Benefits of learning idioms for English Education Students.

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vii ABSTRACT

Gautama, Antonius Damas Putra. (2014). Benefits of Learning English Idioms for English Education Students.Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language Arts and Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

English idioms become part of creating natural and informal English communication. In reality, idioms are frequently used by native speakers as daily speech. The previous studies show that the learners will acquire better vocabulary and communicative skill after learning idioms. It shows that learning idioms has considerable benefits especially for English Language Education students who want to be more advanced in English. This research aims to find out the benefits of learning English idioms for English Language Education students.

Thus, the research problem is formulated as follows; What are the benefits of learning English idioms for English Language Education students? The researcher explored the answers to the research question using two kinds of major theories on vocabulary learning and lexical chunks. Based on these two theories, the researcher answered the research question by giving examples of essential English idioms adapted from supporting sources.

The examples of English idioms in this study cover vocabulary on idioms provided with the meaning, filling in the blanks questions, dialogues and stories containing idioms as well as the authentic examples of idioms which appeared in newspaper headlines like The New Yorker, Burton Mail and one of BBC articles.

The researcher found three benefits of learning English idioms. Firstly, the learners could escalate vocabulary knowledge. Secondly, the learners could achieve fluency in speaking English which means that they will be able to build expressions which sound more natural and informal. As the result, they will be more advanced in English. Besides, the learners would be able to describe something non-literally using idioms. Thirdly, the English Language Education students could avoid misinterpretation when communicating with native speakers who use idioms on a daily basis. This benefit also helps the learners to use idioms which are appropriate according to the topic or theme of conversation being discussed. This study also proposed recommendations for future researchers in order to investigate the difficulties in learning idioms as well as for lecturers of English Language Education Study Program in order to participate in explicit teaching of idioms.

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viii ABSTRAK

Idiom Bahasa Inggris menjadi bagian untuk menciptakan komunikasi Bahasa Inggris yang informal dan alami. Pada kenyataannya, idiom sering digunakan oleh penutur asli sebagai bahasa sehari-hari. Penelitian sebelumnya menunjukkan bahwa pelajar akan akan mencapai kemampuan kosa kata dan komunikasi yang lebih baik setelah mempelajari idiom. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa mempelajari idiom memiliki keuntungan besar terutama bagi mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris yang ingin lebih maju dalam Bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan keuntungan belajar idiom Bahasa Inggris bagi mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris.

Jadi, masalah penelitian dirumuskan sebagai berikut; Apa keuntungan belajar idiom bahasa Inggris bagi mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris? Peneliti menyelidiki jawaban dari pertanyaan ini menggunakan dua teori pokok tentang vocabulary learning dan lexical chunks. Berdasarkan kedua teori ini, peneliti menjawab pertanyaan penelitian dengan memberikan contoh idiom bahasa Inggris yang penting dari sumber-sumber yang mendukung.

Contoh-contoh idiom Bahasa Inggris tersebut meliputi kosa kata idiom beserta artinya, mengisi pertanyaan rumpang, dialog dan cerita mengandung idiom, dan juga contoh tentang idiom yang muncul di pokok berita surat kabar seperti The New Yorker, Burton Mail, dan salah satu artikel BBC.

Peneliti menemukan tiga keuntungan dari mempelajari idiom bahasa Inggris. Pertama, pelajar dapat meningkatkan pengetahuan kosa kata. Kedua, pelajar dapat mencapai kelancaran dalam berbicara Bahasa Inggris yang berarti bahwa mereka akan mampu membuat ungkapan yang terdengar lebih alami dan informal. Sebagai hasilnya, mereka akan lebih maju dalam bahasa Inggris. Di samping itu, pelajar mampu menggambarkan sesuatu secara non-harafiah menggunakan idiom. Ketiga, mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dapat menghindari salah penafsiran saat berkomunikasi dengan penutur asing yang menggunakan idiom setiap hari. Keuntungan ini juga membantu pelajar untuk menggunakan idiom yang sesuai menurut topik atau tema percakapan yang sedang dibicarakan. Peneliti juga mengemukakan anjuran bagi peneliti di masa mendatang supaya menyelidiki kesulitan-kesulitan mempelajari idiom dan juga bagi dosen Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris agar berpartisipasi dalam pengajaran yang gamblang mengenai idiom.

