using facebook as a tool in teaching and reviewing english idiomatic expressions for grade 12th students

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NAM DAN I HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE USING FACEBOOK AS A TOOL IN TEACHING AND REVIEWING ENGLISH IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS FOR GRADE 12TH STUDENTS SUBJECT: ENGLISH AUTHOR: VÕ THỊ DOAN GROUP: ENGLISH 12 Nghệ An, 2021 NGHỆ AN, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.1.1 The necessity of acquiring English idiomatic expressions to language learners Idioms are a significant part of acquiring a language and often indicate proficient learners English idioms are a part of the cultural elements of the language which should be mastered by EFL learners By developing a clear understanding of figurative language, such as idiomatic expressions, students can further comprehend texts that contain metaphorical and lexical meanings beyond the basic word level Idiomatic expressions or idioms should not be neglected and should not be taken for granted Idioms are used daily and repeatedly by native speakers of English Language Idiomatic expressions are a part of every language's vocabulary and are based on that language history, heritage, and culture Learning idiomatic expressions helps non-native speakers of a language become more fluent, and sound more native-like Learning idiomatic expressions increases the vocabulary and lexicon of the English Language learners Moreover, idiomatic knowledge leads to a better understanding of the culture and customs of that particular language English language teachers should teach idiomatic language to their students and not overlook such a vital issue because becoming more native-like in English Language is by learning idiomatic expressions, understanding their meaning and using them frequently To grade 12th students, idioms learning is especially important because they appear in the entrance test papers Some idioms exist in reading passages that may prevent them from reading comprehension Some idioms appear in some separate questions Therefore, to get high scores in the entrance tests to universities, students have to have a good knowledge of idioms These are the examples of the questions relating to idioms in the entrance paper tests: Question 12 (year 2020, code 404) : Mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the words OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words Everyone was secretly rehearsing a surprise performance for Alex’s proposal, but annoyingly Jim let the cat out of the bag at the last minute A abandoned a plan B concealed a plan C revised a plan D disclosed a plan Question (year 2017, code 401): Mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the words CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words It's not a pleasant feeling to discover you've been taken for a ride by a close friend A driven away B deceived deliberately C given a lift D treated with sincerity This is an example of the idioms that appears in the reading texts: ● Cut from a reading passage in the paper test for the GCSE exam, school year (2019-2020), code 404: … Alternatively, they may decide to take a gap year between graduating from university and starting a career feeling the need for some time out before joining the rat race …… From above reasons we can see that it is essential to teach English idioms to our students Therefore, they can better their communication, their reading comprehension and their exam scores 1.1.2 Students’ difficulties in learning idioms at high schools Most of the students at high school find it challenging to use idioms in communication and to deal with the questions relating to idioms The author has conducted some pieces of interview to have a close look to the difficulties that teachers and students have to face when teaching and learning idioms At the beginning of the school year, she also delivered a test to check students’ knowledge of English idioms (see appendix I) The results of the test have shown that most of the students have poor knowledge of English idiomatic expressions Following are some difficulties that students have met when they learn English idioms First of all, one of the main blocks of L2 idiom learning is that idioms are often unpredictable in meaning, that is, their meanings cannot always be derived from the literal meanings of the constituent parts Therefore, most students agree that they really have to learn them to know their exact meaning and avoid misunderstanding them Secondly, it is the fact that there are a lot of idiomatic expressions in English but only few idioms appear in the text book so most students not have chances to acquire them Students mostly learn idioms in extra classes and from reference books It is undeniable that idioms are not treated in classrooms as regularly as might be because of time pressure In fact, teacher must spend time on other tasks appearing in textbooks However, many students say that they need a reliable source of idioms from teacher to learn rather than find the idioms themselves Last but not least, it is very difficult to remember the idioms because students not have chance to use them frequently in daily communication or they are not frequently exposed to them In fact, to master and use the idioms in communication, they must have