Education Idioms and Exercises at Foreign Language Classes

Teaching vocabulary at foreign language classes, any teacher deals with diverse difficulties like: set-expressions, phraseological units, collocations and idioms. “Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made [1]. In general it’s hard to translate idioms, except in a circuitous way. Besides idioms are not easy to teach and learn. However, the use of idioms makes the speech more colourful, expressive and authentic. Undoubtedly, the knowledge and use of various idioms helps to understand another language and culture.

In this article we offer some widely-used idioms on the topic “Education” and provide exercises which can be used by linguistic teachers at classes.

• A for effort (realize that someone tries one’s best to do something even though they may not be successful)

e.g. William received an A for effort for his work on the research.

• above average (better or higher than average)

e.g. This month Sarah received above average marks in all tests except the test in physics.

• as easy as ABC (very easy)

e.g. Learning how to make an effective presentation was as easy as ABC for the third-year students.

• below average (worse or lower than average)

e.g. Unfortunately Miranda was below average in her test in chemistry.

• bookworm (someone who reads a lot)

e.g. My neighbour is a bookworm and is always reading books for university classes.

• brainstorm something (try to develop an idea or think of new ideas)

e.g. After classes we stayed to brainstorm ideas for the birthday party.

• cover a lot of ground (complete a lot of material in a class or course)

e.g. They covered a lot of ground during the fall term.

• crack a book (open a book to study [usually used in the negative])

e.g. Russell did well enough in the mathematics course even though he didn't crack a book until the last week of classes.

• get credit for (a course) (receive official recognition and credits after passing a course)

e.g. What should be done to get a credit for the informatics course?

• higher education (education after graduating from high school - usually college or university)

e.g. To apply for this job it is necessary to have higher education.

• learn by heart (memorize something so you can repeat it without thinking)

e.g. This poem should be learnt by heart by Tuesday.

• make the grade (be satisfactory and of an expected level)

e.g. My results for the laboratory work didn't make the grade and I had to do it again.

• meet the requirements (for something) (fulfill the requirements [for something])

e.g. The technical report wasn’t accepted because it didn’t meet the requirements.

• pass with flying colors (pass something easily and with a high score)

e.g. Nobody expected Tomas to pass the ecology test with flying colors.

• read to oneself (read without saying anything so that other people cannot hear you)

e.g. I spent the morning in the library reading to myself.

• school of hard knocks (the ordinary experience of learning from work and daily life)

e.g. Andrew spent some years abroad learning about life in the school of hard knocks.

• teach someone a lesson (do something to someone in order to punish them for their bad behavior)

e.g. Timothy didn’t pass his tests on time and the professor taught him a lesson and didn’t let him pass the exam together with his group.

• teacher's pet (the teacher's favorite student)

e.g. Vivian was always the teacher's pet when she was in primary school.

• university of life (learning from daily life and work rather than going to university)

e.g. John started working at the age of sixteen and learned everything from the university of life.

• work one's way through college (work at a job to help pay for your college or university expenses)

e.g. My nephew has to work his way through college as a lifeguard [2].

Thus having studied these idioms, the following exercises can be done to master the material:

I) Match these idioms with their equivalents:

II) Choose the correct variant:

1) It is hard to believe but Benjamin got ___ average marks in all his exams.

1. on high

2. over

3. above

2) Most of the students in my group are ___.

1. bookworming

2. bookworm

3. bookworms

3) You should study hard during the term to ___ a credit for this philosophy course.

1. get

2. obtain

3. gain

4) These words are to be learnt ___ heart for the next lesson.

1. close to

2. by

3. towards

5) In the library people read ___ themselves.

1. to

2. for

3. about

6) Deborah started working to learn about life in the school of ___ knocks.

1. tough

2. hard

3. severe

7) Have you ever thought about working your ___ through college?

1. path

2. road

3. way

III) Complete these sentences with idioms:

1. Rebecca wasn’t able to pass the test because she didn’t even ___.

2. The teacher gave Lydia ___ for her last homework.

3. When we started this project, we ___ ideas.

4. Studying this course was ___ for Charles because he was fond of physics.

5. Nancy is a diligent student and she is ___.

6. I was so happy when I knew that I ___ higher mathematics.

7. Unfortunately your work wasn’t considered because it didn’t ___.

8. Could you ___ because I am trying to concentrate on my report.

9. I didn’t think it would be so easy to study this course and pass it ___.

10. Which mark did you expect if you didn’t even ___?

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom

2. http://www.englishbaby.com