Idioms: Description, Comprehension, Acquisition, and Pedagogy Book

List of tables     xi
Preface     xiii
Idioms and Their Use     1
Idiom Definition and Classification     3
Introduction     3
Defining idioms: Diverse views     4
A perspective from language learners     13
Classification of idioms     16
Phrasal verbs: A unique group of idioms     21
Summary     23
Idiom Use: Function, Variation, Frequency, and Register     25
Introduction     25
The idiom principle     25
Function     27
Variation     36
Frequency     39
Register     40
Culture and idiom use     41
Summary     42
Idiom Comprehension     45
L1 Idiom Processing and Comprehension     47
Introduction     47
Five major processing models     48
The "syntactic and semantic processing diassociation" hypothesis     56
The "idiom key" hypothesis     59
Summary     63
L2 Idiom Processing and Comprehension     65
Introduction     65
Major strategies used in L2 idiom comprehension     66
Heuristicapproach: A distinctive L2 idiom processing model?     73
Summary     74
Factors that Affect Idiom Comprehension     77
Introduction     77
Factors relating to idioms and their use     77
Factors relating to language users     84
Factors affecting L2 idiom comprehension only     87
Summary     88
Idiom Acquisition and Pedagogy     91
Idiom Acquisition and Its Importance in Language Development     93
Introduction     93
Knowledge and skills required for idiom acquisition     94
The role of rote learning in idiom acquisition     98
The effect of different types of idioms and sequence of idiom acquisition     101
The importance of idiom acquisition in language development     103
A caveat     105
Summary     105
Selection and Organization of Idioms for Learning and Instruction     107
Introduction     107
Selection criteria and useful selection practices     107
Types of idiom information that need to be provided     113
Organizing idioms for instruction and retention     115
Passive versus active idioms     118
Summary     118
Idiom Pedagogy: Macro-strategies and General Approaches     121
Introduction     121
Raising students' awareness of and interest in idioms     121
Incorporating idiom learning into the entire curriculum     124
Advancing a heuristic approach with discovery learning activities and adequate contextual information     126
Promoting "conceptual motivation analysis" and developing L2 cultural knowledge     128
Employing a variety of activities to deal with different types of idioms and to accommodate diverse learners     131
Using direct study as a supplement to contextualized learning     132
Enhancing idiom retention with effective mnemonic strategies     134
Training and boosting learning strategy use     134
Conducting unplanned teaching of idioms     135
Overcoming avoidance error and encouraging creative idiom use     135
Pros and cons of practive and retroactive approaches     136
Summary     137
Idiom Pedagogy: Micro-strategies and Techniques     139
Introduction     139
Noticing and identifying idioms     139
Undertanding idioms and developing interpretation strategies     143
Analyzing idioms for register, connotation, and other in-depth understanding     149
Retrieving and using idioms for comprehension     152
Retrieving, generating, and using idioms for production     156
Using effective mnemonic techniques for retention     159
Explaining idioms to help students notice and understand them     162
Using idiom dictionaries     164
Summary     166
Error Treatment and Assessment in Idiom Instruction     169
Introduction     169
Errors and their treatment     169
Assessment     173
Summary     174
Glossary     177
Annotated list of Selected Idiom Reference Books and Textbooks     181
Notes     185
References     191
Index     201