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BENEFITS OF LEARNING ENGLISH IDIOMS FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKANFINAL PAPER Presented as a Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

Antonius Damas Putra Gautama Student Number: 091214092

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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BENEFITS OF LEARNING ENGLISH IDIOMS FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKANFINAL PAPER Presented as a Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

Antonius Damas Putra Gautama Student Number: 091214092

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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“

BAD LUCK TODAY,

FORTUNE TOMORROW”

Dedicated to:

My Lord Jesus Christ My family Grandma &

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vii ABSTRACT

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viii ABSTRAK

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank My Lord, Jesus Christ the greatest Father of all Fathers to whom the spirit, hope, mercy, life, and ease be upon me during the process of studying in Sanata Dharma University. The period of being a student at Sanata Dharma University has come to an end along with the fulfilment of this final paper. The greatest gratitude is for Him that in each of my sincere prayers, God always gives me a new faith and blesses my efforts.

The fulfilment of this final paper cannot be separated with people granted by God to me so that I can finish this final paper. Thus, this study cannot be accomplished without the roles of lecturers of English Language Education Study Program. Particularly, I would like to give my best gratitude to my academic lecturer, C. Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum., who has guided me in this study, and also my sponsor, Drs. Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D., who has contributed his time and energy to assist me in finishing this final paper. I am really grateful for their support and care.

Furthermore, I do not forget to thank all the lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program who have sincerely taught me all courses in this study program and gave me inspiration in accomplishing this final paper. I also give my gratitude to Laurentia Sumarni, S.Pd., M.Hum., and Caecilia Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., for willing to share their ideas and information for me. I also appreciate and thank all of the staffs of Sanata Dharma University for giving me their best service as well as the ELESP (English Language Education

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Study Program) staffs who dedicate themselves in giving service and information to English Education Students.

As the researcher of this final paper, I deeply thank my family especially my parents who always support me in any condition, care about me, give me affection, pray for me and give financial support. They are important figures in my life. I will also not forget my comrades; Andreas Dwi Septiaji Pamungkas, Agustinus Prastowo Pandu, and Melynna Trianingsih. We are friends who have shared many things together. I thank them for the support, help, care, jokes, and happiness in hard times. I also remember my friend from Papua, Elias Duyala who was willing to allow me to live in his boarding house each Sunday during the SPD (Service Program Design) time.

Last but not least, this gratitude is also for my PPL (Program Pengalaman Lapangan) comrades; Tita, Gita, Aurel, Lusi, Ambulans, Yesi, Indah, Novita, Sandy, Hendra, Ari, Rita, Adven as well as all of ELEGY play performance members and SPD members. For PPL comrades, ELEGY and SPD members, I would like to thank them for their support, help, and experiences we had together. At the end, this final paper is dedicated for people I could not mention here. Their help, support, and care are valuable.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE... i

APPOVAL PAGES... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... v

ABSTRACT... vii

ABSTRAK... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS... xi

LIST OF APPENDICES... xii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study... 1

B. Research Method... 5

CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION A. Review of Related Literature... 7

B. Findings... 20

CHAPTER III CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions... 38

B. Recommendations... 40

REFERENCES... 41

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xii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Tables of Idioms Classification ... 46

Appendix 2: BBC article, January 1, 2014 ... 56

Appendix 3: Burton Mail, June 10, 2008 ... 58

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xiii

LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 2.1 The Types of Idioms... 21 Table 2.2 Vocabulary Building with the Meaning... 25

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1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

The researcher presents two sections in this chapter. First, the background of study and second, research method used by the researcher. The background of study focuses on English idioms as daily speech and its significance of using idioms in daily speech. The research method presents how the researcher gathered and processed the information.