chances to practice them and have chances to the tests on them Some teachers overwhelm students with idioms by giving them a list with a lot of idioms and ask them to remember It is useless because students can not remember all of them at one time It is advisable that idioms should be introduced a few at one time It is important for teachers to design various activities for students to use English idioms and subsequently acquire them efficiently It is necessary that idioms should be introduced separately at different time and with interesting contexts Moreover, students must have chances to practise using them and doing some kinds of tests about them 1.1.3 Benefits of teaching and reviewing idioms via Facebook As a teacher of English at high school, the author would like to find ways to help students overcome above difficulties and provide students with as many opportunities to master English idiomatic expressions as possible During the time of teaching English at class 12D2, the author has seen that thanks to the development of economy and technology, all students in this class have their own smart phones and all of them use Facebook daily Facebook has become one part of their lives and they use it frequently to get in touch with others Since they use Facebook frequently and comfortably, teachers may exploit this entertainment-oriented site as an edutainment tool Although there are many tools available for eLearning, Facebook seems to be one of the most effective tools because students generally respond to discussions quickly and are comfortable enough in their "space" to share their information and opinions By using Facebook in learning, the role of students can therefore shift from only receiving knowledge to both searching and sharing their knowledge Moreover, interactions with teachers can become more instant since teachers and students can respond quickly via Facebook Facebook is so a miraculous learning tool, “Why doesn’t the teacher make full use of the social network to help students acquire idiomatic expressions frequently?” This question has led the author to the thought of using Facebook to teach and review English idioms for students By using the class’s Facebook page for teaching English, teacher can introduce the idioms frequently at any time of the day, not necessary at the class time With interesting drawings and funny examples, teacher can make it easier for students to remember the idioms Especially, teacher usually posts the idioms on some popular topics like food, weather, body parts, money, and emotions so the most of the idioms are in a close relationship, which makes students remember the idioms more easily It is the class rule that after the teacher has posted the idiom, the students have to comment the examples they make for that posted idiom As a good result, students have many chances to read many interesting examples from their friends and they are able to have deep understanding into that idiom One more benefit is that the students’ examples are often corrected by the teacher if they are incorrect Especially, introducing idioms via Facebook can help students save time They can learn and review idioms at any time when they have their smart phones in their hands They can respond to the teacher posts during the break time at school or before going to bed or when they are going out with their friends It is a good chance for them to make full use of their Facebook surfing time One more special benefit which the teacher has realized is that all the students in class D2, even some lazy students who not have intention to learn idioms, have been engaged in learning idiomatic expressions because of the rules of interaction given by the teacher at the beginning of the school year Most of the students have the feeling of comfort to interact on Facebook The involvement of all students in class D2 in learning English idioms satisfies the teacher a lot It is clear that when they try to think of the examples to comment under the post, they automatically memorize the idioms Most of the students are usually inspired by the funny contexts illustrated through funny drawings For all the things mentioned above, it is undeniable that Facebook is an interesting and useful tool for teaching idioms to the ESL learners In a modern society with the development of technology, it is good to engage the students to use their mobile phones in learning English so that they can have more chances to learn by themselves in less stressful situations and then receive useful feedback from their teacher and their friends Surely, learning idioms via Facebook also enhances student’s learning autonomy and helps them to become active learners However, the teacher realizes that only posting and interacting with the new idioms via Facebook is not enough for students to remember and use them in daily life and deal with the questions relating to idioms The teacher believes that the students can learn idioms better when they are provided with collaborative activities and they can interact with their peers and share fun in learning Therefore, the teacher has designed some kinds of tests and activities after every 15 posted idioms The tests and the activities are really helpful in reviewing what the students have learnt so that they can reinforce their memory of the new idioms 1.2 Aim of the research To help grade 12th