Teaching Slang and Idioms

Slang and Idioms

What is slang? A simple online definition is, "The nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture, typically consisting of transitory coinages and figures of speech." (Catchword) What is an idiom? From another online source, "Idiom refers to a grammatical construction unique to a certain people, region, or class that cannot be translated literally into another language." (Pearson Canada) When learning any language, these two concepts are an important part of complete understanding. The first hurdle a language student must overcome is grammar. After getting a basic understanding of how to string a language’s words together to form something understandable to an average native speaker, the next step is vocabulary. While grammar and vocabulary are definitely an important part of a language, slang and idioms equally deserve as much attention. To complicate the situation, slang and idioms do not always follow the conventional rules of grammar. That, coupled with the fact that slang and idioms are not to be interpreted literally make the learning of these concepts confusing and difficult to an average language learner. Let’s start with a typical idiom used in the English language. "I have been working my fingers to the bone." At first, it may seem that the person stating this has been using their hands so much that the flesh is falling from them! This is definitely not the case, as anyone who’s ever heard someone say this can attest to. Thinking about this idiom, it is hard to imagine how this phrase came in to common use. The whole purpose of an idiom is to more interestingly describe a person or situation. In this case, the speaker is expressing how hard they have been working on something. An idiom makes a listener stop and think about what is being said, making the conversation more pleasing to be involved with. Slang is slightly different from an idiom in that slang usually refers to a single word and not an entire phrase. Some of it can be regional as in the case of "boot" being used to refer to the rear storage compartment of a car in the UK, or "trunk" which refers to the same thing in the United States. Some typical English slang when referring to a friend or associate are, "dude," "homie," or "peep." While the origins of some of these words is hard to see directly, "dude" for instance, some of them can almost be logically explained. "Homie" can be seen as being a variation of "homme" from French, which can be translated as "man" in English. "Peep" can be seen as being a short form of "people." Slang, just like idioms, is used to decorate speech and text. Learning about and understanding slang and idioms used in a certain language is a way to understand the general attitudes and beliefs of a group of same language using people. The people who use the language personalize it by injecting their life experiences in to it. Slang and idioms are the result of this personalization. By investigating a few items of slang or idioms, along with their uses and meanings, an aspiring language user will be well on their way to becoming a convincing sounding native speaker. 

Teaching Idioms

According to Webster’s Dictionary an idiom is ?an expression whose meaning cannot be predicted from the usual meaning of its constituent elements.? I also like the definition of T.C. Cooper’s that An idiom can have a literal meaning, but its alternate, figurative meaning must be understood metaphorically. In the last week, since choosing ?idioms? as a subject for this paper, I have been particularly aware of how many of these phrases are used in everyday speech. ‘It’s a piece of cake’ ‘I’m fed up!’ ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’ , ‘Let sleeping dogs lie’- These are enough to make a student who has consulted an English dictionary shake his head and say, I can’t make heads or tails of what these phrases mean, which, of course, he cannot do until he has been taught the actual rather than the literal meaning.

It occurs to me that a student with advanced skills would need and want to learn idioms in order to better his comprehension of the English language as well as his ability to speak fluently. I also believe that students on a lower level would enjoy learning an occasional idiom because these phrases make the English language more colorful and unique. (However, studies have shown that children up to the age of nine tend to interpret idioms quite literally, thus attempting to teach them to young children would likely result in confusion and misunderstanding ). 

With this need to learn idioms comes the challenge of teaching phrases whose meaning can only be known through conventional use. A good way to begin would be an explanation to students that idioms at first seem to make no sense and often are learned in the same way new vocabulary words are learned. Teaching the history of how an idiom came into common usage is also helpful to students and may provide clues to its present usage. Students can relate to the concept of idioms, when they explore the use of idioms in their own language. For example, in a Spanish language class I once took, it seemed odd to me that the phrase ‘you’re pulling my hair’ meant you’re kidding me until one of the students realized that in the English language the idiom ‘You’re pulling my leg’ had the same meaning. Teaching idioms can be interesting in that they would easily lead to discussion about figurative language and why they are used in speech and writing. There should also be a word of caution introduced so that students understand that idioms are usually used in social situations, but when more formal language is required, there are usually more appropriate language choices. 

In teaching idioms, the teacher should begin by choosing idioms that are frequently encountered so that students have opportunities to hear, read and use the expressions. It is also important to choose idioms that do not involve difficult vocabulary and grammar. Students should also be initially introduced to idioms which have transparent figurative meanings. 

Along with learning about idioms, students can be introduced to metaphors and similes which also provide an increased ability to express ideas and thoughts. Being able to understand and use more figurative language adds an interesting and colorful element to a student’s communication skills. I hope one day to be able to teach English to students with other language skills. If I am fortunate enough to do this, I will be sure to at least introduce my students to idioms because they are fun, somehow make English more approachable (less formal, anyway), and add a valuable dimension to students? skills in English communication. 

English Slang and Idioms: Why to Teach Them

The slang and idioms of the English language and so numerous and nebulous in usage that they are often skipped over by TEFL teachers in an attempt to simplify things for their students. With grammar, vocabulary, situational language, and pronunciation who has time to deal with slang, right? Wong. In actuality, as important as having a grasp on Standard English is, knowing idioms and slang as well as how and when they are used is just as important for a student who wishes to speak English fluently. The sad fact of the matter is that no native English speaker uses Standard English; we all speak using words and phrases that make little sense when there literal definition is used. Even something as basic as ‘cool’ can be confusing out of context, without knowledge of English slang, how is a student to know that someone isn’t talking about the temperature? Before we go any further lets take a moment to define the difference between slang and idioms. In his article, ‘Without Slang and Idioms, Students are in the Dark’ David Burke proposes the following definitions: 

Slang: Nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture. In other words, slang is typically a nonstandard word, not a phrase? Slang words may or may not have alternative literal meanings. 

Idioms: A phrase that is commonly understood in a given culture or subculture to have a meaning different from its literal meaning. 

With these definitions words like ‘cool’, ‘hot’, or ‘phat’ are considered slang, while phrases like ‘tick me off’, or ‘back to basics’ are idioms. Both make their way into casual conversation regularly, and if a student is to truly fit into an English-speaking environment, they will have to understand them. An argument one may use against teaching slang and idioms is that they are the hallmark of lower society, and not seen in the working, or higher-class world. This, of course, could not be further from the truth. The business word is chock full of idioms that would make no sense to a non-native English speaker. Phrases like, ‘run with it’, or ‘fielding questions’ are common are casually used all the time in offices. What would someone not educated about English idioms think of the phrase, ‘think outside of the box’? It makes no sense at all without its definition! If one were teaching students English to help them enter the world of business, they would be doing them a disservice to leave out the slang and idioms that are so often used there. There is yet another place where idioms and slang are starting to emerge as a major form of communication. The words and phrases are relatively new, but can be seen and heard anywhere in the world. In the past decade or so, the language of the Internet has evolved into something incomprehensible to the Standard English speaker, and yet it is the easiest way to access English culture and native speakers. Acronyms like ‘LOL’, ‘WTF’, or, ‘ROFL’, make up a large portion of the Internet language, and are completely meaningless without some knowledge of Internet slang. In order for a student of the English language to truly excel and have access to every place English is spoken, they must have knowledge of English slang and idioms. The business world, casual conversation, and even the Internet are full of these words and phases that will throw off anyone who isn’t prepared in class for them. To not teach students slang is to rob them of a key part of the language.