A. Background of the Study

It is known that the three notions of language existence (Aitchison, 2003) have resulted the variety in language as found in English language like idioms for example. Caro (2009) contends that English will lose much variety without idioms especially in writing and speaking context. On the other hand, idioms are part of communication that can help to improve effective and interactive social interaction (Caro, 2009, p.1). Dixon (1971) asserts that “most English speakers use idioms for they are accepted as part of simple, everyday speech and play a great role in building what is called by real speech, without having adequate vocabulary in idioms such as to get along, to put out, to call for, etc, the speech will remain unnatural and awkward (p. 1). According to oxforddictionaries.com, idiom is defined as a group of words with established usage, has a fixed order and meaning which cannot be deduced from the individual words.

Idioms are often used by foreign students as daily speech and they find it easy to use them (Dixon, 1971). Idioms can be a social tool to communicate

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(Casas & Campoy, 1995) and thus they become the media for second language learners to understand the different social context of idioms each of which has different use in daily speech. In addition, the better comprehension on idioms is likely to improve the communicative skill in non-formal context (Caro, 2009) and acquire better comprehension on imaginative description (Leah, n.d.). A small scale project conducted by Caro (2009) also unveiled the use of idioms in English learning course contributed advantages for students and teachers in terms of communicative skill and vocabulary. According to oxforddictionaries.com, the term ‘benefit' is an advantage gained from something. While, it shows that learning idioms may give considerable impacts or benefits especially for Asian learners in several fields.

In the case of idiom learning among ESL (English as Second Language) students, they may have different understanding in using idioms appropriately and they tend to avoid using idioms because of the different cultures. This case is prevalent among ESL (English as Second Language) students. However, it should not be taken for granted as most sources such as mass media; textbooks are rich of idiomatic expressions (Wu, 2008). Further responses from Cooper (1999) and Buchwald (2000) through previous studies which indicated that “English idioms may be may be difficult for native speakers, and will be more problematic for ESL students” (as cited in Wu, 2008, p. 1). Wu (2008) finds that there are many effective activities for improving English idioms competency through teaching idioms in context with visuals, dialogue writing, group talk, and collaborative activities.

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3 Furthermore, the clearest difficulties in understanding English idioms are noticed when students find a word that has no correlation with other words. For example, to pull someone’s leg. Literally, this idiom seems simple which at first means that a person pulls another person’s leg. Moreover, this idiom has another literal meaning which means to “tease someone”. That is why in this matter, most ESL (English as Second Language) students misunderstand how to use certain idiomatic expressions, fixed sequences of words (phrases or sentences), with a fixed meaning that is not composed of the literal meaning of the individual words (Cipollone et al., 1998). Many ESL (English as Second Language) students do not know the literal meaning of idioms and then misuse them in wrong context.

Some idiomatic expressions are not transparent and make most ESL (English as Second Language) students cannot predict the meaning of an idiomatic expression. The whole meaning of transparent idioms has a very different meaning with the constituent parts. Kicked the bucket for example cannot be derived from the meaning of kick and bucket. In literal sense, kicked the bucket means “to die” (Hsu, n.d). Furthermore, Irujo (1986a) points out that “the non-literalness property would result in difficulties for ESL learners in learning idioms. In addition, idioms are formed by cultural background as well as commonly shared experience; learning idioms in fact is an essential but complex task for ESL students who lack of cultural references” (as cited in Hsu, n.d, p. 32).

Nonetheless, the complex task as known in idiom learning should not be a burden because Tran (2013) posits English idioms as interesting subtopic to learn among Asian learners in learning foreign language. On the other hand, this can be

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a challenge for them that such kind of learning will finally give positive contribution in the future. Further, he marks that idioms can be necessary in the process of learning English as foreign language. As a proponent, Celce-Murcia emphasizes “the English idioms learning helps Asian students to achieve figurative competence in the communicative competence model” (as cited in Tran, 2013, p.23).

Aside from the above, English Language Education students have entered the period to whom they are supposed to be able to achieve good English communication. The competency in understanding English idioms brings about considerable impacts for them. In other words, these students can gain sociolinguistic appropriateness which requires an understanding of the social context in which the language is used: the rules of participants, the information they share, and the functions of interaction. Furthermore, Bachman (1990) explains “sociolinguistic appropriateness consists of aspects which deal with registers, metaphors, formality, politeness, and culturally related aspects of language.” (as cited in Muniandy et al., 2010).

