{"id":46649,"date":"2022-10-16T03:37:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-16T07:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/?p=46649"},"modified":"2025-02-09T05:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T10:10:14","slug":"teach-english-idioms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/teach-english-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach English Idioms Effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"

Idioms.<\/strong> They’re a lot of fun to teach and to learn, and they’ll make your students sound more like\u00a0native speakers\u00a0and become better listeners<\/a>, more in tune to\u00a0colloquial English.<\/p>\n

In this guide, I’ll give you some tips for teaching English idioms to learners of any level, and give you some examples of key idioms that are worth teaching.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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How to Teach English Idioms for Each Level<\/h2>\n

Beginners<\/h3>\n

Some ESL teachers may find that teaching idioms is a waste of time with beginners. They can barely hold their own in a conversation, so why go teaching them confusing expressions that are tough to understand?<\/p>\n

There are a few reasons why\u00a0teaching English idioms to beginners is a good idea.<\/p>\n

Firstly, it establishes common ground. All languages have idiomatic expressions<\/strong>, and by going over some in English, they’ll be encouraged to examine their own language usage and become more linguistically aware.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But perhaps more importantly, learning English idiomatic expressions is fun<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Beginners have the biggest hurdle to overcome when they first enter an ESL classroom: Learning to understand and to be understood.<\/p>\n

And yet we spend a lot of time with beginners<\/a> going over irregular verbs, memorizing vocabulary and learning basic phrases. Give them\u2014and yourself\u2014a break with a fun, creative lesson on English idiomatic expressions.<\/p>\n

When you’re teaching English idioms to beginners, the most important thing to remember is to make it fun.\u00a0Don’t sweat the small stuff.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Choose a theme<\/h4>\n

When you’re presenting idiomatic expressions to beginners, it’s a good idea to pick a theme.<\/p>\n

Try choosing a list of 10 idioms<\/strong> in accordance with something like an upcoming holiday (on Halloween, try “green-eyed monster,” “going on a witch hunt”) or any theme that’s of interest to you and your class.<\/p>\n

For example, if you’ve just done a lesson on food words<\/a>, try making a list of food-related idioms (“You’re a peach!” “Easy as pie.”)<\/p>\n

If you’re having a hard time coming up with idioms based on your theme, try this site<\/a>\u00a0which groups English idioms by theme for you, so you can pick and choose the ones you’d like to use.<\/p>\n

2. Engage students in discovery<\/h4>\n

When introducing beginners to idioms, it can be fun to have them work in pairs<\/a> or groups to try to discover what the idioms mean<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Of course, don’t get them started empty-handed! Create a matching worksheet with the definitions of the idioms on one side and the idioms themselves on the other.<\/p>\n

Have students work together to decide which idiom means which thing. If necessary, you can use translation in the definitions.<\/p>\n

The benefit of introducing idioms in this way is that it gets students thinking about how idioms work and maybe even making comparisons in their own languages.<\/p>\n

3. Reinforce learning with a game<\/h4>\n

Once students have figured out which idiom has which meaning, it’s time for a game!<\/p>\n

A really fun one to play with beginners is Charades<\/strong>. Since the person in front of the class doesn’t have to speak, it can be less scary for students to volunteer. Of course, the guessers will have to guess in English!<\/p>\n

Place the idioms you’ve covered into a hat and have students come up one by one to act them out.<\/p>\n

Be sure to think ahead if you plan to use this game\u2014you wouldn’t want to pick idioms that are impossible to act out and risk frustrating your students.<\/p>\n

Intermediate Learners<\/h3>\n

Intermediate learners may have a handle on some idioms, but not all. This is a great time to expand their idiomatic vocabulary with uses that are interesting to them.<\/p>\n

With many students, this will mean involving pop culture like\u00a0music<\/strong>. If you choose the song correctly, this can be a great opportunity to introduce more idiomatic expressions!<\/p>\n

1. Pick an appropriate song<\/h4>\n

As the teacher, it’s important to do your homework before getting underway with any idiomatic expressions activity. You can’t just assume any song will have idiomatic expressions in it, as well you know!<\/p>\n

Here are a few resources to help you find the right song<\/strong> to use with your class:<\/p>\n