students acquire some popular English idioms 1.3 Objectives In order to achieve the above aim, the writer will: (1) - Investigate to identify the current state and the problems that many teachers and students are facing when teaching and learning idioms at the author’s high school (2) – Introduce idioms via Facebook and assign some tests on idioms for students to practise (3) - Analyze the effects of the designed activities on students’ ability to acquire idioms 1.4 Scope of the research Beside the introduction and the conclusion, this research consists of three parts: - Theoretical and practical background - Introducing and reviewing idioms via Facebook - Results and evaluation PART 2: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 What is an idiomatic expression? The word 'idiom' is a Greek term meaning ‘own’ or ‘peculiar’ An idiom is a figurative expression that can usually be interpreted literally but that takes a nonliteral 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, in Shakespeare language and, even, in Bible Idiom is “a number of words which, taken together, mean something different from the individual words of the idiom when they stand alone” (McMordiew, 1983: 4) An idiomatic expression “let the cat out of the bag”, for instance, is composed of several words (let/the/cat/out/of/the/bag) whose individual meanings not seem to contribute to the meaning of the idiom as a whole, which is “reveal a secret” 2.2 Characteristics of idiomatic expressions a Metaphorical Meaning Idiomatic expressions are, in a very broad sense, metaphorical rather than literal Because an idiom is metaphorical, its meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of the separate words from which it is formed This can be seen in, for example, to be on top of the world (=to be extremely happy) and to be hard up (=to lack money): - We were very hard up when I lost my job - After winning the batting title, Carol appeared to be on top of the world Similarly, idioms such as Actions speak louder than words or The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree are very particular to the English language and not make sense when you try to understand them verbatim In these two idiomatic expressions, actions are not really ‘speaking,’ and there is no apple or tree Literally translating the sentences will not help you understand them any better; you simply must memorize what these idioms mean as a whole, so you not feel lost when someone says one to you Another common idiom used frequently is Don’t cry over spilt milk Again, this expression has absolutely nothing to with milk Instead, the milk is a metaphor for a past event that you are worrying about right now This expression implies that ‘what happens in the past stays in the past,’ so you shouldn’t be upset or ‘cry' about something bad that happened yesterday (spilt milk) that you cannot anything about now b Invariability Idioms are more or less invariable, both in wording and in certain grammatical ways They cannot, therefore, be changed or varied in the way literal expressions are normally varied, whether in speech or writing Some idioms cannot be changed at all For example, the idiomatic sentence *The University praised the students who had worked to help those who were outand-down in London is ill-formed, whereas The University praised the students who had worked to help those who were down-and-out in London is perfectly acceptable In brief, most idioms resist variation in form, and tend to be relatively fixed with regard to the following: ● Replacement A speaker or writer cannot normally replace a word with another in the idiom phrase We cannot say *on top of the universe/globe, but we can say on top of the world (=to be very happy) Spill the peas is not an idiomatic expression but spill the beans (=to give away secret information) is idiomatic ● Word Order We cannot change the order of words in an idiomatic expression, e.g It was raining cats and dogs (=It was raining very hard), but not *It was raining dogs and cats The idiom phrase be left high and dry (but not *be left dry and high) means to be left without any help or without the things you need ● Number Almost all idiomatic expressions not in one way or another admit of the usual grammatical operations which literal phrases will permit For example, we cannot turn the object of the idiomatic expressions give up the ghost and kick the bucket into the plural without losing the idiomatic meaning Thus, one would not say *The men gave up the ghosts/*The men kicked the buckets However, a singular noun may be replaced by a plural noun in a literal sentence, e.g The men kicked the (milk) buckets/pails One cannot turn cats and dogs in It was raining cats and dogs into the singular, either: *It was raining a cat and a dog) ● The Use of Actives/Passives Normally a transitive verb phrase can be changed to a passive: The man kicked the pail/The pail was kicked by the man When one uses an idiom, however, some grammatical operations, like the formation of the passive, are impossible For example, one may use the idiom kick the bucket in a sentence like At o'clock John kicked the bucket We cannot change the grammatical structure of this sentence, i.e we cannot re-write the sentence in the passive It would sound quite unnatural to say At o'clock the bucket was kicked by John 2.3 The importance of idioms 