Thus, the understanding about idiomatic expressions should not just theoretically be exposed but is also practically applied in real experiences of college environment particularly for English Education students in Sanata Dharma University. There are underlying reasons why learning English idioms takes years of practice and need not to be neglected, this is mainly due to help English education students to be competence in everyday use of language and thus, English idioms must be made as part of second language learning (Dixon, 1971).

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5 Therefore, the researcher aims to major a research problem to investigate; “what are the benefits of learning English idioms for English Language Education students? This research has one objective that aims to find out the benefits of learning English idioms for English Language Education students as the language users. For the focus of this study, the researcher gives a limitation only to the benefits of learning English idioms investigated through the supporting data sources about idioms.

B.Research Method

This research followed the steps of library research from George (2008). Library research is an inquiry which can be conducted in any field and allows the researchers to determine what related work which has been done before (George, 2008). According to George (2008), there are nine stages of library research. Yet, the researcher only used four stages of library research which include (1) choosing the general topic, (2) formulating the research question and background of the study, (3) identifying and obtaining the data sources, (4) processing the information and literature review to answer the research problem based on the theories that become the basis of this study. The data were collected during the period of January 2014 to March 2014 at the library of Sanata Dharma University.

The data sources of this study were taken from the book of Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom by B. J. Thomas, Essential Idioms in English by Dixon (1971), and English Idioms and How to Use them by Seidl and McMordie, (1980).

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Those books were used as guidelines to arrange the table of idioms classification, vocabulary building, and the examples of idioms in written context.

The researcher also provided stories and dialogues that contain idioms as the data of this study. The stories were taken from the book of How to Teach Vocabulary by Thornburry (2002) and the journals; The Comprehension of Idioms by Cacciari and Tabossi (1988), while the source of dialogues in the findings section was taken from the journal; A Piece of Cake: Learning and Teaching Idioms by Irujo (1986). There are several books and journals which were used for theories on vocabulary such as Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspective 2nd Edition and How to Teach Vocabulary. The researcher took some vocabulary learning theories from those sources.

In detail, the researcher used the book of Essential Idioms in English which provides commonly-used English idioms. In order to get the specific types of English idioms, the researcher used the book of English Idioms and How to Use them. The examples of English idioms are necessary to support this research. Thus, the researcher adapted some examples of English idioms that are used in written context from the book, Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom.

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CHAPTER II DISCUSSION

This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section is the review of related literature that presents several theories to support this research. The second section discusses the results of this research or the findings.

A.Review of Related Literature

There are several theories used by the researcher to support the research problem mentioned in previous chapter. The theories which are presented cover foreign language learning, theories on idiom, and vocabulary. To begin with, the researcher would like to give a brief description on:

1. Theories of Foreign/Second Language Learning

Each language has idioms and while learning idioms may belong to language learning. Foreign or second language learning is often linked to the theory of Krashen (1981) that presents “subconscious language learning” (Krashen, 1981, p.1). In the case of English idioms learning, the researcher found that language learning and language acquisition differ. Language acquisition requires caretakers and native speakers who will help the acquisition process (Snow & Ferguson, 1977 as cited in Krashen, 1981).

Krashen (1981) presents his well-known theory about foreign language

learning called „Monitor Model‟. There are five hypotheses of second language

learning. However, the most relevant theory for this research is the acquisition-learning hypotheses. In Acquisition, acquisition-learning language is subconscious process.

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The acquirers are aware of using language for communication but not aware of language rules or the correctness of using language. Meanwhile, idiom learning among Asian students is the conscious process of using language through lessons. In this case, the acquirers tend to focus on the appropriateness and the grammatical rules of language; as known in learning idioms. This means that non-native speakers like ESL learners are subconscious learners meaning that they need the awareness of language “rules” and a “feel” for grammatically while they have to use idioms in different context (Krashen, 1981, p. 2).

