English course books have received little or no attention in existing studies on L2 idiom acquisition. Consequently, this study examined the presentation of English idioms in the English Project Series for junior and senior secondary schools in Nigeria. The data comprised 184 idiomatic expressions. Its analysis entailed classifying the idioms into types, ascertaining their distribution, determining each presentation’s thematic focus, and identifying the presentational techniques adopted. Idioms featured in the JSS and SSS books at a ratio of 5:1 in favour of the latter, and 42 percent occurred in SSS3 alone. Figurative forms, idioms proper, phrasal verbs, metaphors, and proverbs were the idiom types presented, with idioms proper and phrasal verbs respectively accounting for 74 and 21.2 percent. Each presentation focused on 1) recognition, identification and differentiation; 2) origin, source and context of occurrence; 3) meaning and comprehension; or 4) usage and application as theme. Three techniques of presentation were employed: 1) definition and description; 2) listing and exemplification; and 3) questioning and directives. Whereas 72 percent of the idioms featured in linguistic context and 21 percent in situational context, only 8 percent was decontextualised. Nigerian L2 learners of English idioms dependent on the English Project Series could benefit from increased, systematic exposure among other critical improvements.
References
[1]
Aboulalaei, H. (2015). 330 Essential Idioms. Project: Teaching English Language, Mortaza Dasht. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281114360_300_ESSENTIAL_IDIOMS
[2]
Adejare, R. A. (2022).What Is Grammar and How Best Can It Be Taught in the Second Language Classroom? Studies in English Language Teaching, 10, 58-81. https://doi.org/10.22158/selt.v10n3p58
[3]
Amos, N. T., & Abas, I. H. (2021). An Investigation on the Comprehension of English Idioms among Primary School Children in Nairobi. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 12, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.4.p.1
[4]
Asri, A. N., & Rochmanati, D. (2017). Innovative Teaching of English Idiomatic Expressions for ESL Learners. Journal of English Teaching, 2, 47-58.
[5]
Blinova, O. A. (2021). Teaching Idioms in English as a Second Language. An Analysis of Issues and Solutions. In Proceedings of the 15th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (pp. 324-328). https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2021.0095
[6]
Brennan, P., Grant, N., Jowitt, D., & Nnamonu, S. (2014a). Junior English Project for Junior Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 2. Pearson Educational Limited.
[7]
Brennan, P., Grant, N., Jowitt, D., & Nnamonu, S. (2014b). Junior English Project for Junior Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 3. Pearson Educational Limited.
[8]
Bulut, T., & Çelik-Yazlci, I. (2004) Idiom Processing in L2: Through Rose-Colored Glasses. The Reading Matrix, 4, 105-116.
[9]
Chang, C. G. (2006). Idiomatic Expressions in English: A Textual Analysis (pp. 1-13). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235889413
[10]
Grant, N. J. H., Jowitt, D., & Nnamonu, S. (2014). Junior English Project for Junior Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 1. Pearson Educational Limited.
[11]
Grant, N. J. H., Nnamonu, S., & Jowitt, D. (2011a). Senior English Project for Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 1. Pearson Educational Limited.
[12]
Grant, N. J. H., Nnamonu, S., & Jowitt, D. (2011b). Senior English Project for Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 2. Pearson Educational Limited.
[13]
Grant, N. J. H., Nnamonu, S., & Jowitt, D. (2011c). Senior English Project for Secondary Schools: Student’s Book 3. Pearson Educational Limited.
[14]
Konopatskoya, E. A., Yarmakeev, I., Pimenova, T. S., & Abdrafikova, A. R. (2017). Teaching Idiomatic English in ASP Class. Revista Publicando, 13, 651-660.
[15]
Liontas, J. I. (2017). Why Teach Idioms? A Challenge to the Profession. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research (IJLTR), 5, 5-25. http://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir
[16]
Long, S. (2014). Teaching Idioms. Advice for Teachers Abroad, Blog, November 3, 2014.
[17]
Maisa, S., & Karunakaran, T. (2013). Idioms and Importance of Teaching Idioms to ESL Students: A Study of Teacher Beliefs. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS), 1, 110-122. https://www.ajhss.org
[18]
Noor, H., & Fallatah, M. (2010). An Investigation of Some Difficulties in Idioms Encountered by Saudi English Learners of English. International Journal of Arabic English Studies (IJAES), 11, 147-174.
[19]
Pucelj, M. (2018). Attitudes towards Idioms and Idiom Learning Strategies. MA Thesis, Josip Juraj Strossmayer Strossmayer University of Osjek. https://core.ac.uk/search
[20]
Qureshi, A. H., Anwai, B., & Tahir, A. (2018). Pedagogy of English Idioms: An Etymological Perspective. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8, 270-275. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p270
[21]
Rizq, W. M. (2015). Teaching English Idioms to L2 Learners: ESL Teachers’ Perspective (p. 19). MA Thesis, ESL, St Cloud State University, Culminating Projects in English. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/engl_etds/19
[22]
Saidbakhramovna, A. F. (2018). Specific Features in Teaching English Idioms as a Foreign Language. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 6, 35-42. https://wwww.idpublications.org/
[23]
Seidl, J., & McMordie, W. (1978). English Idioms and How to Use Them. The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary 1971, Oxford University Press.
[24]
Thyab, R. A. (2016). The Necessity of Idiomatic Expression to English Language Learners. International Journal of English and Literature, 7, 106-111. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJEL2016.0895 http://www.academicjournals.org/IJEL
[25]
Zarei, A. A. (2020). Idioms: On the Effectiveness of Teaching Techniques. Teaching English Language, 14, 217-234.
[26]
Zulfikorova, A. (2021). Teaching English Idioms for the First Year Students in Non- Linguistic Universities: On the Example of Technical and Economic Universities. Pindus Journal of Culture and Literature and ELT, 11, 48-54. https://www.literature.academicjournal
