KỸ THUẬT ĐỂ GIẢNG DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH THÀNH NGỮ HIỆU QUẢ

Idioms and idiomatic language are some of the most interesting and creative vocabulary terms to learn in any language, but it also creates many misunderstandings when communicating across cultures. According to English linguists, there are over 10,000 idioms in English, some relatively recent and some that have been used for more than 2,000 years. People naturally admit that idioms provide vivid descriptions and expressions that are more powerful and effective than literal and nonidiomatic language. Thus, idioms and idiomatic language contribute to make a language more colorful, as well as make it easier for English speakers to express their thoughts more proficiently and natively

Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively CHUYÊN ĐỀ BỒI DƯỠNG ÔN THI THPT QUỐC GIA MÔN: TIẾNG ANH TÊN CHUYÊN ĐỀ: KỸ THUẬT ĐỂ GIẢNG DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH THÀNH NGỮ HIỆU QUẢ Giáo viên: Bùi Thanh Huệ Chức vụ: Giáo viên Đơn vị: Trường THPT Tam Dương Đối tượng: Học sinh A INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE Idioms and idiomatic language are some of the most interesting and creative vocabulary terms to learn in any language, but it also creates many misunderstandings when communicating across cultures According to English linguists, there are over 10,000 idioms in English, some relatively recent and some that have been used for more than 2,000 years People naturally admit that idioms provide vivid descriptions and expressions that are more powerful and effective than literal and non-idiomatic language Thus, idioms and idiomatic language contribute to make a language more colorful, as well as make it easier for English speakers to express their thoughts more proficiently and natively It’s raining cats and dogs Trời mưa to 47 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School Instead of saying: “It’s raining heavily”, people can make it more interesting by speaking out the idiom “It’s raining cats and dogs” In English, “rain cats and dogs” means raining heavily Although English idioms not mean what they literally mean, a variety of mass media, textbooks and everyday language represent rich sources of idiomatic expressions, which causes a lot of difficulties for ESL (English as a Second Language) students to understand their meanings and translating them into their mother language Mastering English idioms is quite a challenge to almost all ESL learners because the figurative meanings of English idioms cannot be predicted through an analysis of their individual meanings of words It is not surprising that the trouble with foreigners in any non-English speaking countries is that they take everything Americans or English people say literally On the other hand, idioms are common in the daily life of English native speakers and provide a rich source of their cultures Apparently, teaching ESL learners to use English idioms fluently is considerably critical for ESL teachers In addition, students are often able to discuss content, take notes, or create semantic maps for writing; however, they often not use the new words or concepts taught in class In the wake of globalization and the internationalization of English language demands ESL learners not only to merely know English but also to use it effectively in intercultural communication Another reason that I choose this topic is that idioms appear in almost every English test in general and one for the University Entrance Examination or now National School Examination In fact, the idiom-related questions account for from to 10 percent of the total marks of the whole test Thus, in this minor study, I want to focus mainly on how to use various effective techniques to teach English idioms to my students at Tam Duong high school with the purposes of both preparing them for the National School Education Examination and giving them a good chance to practise using English language in daily communication II OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study is designed to obtain the following objectives: 48 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively  Study and find out various effective techniques to teach and learn English idioms in classes  Apply these techniques in teaching and learning English idioms in classes III METHOD OF THE STUDY Integrated methods used in this study such as:  Making reference to linguistic books and articles on teaching and learning English idioms  Putting the techniques into practice of teaching and learning English in classes  Considering the effectiveness of applying these techniques and creating any necessary modification IV SCOPE OF THE STUDY  This seminar is applied to teach Grade 12 students ated idioms or teach sportsrelated idioms with picture dictionary or practice exercises By using a common theme to teach idioms, it is easier for students to grasp the meanings of the phrases, and see how similar words can mean very different things in different contexts Here are some examples: 60 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively LOVERELATED IDIOMS 61 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School TIME-RELATED IDIOMS 62 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively Practice Exercise: Complete the following sentences to make a suitable common idiom connected with the weather I’m really sorry I won’t be able to see you this week but I’m absolute snowed under with work “What’s the capital of Peru?” “Sorry, I haven’t got the …………………… idea!” Jane and Steve have what you might call a ……………… relationship-they’re always arguing and then making up again! Julie is amazingly cheerful, she always greets everyone with a …………………… Smile The decision to build the new motorway through the forest was met by …………… of protest from local residents Tom has been ……… Maria with presents to make up for forgetting their wedding anniversary last month One of the TV cameramen was hit in the leg when they were caught in a ……………… of bullets outside the gang’s hideout The boss’s manner turned decidedly ……………………… after I told her I was looking for a new job I got home to find everyone in …………………… of tears over the terrible news 10 “Is Nick pleased about his new job?” “Pleased? He’s on ………………… Nine!” Answers: foggiest stormy sunny storms 63 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School showering hail frosty floods 10 Cloud Explanation of Idioms: be snowed under with work: be very