The need of learning foreign or second language is also based on the theory of Gardner and Lambert (1972) who state “the pragmatic purpose for learning a second language was derived from a personal desire to know the native speakers of the target language that is later called instrumental motivation” (as cited in Engin, 2009, p. 35). On the other hand, there are some considerable points about foreign language learning. Curtain and Dahlberg (2004) show that “learning another language can enhance the knowledge of language structure and vocabulary” (as cited in World Language Education, 2007, p. 2). While according to Troike (1984) “Mastering the vocabulary of a second language enhances students‟ comprehension and abilities in reading, writing, mathematics and other subjects and promotes achievement in English vocabulary and reading

(Masciantonio, 1977)” (as cited in World Language Education, 2007, p. 3). 2. The Aspects of Lexical Chunks

Phrases are composed of several words which unite together and form a meaning. According to Bolinger (1975) “words are stored not only as individual

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9 morphemes, but also as parts of phrases, or as longer memorized chunks of speech (as cited in Nattinger & Carrico, 1992, p. 31). Furthermore Nattinger and Carrico (1992) state that lexical chunks help language users to speak fluently. While idioms are categorized as the multi word chunks whose meanings cannot be derived from the meaning of their constituent parts. This statement is supported by Maisa and Karunakaran (2013), who present that multi-word chunks are also referred to as „lexical items‟, „lexical phrases‟ or „lexical chunks‟ (Thornburry, 2002). Furthermore, they continue that multi-word chunks include idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs, proverbs, and sayings (p. 111).

Thornburry (2002) also points out the same notion about the different types of chunks. The lexical chunks cover collocation, phrasal verbs, discourse markers, sentence frames, and especially idioms. In further explanation, he asserts that those chunks categories are defined in terms of fixedness and idiomaticity. According to Thornburry (2002) “fixed chunks do not allow variation, for example over the moon and not under the moon nor over the full moon. Chunks are formed from words that cluster but not join up. They are considered as single words and some have idiomatic meaning. The meaning of chunks is not inferable from the individual words and thus, some chunks are not transparent and much more idiomatic as in to spill the beans or to knock off. The ability to understand a wide range of chunks distinguishes advanced learners from the intermediate ones” (pp. 115-116). In a nutshell, learning lexical chunks will contribute a considerable result towards the language learning progress.

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However, Nattinger and Carrico (1992) contend that “idioms are phrases that are invariable and the structure cannot be derived by the traditional rules of syntax. Lexical phrases are variable units and can be derived from the regular rules of syntax. Then, lexical phrases are different from other conventionalized or frozen forms such as idioms or clichés because they perform certain functions” (pp. 35-36). Still, idioms are the part of multi-word chunks or lexical chunks that are useful in speech production. Idioms are also a kind of prefabricated speech which means that idioms may bring advantages to help learners speak with fluency.

Idioms as one of the parts of word categories and multi-word chunks have nearly the same advantages as lexical phrases do. Lexical chunks offer many advantages for conversation and they consist of expressions that are stored in memory and are yet constructed because they are still in form of chunks. Significantly, lexical phrases are effective means of interacting with others and learning language. Lexical chunks help speakers to be capable in constructing responses and expressions from word chunks and this goes the same with idioms as multi-word chunks (Nattinger & Carrico, 1992, p. 114).

The statement above is also supported by Lewis (1997) who states that idioms, collocations, and other fixed expressions belong to chunks. The chunks can be defined as “formulaic language” which can become the key to fluency. Idioms may belong to formulaic language that can give considerable benefits in native like fluency especially in speech. To be fluent in speech, it also depends on

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11 the understanding of phrases and larger chunks stored and retrieved from memory (Tajali & Tehrani, 2009 as cited in Maisa & Karunakaran, 2013, pp. 110 -111). 3. Theories on Vocabulary Learning

This research also includes the relevance of theories on vocabulary with idioms learning. The point is that the researcher sees vocabulary knowledge is as significant part of foreign language learning. While, learning idioms can be part of escalating vocabulary in second language learning. Simply, there is a correlation between vocabulary knowledge and English idioms learning. Thus, the previous statement is presented into theories on vocabulary learning. First and foremost, the researcher would like to present how significant vocabulary is towards foreign language learning.

