Rethinking Idiom : Changing Notions of Idiom and the Effect on Second Language Teaching

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In sampling the literature on idioms published in ESL journals over the last ten years, I have gained an awareness of the kinds of language that fall into this linguistic category. Unquestionably, there is more to idiom than meets the eye, and all ESL teachers and students will therefore profit by a greater understanding of idiom and its role in second language acquisition. Philosophy- the philosophy of language- an also contribute to any understanding of idiom as it relates to second language acquisition. For both students and teachers of ESL there is always the question of what any particular idiom means, and whether any connection exists between the words (or word) of an idiom and its meaning, and whether that connection is worth examining for either intrinsic or practical reasons. There are those who think of the word-to-meaning connection as purely arbitrary, a source of confusion to students, while others think this connection is worth examining, and it may well be. particularly in light of recent studies in the philosophy of language undertaken by Mark Johnson (1987) and George Lakoff (1989) regarding 'maginative structures'- image schemata, polysemy, metonym, metaphor- which, in their view, all speakers of language use, and must use from earliest childhood on, as they interpret the world to create new meaning.
Whether or not ESL teachers approach the subject of idiom philosophically, they can avail themselves of the collective practical experience of others who have taught and thought about idiom as it is reflected in their books and articles. In these, the term idiom may be used narrowly, broadly, or not at all, being sometimes replaced by more descriptive terms: 'formulaic speech' (Ellis 1983) or 'fixed expressions' (Alexander 1984), but for simplicity. I will continue using 'idiom' here in its broadest sense. Whatever specialized definition is used. I think we can agree that idioms are recurring items within a language, cropping up again and again. Teachers will want to recognize repeating items in the midst of newly composed language- the idea being that if idioms are repeatable, they're teachable, and L2 (i.e. second language) students will want to learn them so they can repeat them along with native speakers. Awareness of idioms, however is a skill that must be developed in both teacher and student alike. This is because native speakers can quickly speak, read, and write idioms, passing over them unawares, even as their students stumble on to them, unaware of the special meanings attached to them. ESL teachers therefore need to distinguish these repeatable items from the rest of language, teaching L2 students to do the same. Once idioms are recognized, students that have been provided with the right tools can begin to deal with them by either constructing a probable meaning from clues within the idiom itself, or deducing the meaning from the context. or both. As a starting point, however, we may do well to rethink the whole idea of idiom, perhaps expanding our notions somewhat.