busy with work (quá bận rộn với công việc) haven’t got the foggiest idea: know nothing about something (chẳng biết ….) a stormy relationship: a relationship involving a lot of strong argument and shouting (mối quan hệ đầy trắc trở, song gió) a sunny smile: a very bright and happy smile (nụ cười rạng rỡ/tỏa nắng) be met by storms of protest from somebody: to receive a lot of protest from somebody (bị song phản đối/bị phản đối dội) to shower somebody with presents: to give a lot of presents to somebody (tặng mưa quà tặng) a hail of bullets: a lot of bullets thrown at somebody at the same time (a hail of questions: câu hỏi dồn dập) a frosty manner: an unfriendly manner (phong cách/kiểu cách lạnh lùng/không thân thiện) floods of tears: a lot of tears on one’s face (Nước mắt giàn giụa) 10 be on cloud nine: be extremely happy (vô hạnh phúc/ở tầng mây) (Source: Advanced English C.A.E- Grammar Practice) Teaching and Learning English Idioms in contrast with Vietnamese ones People generally agree that language and culture have a vey close relationship In other words, a language is always associated with its unique culture in terms of traditional thoughts, religions, history and other cultural aspects Our human language 64 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively is much more than vocabularies, semantic or syntax rules, just purely spoken or written language Specifically, to utilize English as an effective means of communication, ESL learners need to not only know linguistic items literally but also understand them figuratively Additionally, it is said that common experience in life shapes the language As a result, many students find it confusing when translating English idioms into Vietnamese For example, the English say “as strong as a horse”, but according to Vietnamese people the physical strength is compared with a buffalo or an elephant Therefore, teachers should raise the awareness of different concepts in using idioms between English speakers and Vietnamese ones At class, teaching and learning English idioms in contrast with Vietnamese ones is considered a useful technique that can improve and enhance students’ idiomatic vocabulary English Idioms Vietnamese Idioms As strong as a horse Khỏe trâu 65 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School As mute as a fish 66 Câm hến As poor as a church mouse Nghèo rớt mồng tơi Diamond cuts Diamond Vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively Love me, love my dog Yêu yêu đường Ghét ghét tông ti họ hàng II IMPLICATIONS I have applied some of these techniques in teaching English idioms for students at Tam Duong high school and got good results My students now find it more interesting not only to learn English idioms but also to learn English in general In fact, they seem not to be afraid of dealing with idiom-related questions in practice tests, as well my students start to use some familiar and easy idioms in speaking tasks at class Especially, my students are very interested in making up a story using the learnt idioms, which motivates them into studying English This seminar will be reasonably modified to meet the real situation of each class and each group of students at their proficiency level Teachers need to consider what techniques are the most effective to their students or think of integrating some of which together in order that students can develop their skills and enhance their vocabulary 67 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School C CONCLUSION In brief, this study discovers some effective techniques to teach and learn English idioms, in order to both prepare students for the National Examination and improve their ability to use English Although it is uncommon for ESL students to use them comfortably and effectively, if we choose not to teach idioms in class, they will miss an important cultural element of the language they strive to speak fluently Since it is vital for students to learn English idioms in order to master English, it is important for teachers to design various activities for students to practise with English idioms and subsequently acquire them efficiently Moreover, students may learn better, when they are provided with collaborative activities because they can interact with peers and share fun in learning Teachers should integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing activities together in teaching English idioms, and make students more interested in learning English Still, the dictionary definition may be inadequate for teachers to use in an educational setting, and the meaning of idioms is almost impossible to understand unless you make use of your cultural knowledge or have heard them before Furthermore, figurative expressions like idioms are frequently made use in everyday situations and thus need to be focused by teachers Idiom comprehension requires learners to go beyond a simple word-by-word comprehension strategy and to integrate figurative meaning To sum up, due to the limited time and scope this study only focus on a very small aspect of teaching and learning English in ESL environment and remains some limitations that need further studying However, it is in the hope that it may provide both teachers and students with useful techniques to teach and learn English idioms, raise students’ awareness of learning and understanding the contextual meaning of a language, and motivate students to learn English enthusiastically 68 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively REFERENCES Carrick, L (2001) Internet resources for conducting Readers Theatre Reading Online, 5(1) Available:http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/carrick/ Carrick, L.U (2006) Readers Theatre across the curriculum In T Rasinski, C Blachowicz, & K Lems (Eds.), Fluency instruction: Research-based best practices (pp 209–230) New York: Guilford Press http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Wu-TeachingIdioms.html http://esl.about.com/od/readingadvanced 69 ...Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School Instead of saying: “It’s raining heavily”, people can make it more... on Techniques to Teach and Learn English Idioms Effectively LOVERELATED IDIOMS 61 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School TIME-RELATED IDIOMS 62 Seminar on Techniques to Teach and Learn... job?” “Pleased? He’s on ………………… Nine!” Answers: foggiest stormy sunny storms 63 Teacher: Bui Thanh Hue - Tam Duong High School showering hail frosty floods 10 Cloud Explanation of Idioms: be