on at a pain off 15 skkn e True or false ? Tick ( ✓ ) the correct box for these statements T F If someone plays a musical instrument by ear , they can read the notes directly from a sheet of music If your lips are sealed , you refuse to tell other people a secret you know If you escaped by the skin of your teeth , you only just escaped and came close to disaster If a person gets up your nose , you are crazy about them and can't stop thinking of them If you achieve something in the teeth of opposition , you it in spite of that opposition If information spreads by word of mouth , it is kept as a secret known only to a small number of people The answer: 1F It means they can play without music 2T 3T 4F It means they annoy or irritate you 5T 6F It means people tell one another The idiom is often used to contrast with reading about something or seeing an advertisement for something 2.6 Complete the idioms to repeat what the first speaker says There are many idioms for a situation Therefore, teacher should limit knowledge of idioms in previous lessons to avoid students’s failure Ben: Well, Brad has finally learnt that he can’t expect everyone else to pay for him Mig: Yes, I think he’s Beyonce: Well, Taylor will certainly learn never to that again Anne: Yes, that should definitely _ David: His suggestions are worth taking seriously, aren’t they? Nick: Yes, they’ve certainly given us Will: Luis’s convinced himself that his neighbours are drug smugglers He’s just crazy! Steve: Yes, I’m sure the whole thing is a _ Grace: Well, I think we were right to tell her what really happened, don’t you? Johnny: Yes, it was important to The answer: Mig: Yes, I think he’s got the message Anne: Yes, that should definitely teach her a lesson Nick: Yes, they’ve certainly given us food for thought 16 skkn Yes, I’m sure the whole thing is a figment of his imagination Johnny: Yes, it was important to set/ put the record straight Some useful tips: After having done research, I got some tips to teach idioms at advanced levels more effectively Here are some helpful tips I got after the lessons: There are many idioms in English, but some of them sound rather oldfashioned or are not widely used Teacher should select books or materials that have idioms used by native speakers of English in conversations, newspapers, novels, and many other contexts Teachers and students also need to have access to a good dictionary I strongly recommend the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionay as this gives exactly the kind of information that they need to have about idioms After a certain period of time, teacher should collect students’ notebooks to check their progress and give them some useful comments Teachers sometimes give students a test to provide them a chance to test their ability Of course, a prize for the student with the highest mark will encourage them a lots No matter how intelligent and quick-witted students are, teacher shouldn’t teach or test them too much Encourage students to read as many informal texts as they can, for example, letters to popular magazines from readers, internet chat and newsgroup texts, etc., and note any idioms they find Don’t over use idioms and select formal idioms carefully in writing essay Give them homework and correct it Students can draw simple pictures that might help them remember idioms 2.4 RESULT AFTER APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING There was nothing happier than seeing my students’ achievement day by day After applying some methods of teching idioms for the students at advance levels, I found that they were rather satisfactory when instructed with hard idioms They said they could use idioms at advanced levels more confidently and more effectively due to being sufficietly taught Thanks to the attractive, new and interesting activities, my students have more encouragement to learn English idioms at high level About one forth of them got IELTS band 7, which has stimulated both them and me much more in the future Through practice and practice, the students developed deeper understanding of the idioms and retented them longer in mind and could use them in their academic and daily life It was so happy to see them keep their notebooks carefully and add up idioms This reveals that the methods and activities work properly 17 skkn I also gave them a test, then I collected and mark it As compared to the first one, it was a lot better Twenty students got from to mark, eight students got and the rest got from to These positive results showed that my trying was helpful and useful I jumped for joy to see the following short test of a schoolgirl whose last result was only 4,5 and the one of a schoolboy with last rather good result 18 skkn CONCLUSION AND REQUEST 3.1 CONCLUSION Padagogies have changed over time along with the changes of the definitions of idioms given by linguists Cognitive linguists treat idioms as presentations of the process of cognitive operations, the process in which not only linguistic knowledge but also world knowledge are involved and they mustn’t be ignored during learning process The more students exposure to the target language and culture, the more English idioms they acquire This helps them enrich their language knowledge and enable them to use idioms fluently and successfully Therefore, the suggested teaching method gives considerations to both language and culture, and provides learners with dependable clues in comprehending and learning idiomatic expressions Teacher should remember that the traditional method should not be abandoned completely as they sometimes assit learners in comprehending and systemizing idioms Teacher should lead students to use suitable methods to acquire English idioms in an effective and efficient manner When teachers make a lesson plan, they need to think of their students’ abilities and give them suitable tasks I hope that the instructional techniques introduced in my research will encourage teachers to devote more attention to idiomatic language, help them to make more informed methodological choices, and inspire them to further explore novel ways in which idioms can be made more accessible and more memorable to language learners In short, the students’ achievement proves that my teaching works effectively My students made much progresss in conquering idioms at advanced level From my own experience I have known that such factors as teacher, students, cultural differences and class environment are important to have a successful lesson Therefore, teachers have to spend time preparing so as to make classtime more effective and students must prepare in advance before lessons At the end of this paper, I am so thankful to receive more contributions from authorized people and colleagues to make it more improvable 3.2 REQUEST I not have any request CONFIRMATION Thanh Hoa, May 30, 2022 OF THE PRINCIPAL I assure that this is my own work Do Thi Thu Nga 19 skkn REFERENCE MATERIALS Bassnett S and Grundy P 1993 Language through literature Sternberg Davidson.1990 Giftedness and the Gifted, Eric EC Digest Stevick Earl.1992.Teaching and Learning Languages Abel, B (2003) English idioms in the first and second language lexicon: A dual representation approach Cambridge Dictionary The internet 20 skkn DANH MỤC SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM NGÀNH GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO HUYỆN, TỈNH VÀ CÁC CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN Họ tên tác giả: Đỗ Thị Thu Nga Chức vụ đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên tiếng Anh trường THPT Bỉm Sơn TT Tên đề tài SKKN Cấp đánh giá Kết xếp loại đánh giá Năm học (Ngành GD cấp xếp loại đánh giá huyện/tỉnh; (A, B, xếp loại Tỉnh ) C) THE Ngành C 2016 HOW TO TEACH SOUND /u:/ AND / ʊ / SOME METHODS TO HELP GRADE 12A4 STUDENTS AT THACH THANH III HIGH SCHOOL LEARN ENGLISH IDIOMS WELL Ngành C 2019 21 skkn