• Home
  • Login
  • Registration
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
ESLarticle.com
Tweet
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Members
  • Add Article

Top Categories

Teaching 509
Other 210
Classroom Management 138
Career Development 135
Learning Methodology 121
Study Skills 90
E-Learning/CALL 87
English Language Learning (ELL) 78
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) 77
Teaching Methodology 76
English Language Teaching (ELT) 73
English as a Second Language (ESL) 64
Teach in Shanghai
Home / Articles / Teaching / Speaking/Listening / View Article

Publishing

  • Articles
  • Add Article
  • Articles Archive
  • Latest Articles
  • Popular Articles

Latest Articles

Jan 5, 2019

Metacognition in Reading Competency

As related to the reading process, metacognition can be defined as contemplation concerning one's own thinking processes or knowledge of one's own...

Jan 5, 2019

Mass Media Literacy Reflections for Language Instructions

"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself." Galileo Galilei Mass media forms thrive today. As development...

Nov 30, 2018

Ideas for the First Class with New Learners

~~The first class with new learners can be an anxious one for all concerned – teacher as well as learners. Below are some tips to make that first...

Nov 19, 2018

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners It is estimated that there are over a billion English speakers in the world, including native speakers,...

Nov 15, 2018

Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Hom

Education Today, December 2013 Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Home  Timothy G. Weih University of Northern...

Popular Articles

1131410 Views

5 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Bulletin Board This Winter

Back to school, fall leaves, Thanksgiving and Christmas all easily lend themselves to great decorating themes, but what to do when those are over...

370389 Views

Three Unique Ideas To Make Your Bulletin Board More Useful

Bulletin boards have long been existent in campuses. They have proven to be such versatile and useful aids in both the learning and teaching...

135684 Views

History of the Chalkboard

Walk into just about any classroom and you will find one: A dark green board on the wall, lined with pieces of chalk and felt erasers. Chalkboards,...

63209 Views

Report Card Comments

For a small minority, writing report cards isn't a big deal. But most teachers generally dread report card writing time. Completing the comment...

41589 Views

The Most Useful American Business Words

The Most Useful American Business Words: Here's a list that will come in handy for any student enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL)...


Useful English Language Idioms

by Michael R Browne

Mar 6, 2011 Speaking/Listening 3567 Views

_notregistered/art_39177_d9c78359d6~.jpg

 Idioms refer to phrases where their common meaning cannot be understood simply from the meanings of the individual words. They are cultural elements of speech and can prove a barrier to those who are speaking a non-native language. Five common English idioms are given below, together with their meanings, origins, and examples of their use in everyday use.

1) Step up to the plate
The origin of this phrase was in the American sport of baseball. A batting player must step towards the "home plate" in order to be ready to strike the ball. Its common use is to refer to a) the taking on of responsibility generally and b) acknowledging responsibility that already exists.

Example of a) "Since you have been ill lately I suppose I will step up to the plate and take on tomorrow's presentation"
Example of b) "Stop being so lazy, you need to step up to the plate and provide for your family!"

2) Doubting Thomas
This phrase is a biblical reference. One of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, Thomas, did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until Jesus appeared before him. The phrase is commonly used to refer to sceptics and those who make a habit of requiring proof for any statement.
Example: "John is such a doubting Thomas, if you said it was raining outside he would want to see your umbrella and if you said it was cold he would check a thermometer."

3) A Baker's Dozen
This phrase comes from the tradition that bakers had of when they were serving a dozen (i.e. twelve) baked goods to a customer, adding in one extra so that there could be no accusations that the goods were underweight. Nowadays it is used simply to refer to any group of thirteen items.
Example: "My parents had many more children than is usual. There is a baker's dozen of us all together."

4) Pass the buck
Coming from the world of poker, this phrase refers to an object that is given to the winner of each game so that they do not forget that they are responsible for the prize the next time. In common use it means a) to transfer blame to somebody else or b) to pass responsibility to someone else.

Example of a) "Don't try to pass the buck to me, I had nothing to do with that project and I won't have anyone say that it is my fault."
Example of b) "I am completely snowed under today, so I am going to have to pass the buck on tomorrow's presentation."

5) Stealing thunder
This phrase may have come from a 17th Century writer, John Dennis, who built a thunder-noise machine for a play. The idea was then copied by others. The phrase is currently used to describe actions or speech that take attention away from another.

Example: "I can't believe that you proposed to your girlfriend at my wedding. You have completely stolen my thunder."

Article source: http://eslarticle.com/pub/teaching/speaking-listening/39177-useful-english-language-idioms.html

  • General Information
  • Pictures
Author Info

Author Name: Michael R Browne

About Author: Article by Michael R Browne for Linguarama:\\r\\nTake a language course with Linguarama to improve your language skills, such as a business English course.

General

Pictures:

Most Recent Articles

  • Feb 4, 2017 "The More, The Merrier" Is Only True for Parties: The Dangers of Whole by Michael R Browne
  • Jan 15, 2017 Avoid Embarrassment in a Second Language by Avoiding IDIOMS by Michael R Browne
  • Sep 20, 2016 Quiet Students and Oral Response by Michael R Browne
  • Apr 8, 2016 Secrets to Learn English Listening Comprehension Effectively? by Michael R Browne
  • Feb 21, 2016 How to Improve the Quality and Quantity of Your English Vocabulary by Michael R Browne

Actions

  • Print Page

Articles Archive

  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020

Random Articles

Lesson Planning

10 Steps To Developing A Quality Lesson Plan

This guide is not meant to be the one and only way to develop a lesson plan; however, it is going to provide you with at least some good methods to...

Teaching

Create a Learning Climate to Foster Student Success

If learning is what we value, then we ought to value the process of learning as much as the result of learning. By nature, people are attracted to...

Career Development

Stress Management Tips for Teachers

The process of stress management is one of the keys for teachers to have a successful professional life. Although professional life provides...

Other

How to Create a Paperless Classroom

Currently the idea of a paperless classroom is still a future concept for many educators, whilst traditional educators still cannot recognize the...

Study Skills

Improving Your Literacy and Numeracy Skills Will Enhance Your Life

The effect of poor numeracy on people's lives is often less obvious than poor literacy. However, there is considerable proof that low numeracy...

About ESL Article

ESL Article is a private ESL/TEFL site designed and maintained by educators and educational administrators. It was launched in August 2008 with the aim of bringing ESL/TEFL students, parents, teachers and schools information and articles about the teaching profession and learning community.

Icon Group Member

ESL Article is a member of Icon Group Thailand (IGT), a group of ESL TEFL TESOL websites providing educational resources and information to teachers, schools and students around the world. The group was founded in 2003 and now includes 15+ websites covering educational information services, teaching resources and e-learning.

What is ESL?

English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study of English by speakers of different native languages. It is also known as English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), and English as a foreign language (EFL).

  • Home
  • Registration
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Help
  • Partner
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
​

© 2021 ESLarticle.com.
Member of Icon Group Thailand - Educating the Future:
TESall All TESOL  Total ESL  ESL Job Feed
TEFL World  TEFL Jobs Overseas  Teach Overseas
Asia TEFL  ESL Powerpoint  Teacher Training