Innovative teaching methods of idioms

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 372.881                                       

The lexical diversity of idioms makes it possible to use them in many tasks to develop speaking skills, to expand vocabulary, to develop creative abilities, translation skills and dictionary skills. Modern methods of teaching foreign languages dictate the use of approaches that form not only language professional competence, but also expand the general outlook and cultural level of students. In the process of learning English idioms, students use a multifaceted range of their competences, comparing idioms with Russian or Kyrgyz ones, delving into the history, customs and traditions of the country of the target language. At the same time, students are enriched with universal moral values and form their views on the surrounding world with all its diversity. This determines the relevance of this paper. In the domestic linguistic tradition idioms are usually called phraseological units or phraseological phrases. In modern linguistics the term "idiom", which comes from the Greek "idίōma", which means "peculiarity, originality", is widely used [1].

Idiom is a peculiar expression, a stable turn of speech, the meaning of which is not determined by the meaning of its constituent words. Such a concise but capacious definition is given by Cambridge Dictionary. Idioms occupy an important place in the study of the English language, they are often used by native speakers, as they are familiar to them, but for learners of this language as a foreign language, they are often incomprehensible.

A. Fedorov notes that "the untranslatability of idioms in the literal sense", which is often pointed out as one of their main features, does not matter, since idioms have lost their literal, direct meaning for native speakers as well [2]. This can be traced not only in English, but also in Russian and Kyrgyz. Going deeper into the meaning, it should be said that by using idioms in oral and written speech one can briefly formulate or summarize the results of many life events, briefly describe human nature, traditions or habits in certain countries and communities.

Idioms can also serve as a guide to behavior and a way of dealing with life's challenges. Many idioms are based on real experiences and accumulated knowledge about human nature. These sayings originate from the observation of these repetitive human actions. Therefore, in many cases idioms can serve as a kind of reference material. This determines the importance of studying idioms. In most works on the theory of translation, idioms are classified according to various features. V. V. Vinogradov attributes most idioms to ordinary grammatical classes or parts of speech [3]. Some idioms are typical verbs: to fall back on, to get through with, to keep up with. A large number of idiomatic expressions are nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Idiomatic expressions, called lexeme idioms, belong to one of the ordinary grammatical classes. The second main group of idioms are turns of speech, and this group consists of several parts of speech: for a rainy day, shoot the breeze, face like thunder. The peculiarity of this group is that such idioms should be translated by a group of words.

It cannot be denied that idioms enrich a language and make it vivid and expressive. One rather plausible hypothesis is that languages that are studied by large numbers of people as a second foreign language tend to become easier in some respects than other languages that are less popular among learners. This tendency is clearly observed if a sufficient number of people in a particular language community are non-native speakers. Simply put, certain components of the language that are difficult for certain groups of non-local speakers may eventually disappear, especially in the form of the language that users perceive as a lingua franca. Similar trends are currently observed in Global English, where some user-friendly (nonnative speakers) simplifications are clearly visible. This applies to morphology, grammar, phonology and other equally relevant sections of linguistics. Therefore, it is especially important not to ignore the study and use of idioms, which will help English to some extent not to lose its versatility. At a certain stage of language learning the need to master idioms is acutely felt - speech without the use of which is often perceived as student speech, because it looks too "academic" and lacks emotional coloring. This problem may seem intractable and may cause rejection, often because there is no effective system for learning and using idioms.

Teachers need to increase learner effectiveness and efficiency, as well as learner engagement and satisfaction with 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and collaboration. As a result, they need to create a stimulating and effective learning environment that results in a more positive attitude towards learning among students.

When teaching English idioms, this kind of innovative teaching becomes a necessity. Idiomatic expressions are phrases that mean something different from the literal definition of the words they're made up of. As a result, there are some problems in both the process of understanding them and the process of translating them.

Traditional idiom teaching methods focus on rote learning and memorisation. They are timeconsuming and labour-intensive. Students learn idioms in isolation, without making associations between forms and meanings. It was felt that a flexible and dynamic approach to teaching English idioms was needed. So, students tend to be used in everyday conversation rather than in formal written English. Because idioms often used in everyday conversation by native speakers, students need to learn more idioms if they are to speak more naturally and understand the ideas of those with whom they are speaking [4].

There are a number of different methods of language teaching in use today. One of them is activity-based language learning. You will probably find that activities provide excellent practice in English if you can arrange activities for your English conversation group. Activities can be fun. That language teaching not only can be fun, but should be fun, is now widely accepted. This does not mean that it is easy. It just means that there is no need to make it more difficult by making it enjoyable. The teaching of the meaning of an idiom is not an easy thing to do. That's why, when we teach English idioms, we have to have new methods of English teaching. Students will be able to understand texts that contain metaphorical and lexical meanings beyond the basic word level by developing a clear understanding of figurative language. In this lesson, students will explore figurative language with a focus on the literal translation of idioms as opposed to the metaphorical translation. Students will further develop their understanding of figurative language through read-alouds, teacher modelling and student-centred classroom activities [5].

Students can more easily identify metaphorical meanings by knowing the origins of idioms. Discussing the origins of words and phrases helps students understand how language changes over time and enables them to hypothesise the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases more meaningfully. A good way to teach idioms is to group them by topic, e.g. idioms related to body parts, idioms about colours, etc. Contrasting and comparing idioms in English with the students' or our mother tongue is also very interesting. This is a good way to have a discussion about the origin of the idiom and how different languages may have similar ways of expressing the same idea. Finding idioms in context is another way of teaching idioms.

Along with the other simple word lists, we teach idioms. We believe that the English teacher has to help the students to become effective users of the dictionary. Along with idioms and phrasal verbs, teaching pronunciation, functional category, different levels of meaning, usage and model sentences is a challenging task. It is our recommendation that you use pictures extensively to make the process easier than you can possibly imagine. There are 8 to 12 steps in the teaching of a group of idioms.

For example: Show them pictures and ask them random questions about what they know about the pictures; Tell students to make a story using these phrases; Write the idioms on the blackboard while narrating the story; Ask them to try to guess what the new idioms mean, depending on the context; You could try to work together if possible; Give extra examples of the new idioms (in context if possible). You could ask them to come up with some examples of their own. Re - tell the story, focusing on the new idioms; Give them a group activity to write very short stories using the new idioms (you could do this as a homework assignment if you are under time pressure); Ask to read their short stories. This will keep them motivated; Ask the other pupils to summarise the stories written by their partners [6].

However, metaphorical expressions often include objects that are more common in people's lives. The understanding of idioms is often a problem for EFL learners. A teacher can use the following strategies to teach idiomatic expressions with innovation: (1) using idioms when writing compositions; (2) the use of idioms in conversation building; (3) use of authentic materials; (4)using problem-solving exercises; (5) and the creation of idiom posters.

These are useful ways of teaching and reviewing idioms. Students appear to be more engaged with textual content and less resistant to reading material that might otherwise be challenging or frustrating when teachers encourage students' natural inclinations towards narrative forms of meaning making in conjunction with text-based lessons. This encourages them to role-play and allow memory, images and stories to come to the surface as their interpretations begin to emerge. Having played with the word through a highly personalised, narrative exploration of their own experiences of metaphorical language, students are more likely to understand, remember and care about what a metaphor means.