10 REFERENCES Ambrose, J (2003) Why Idioms are Important for English Language Learners Mikolaiv State Pedagogical University Bulut, T., Yazici,I,C (2004) Idiom Processing in L2: Through Rose-colored Glasses The Reading Matrix Gibbs, Raymond W Jr (1992) What Do Idioms Really Mean? , Journal of Memory and Language, p.485 McCarthy, Michael and Felicity O'Dell (2002) English Idioms in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rohani & Ketabi (2004) Factors supporting idiom comprehension in children with communication disorders Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 1179-1193 Seidle, J and W McMordie (1978) English Idioms and How to Use Them Oxford:OUP 53 APPENDIX I PRE-TEST NAME: ………………………………………………… CLASS: 12D2 Choose the best option A, B, C or D to finish the following sentences Sarah felt _after her divorce and she decided a have a holiday with her daughter A B yellow C blue D grey A fancy car like that costs a _so I definitely can’t afford it A red gun B bomb C weapon D bullet We were like two in a pod We all liked all the same things and we did everything together A beans B peas C nuts D seeds I am no feeling a bit under the I think I am getting a cold A sky B weather C clouds D roof I have got some interesting news to tell you but you have to promise to keep it under your _ A cap B nose C hat D helmet Mary was promoted to a higher position and now she is feeling on top of the A mountain B world C hill D roof Mary: Does Phillip know about our plan? Tom: Yes, someone must have spilled the _ A B beans C nuts D seeds Mary suggested that we should play a party game to the ice A peas kick B hit C break D cut A: I think he will pay you back your money B: When fly A 10 cats B birds C cocks D pigs I dropped a when talking with my best friend, and now he doesn’t want to talk to me any more A 11 stone B brick C rock D leaf Why does Sarah always shoot herself in the by saying the wrong thing? A 12 C foot D face hat B bag C sack D cap My mother would the roof if I came home late A 14 B hand If you need me, just call me I can come at the drop of a A 13 feet kick B bite C hit D break The computer manual was as clear as _so we stopped reading it and called dad for help A cloud B sand C soil D mud Choose the best option A, B, C or D to indicate the words CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words 15 You and your co-workers have been working hard for a long time I think you all should let your hair down A 16 17 relax B eat something C have a party D go on a vocation She is the black sheep of her family A the black shinny item C the unworthy person B the funny woman D the good person That kind of computer costs a bomb I definitely can’t afford it A is very valuable B is very cheap C is very costly D is very useful Choose the best option A, B, C or D to indicate the words OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words 18 19 Tom was too wet behind the ears to be in charge of such a difficult task A full of experience C lack of responsibility B without money D full of sincerity Mary was a bit down in the dumps as she heard the news from hẻ former teacher A happy and excited C disappointed B satisfied D pleased 20 Joe’s outstanding performance in the exams made him think he was the cat’s whiskers A a troublemaker C the worst person B an animal lover D the best performer APPENDIX II POST-TEST Choose the best option A, B, C or D to finish the following sentences Question 1: Sorry but I can’t watch the game with you tonight, I have to the books I have a huge exam next week B bite B kick C hit D pull Question 2: We had everything organized for Mary’s surprise party, but Peter accidently spilled the _to her at work That was so annoying B beans B peas C nuts D milk Question 3: It's been one of those when everything's gone wrong I have lost my keys and fell over running for the bus A days B minutes C hours D weeks Question 4: Don’t worry about making extra food for your child while you are on holiday She eats like a _ B cat B fish C bird D rabbit Question 5: My cousin is a bit down in the _as she failed to get the job she had applied for B holes B dump C dumps D garbage dumps Question 6: We need a place where young folk can their hair down and enjoy themselves B make B have C get D let Question 7: A: Can you fix my car for me? B: _ B You’re welcome C Beat me B You can say that again D No sweat Question 8: If someone often criticizes and speaks in a severe way, we say that he/she has a sharp B mouth B tongue C teeth D voice Question 9: He says he is going to something about it but he never will He’s all talks and no _ B pants B actions C trousers D doings Question 10: Our boss hit the _when he saw that we’d already blown through the budget B wall B roof C ground D roofs Question 11: My mother was worried when it passed midnight and my brother still hadn’t come home B tired B exhausted C sick D ill Question 12: They had an argument last night and now they are not on the speaking _with each other B rulers B laws C terms D rules Question 13: When you see eye to eye with someone, A you look extremely similar to someone B you agree with someone completely C you are glad to see this person D you are angry to see this person Question 14: If you say that something costs an arm and a leg, A It is extremely cheap B It’s not worth the money C It’s very expensive D It has no price Mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the words CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words Question 15: The chairman pulled a long face when the house did not accept the suggestions put forth by him A to look disappointed B to get annoyed C to be agitate D to make a quarrel Question 16: I’m sure that she will go bananas if all of us don’t reveal the secret to her A become extremely angry B be totally excited C become extremely sad D become really disappointed Question 17: Why is Peter so irritated this morning? Did he get out of the bed at the wrong side again? B be in the good mood C be extremely upset B be in the bad mood D get a punishment Mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the words OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words Question 18: Sarah got the job as an accountant in a foreign company and she felt over the moon A serious B pleased C extremely happy D upset and disappointed Question 19: After 10 years of being together in the same company, they decided to tie the knot A get married B get divorced C keep the relationship D get engaged Question 20: I will tell you this surprising secret but you have to promise that you will not let the cat out of the bag B keep the secret C conceal the secret B reveal the secret D let the secret out APPENDIX III SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Các câu hỏi để làm liệu cho nghiên cứu về: “Using Facebook as a tool in teaching and reviewing English idiomatic expressions for grade 12th students” “Sử dụng Facebook công cụ để dạy ôn tập thành ngữ Tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 12” Rất mong em bớt chút thời gian trả lời cách trung thực xác câu hỏi Mọi thông tin em cung cấp bảo mật Xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác em! Question 1: What you think about your knowledge of idioms at the beginning of the school year? (Các em nghĩ kiến thức thành ngữ Tiếng Anh bước vào đầu năm học lớp 12?) a good (tốt) b quite good (khá tốt) c poor (tệ) Question 2: What you think about the activities of introducing and reviewing English idioms via Facebook? (Các em nghĩ hoạt động giới thiệu ôn tập thành ngữ tiếng anh thông qua Facebook?) a Very boring (rất tẻ nhạt) b Boring (tẻ nhạt) c So so (bình thường) d Interesting (thú vị) e Very interesting and useful ( thú vị hữu ích) Question 3: What are the benefits that you can get from the teacher’s activities of introducing and reviewing English idioms via Facebook? (Đâu lợi ích mà em thu từ hoạt động giới thiệu ôn tập thành ngữ qua Facebook giáo viên?) a I can learn idioms with interesting and fun contexts (Em học thành ngữ thơng qua văn cảnh thú vị hài hước) b Thanks to the funny drawings and interesting examples, I can remember the idioms better (nhờ vào nhữn hình vẽ hài hước ví dụ hấp dẫn, em nhớ thành ngữ cách tốt nhiều.) c I can make full use of my Internet surfing time to learn rather than just only to relax (Facebook khơng cịn để giải trí mà em tận dụng thời gian lướt Facebook để học thêm thành ngữ) d I have a reliable source of idioms to learn almost everyday (Em có nguồn tài liệu thành ngữ đáng tin cậy để học ngày.) d By giving examples with the idioms under every teacher’s post, I can improve my writing skill and remember the idioms better (Bằng cách đưa ví dụ thành ngữ viết giáo viên, em nâng cao kỹ viết nhớ thành ngữ tốt hơn.) e I can learn and review English idioms at any time of the day with a smart phone so I can save a lot of time for other learning activities (Với điện thoại thông minh, em học ơn tập thành ngữ tiếng anh vào thời gian ngày em tiết kiệm thời gian cho hoạt động học tập khác.) f The tests and the activities that teacher gives me after every 15 posted idioms really help me review what I have learnt (Những kiểm tra hoạt động mà giáo viên đưa sau 15 thành ngữ thực giúp em ơn tập mà em học.) h All above benefits (Tất lợi ích trên.) i Others (Ý kiến khác): ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Question 4: Do you think that you have made progress in learning English idioms thanks to the activities introduced by the teacher? (Em có nghĩ em tiến việc học thành ngữ tiếng anh nhờ vào hoạt động mà giáo viên đưa không?) b No (không) b Yes, a little (có ít) c Yes, a lot (có tiến nhiều) Question 5: What is your opinion about activities of introducing and reviewing English idioms via Facebook? (If you not want, you don’t have to answer this question.) (Hãy nêu ý kiến em hoạt động giới thiệu ôn tập thành ngữ qua Facebook.) (Nếu em khơng muốn, em khơng phản hồi lại yêu cầu này) …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX IV EXAMPLES OF THE STUDENTS’ COMMENTS ON POSTED IDIOMS EXAMPLES OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN TEACHER AND STUDENTS AND AMONG STUDENTS ... neglected and should not be taken for granted Idioms are used daily and repeatedly by native speakers of English Language Idiomatic expressions are a part of every language''s vocabulary and are based... noun in a literal sentence, e.g The men kicked the (milk) buckets/pails One cannot turn cats and dogs in It was raining cats and dogs into the singular, either: *It was raining a cat and a dog)... away secret information) is idiomatic ● Word Order We cannot change the order of words in an idiomatic expression, e.g It was raining cats and dogs (=It was raining very hard), but not *It was