by Vicki Lung (OYY 05-06, Hunan)
Time: 45 minute or more (I made it go for 1 hr 45 min)
Level: Senior 2 (Grade 11 in Middle School), Works with university students and adults (USTB)
Explain what an idiom is: speech form or expression that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.
Give an example: “All systems go!” It's not grammatically correct, and you only understand it once you imagine people in the control room at NASA getting ready to launch a rocket. Or “His back is to the wall” and stand against the board unable to move.
Be sure to DRAW or ACT things to illustrate the image you are trying convey. This makes it fun and helps them understand.
Ask if they know any American idioms (most known “It's raining cats and dogs”)
Explain the importance of understanding idioms. You can't look it up in a normal dictionary (though my college kids found some on their electronic ones) and they are commonly used in writing and in speech.
Explain the key to understanding idioms: There is a story behind every idiom. Think of the IMAGE that goes with the idiom and this is the key to its meaning. For example, for “They flew the coop,” think of chickens flying out of the coop and escaping. The only way that the chickens can be flying is if they are outside of the coop (and now they're gone!)
Pre-teach necessary vocab (coop especially :P)
Split students into groups of 3 to 5 and have them discuss what they think the idioms on the list mean. These teams can also compete with teach other to guess correctly the meanings. They need to discuss in English as much as possible. If you hear Chinese, their group will lose a point. If they get an idiom, they get one point. Give them 10 minutes. (I did not do this, instead I had them race outside like Thai TESL training so they had to memorize what I thought were the most common 6. I made the whole thing last 1 hr 45 min or so with a 5 min break in between)
After time is up, go through the list of idioms. Read the first one out loud. Students raise their hands quickly if their group has an answer. If they guess the correct meaning, the get one point. If not, let others guess. Try to hear from as many students as possible (within groups and between students).
If no one has the correct answer, explain the meaning. Use drawings and act. Make the image of the idiom clear. Ask them for examples or provide other situations when you could use the idioms.
I include the handout and answers below:
* Catch My Drift? *
American Idioms
The following sentences use common American idioms. Guess what they mean:
For example:
“All systems go” means “Everything is ready.”
“His back is to the wall” means “He is trapped by the circumstances.”
I'll take a baker's dozen.
Stop beating around the bush.
Have you met my better half?
The bank robber finally bit the dust.
It makes your blood run cold.
The show brought down the house.
Tara gave him the cold shoulder.
The prisoner came clean.
They flew the coop.
Betty got the axe.
We just got wind of it.
Mom's got a green thumb.
The girls are having a ball.
Keep your head above water.
I have to hit the books tonight.
I have a little hole-in-the-wall.
It's still up in the air.
Just jump through the hoops.
Keep the ball rolling.
He lost his shirt on that bet.
It happens once in a blue moon.
He's still on the fence.
Did he pop the question?
It's raining cats and dogs.
Harry put his foot in his mouth.
Answers to Catch My Drift
I'll take a baker's dozen. I'll take thirteen.
Stop beating around the bush. Stop avoiding the issue.
Have you met my better half? Have you met my spouse?
The bank robber finally bit the dust. The bank robber finally died.
It makes your blood run cold. It's horrifying.
The show brought down the house. The show was a great success
Ted gave her the cold shoulder. Ted ignored her.
The prisoner came clean. The prisoner confessed.
They flew the coop. They disappeared.
Betty got the axe. Betty was fired from her job.
We just got wind of it. We just heard about it.
Mom's got a green thumb. Mom's a successful gardener.
The girls are having a ball. The girls are enjoying themselves.
Keep your head above water. Stay out of trouble.
I have to hit the books tonight. I have to study tonight.
I have a little hole-in-the-wall. I have a small, inexpensive apartment.
It's still up in the air. It's still undecided.
Just jump through the hoops. Just do what you are told to do.
Keep the ball rolling. Continue the activity.
He lost his shirt on that bet. He lost a lot of money on that bet.
It happens once in a blue moon. It happens very seldom.
He's still on the fence. He's still undecided.
Did he pop the question? Did he ask you to marry him?
It's raining cats and dogs. It's raining very hard.
Harry put his foot in his mouth. Harry said something that made him appear foolish.
1 comment:
I love american idioms. I wish I knew more about them. The problem is that the American English has a lot of idioms, and it is quite impossible to learn them all. I think that the most difficult part of learning English are idioms. But I enjoy them very much. They are beautiful.
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