According to British council, „language users are expected to use some

less common and idiomatic vocabulary‟ (as cited in Tran, 2013, p. 24). The researcher sees English idioms as one of important elements to create good English communication that can get rid of the gaps when interacting with native speakers. It can be an effort to enhance the academic language and basic interpersonal communication skills for learning idioms are essential for second language learners so that they can ascend to higher level of English learning (Guduru, 2011).

Nonetheless, vocabulary knowledge is a long process which begins since childhood. The first time of learning starts when children notices the physical objects in the surrounding and then differentiate what object it is (Halliday, 1993). The process of learning vocabulary which begins from childhood will develop as

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a child grows up and the progress will be significant or develops rapidly when children are in pres-school years (Lightbown & Spada, 1993). Thus, Clark explains this process as complex and takes long time while children may still have around fifty words and then develop the words into hundreds (as cited on Carter, 1998, p. 184).

Apart from it, the vocabulary learning is important for it deals with knowing how to use the word syntactically, semantically and pragmatically (Carter, 1998, p. 232). To clarify this statement, the researcher mentions a perspective about vocabulary from another expert. Thornbury (2002) shows the perspective of the linguist, David Wilkins related to the importance of vocabulary that without grammar, there are little things to say and without vocabulary we have nothing to convey. By studying grammar at the most of time will not improve English skills. More improvement lies on how the learners learn words and expressions in vocabulary not in grammar. It will make the learners can say anything with words although with low grammar (p. 13).

Nonetheless, vocabulary has been a difficult matter for ESL (English as Second Language) students particularly. The hardness of learning vocabulary is clearer as Gleason (1961) asserts that vocabulary can be very easy but this is what students fear most (p. 7). Carter (1998) has a certain view that vocabulary becomes less important element in learning a second language due to more specialization on syntax and phonology (p. 184). Based on previous descriptions, the researcher posits vocabulary learning theory as its relevance with English idiom learning. The relevancy of those two is clarified with the position of idioms

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13 as fixed expression as well. Carter (1998) presents “fixed expression” like English idioms as the example of vocabulary in discourse, memorization type, and language-focused learning type (p. 230). Hence, the researcher refers to some theories of vocabulary learning (Carter, 1998). The theories comprised of: a. Memorization

This shows that words cannot be learned effectively in context and thus it needs to be assimilated as single items. The realization can be providing the list of words of target language and the translation in mother tongue. Furthermore, picture and other means of graphical representation are provided (Carter, 1998). b.Vocabulary in Discourse

The vocabulary development focuses on written text which includes the reading activities that become the part of explicit teaching. The main purpose of vocabulary teaching-based discourse is to help the learners encode and negotiate the ways in which items can be scaled in relation to each other for different communicative functions (Carter, 1998, p. 222). Lexical discourse also plays a major role for learning fixed expressions such as English idioms.

c. Language-focused Learning

This type of learning focuses on language item and includes the learning of vocabulary and grammar. The activities and techniques cover direct learning, intensive reading, and training in vocabulary strategies (Nation, 2003, p.1). Direct learning involves the learners to study the meaning of words, the written and spoken words and how to use them. Regarding to the vocabulary theory from Carter (1998), Thornburry (2002) presents some ways how to remember the

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words in vocabulary learning such as through long-term memory that seems to have enormous capacity and is durable over time. The research findings which are related to word learning include repetition; the way of memorising new material or repeat an item, retrieval; retrieving or recalling word from memory, and mnemonics; retrieving items stored in memory which are not retrievable (Thornburry, 2002, p. 24).

4. Theory of Fluency in English

The theory of fluency is closely related to the use of idioms. According to

Fillmore (1979) the term „fluency‟ is specifically defined into four different kinds

(as cited in Brumfitt, 1984). The four kinds of fluency include (1) ability to talk without significant pauses, (2) ability to talk in semantically dense sentences, (3) ability to say appropriate things in a wide range of contexts, (4) ability to be creative and imaginative in language use such as creating metaphors, jokes, puns, varying styles, etc.

5. Idioms and Other Types of Fixed Expression

English language possesses much variety related to the study of words pattern and meaning. Previous studies have shown that language changes as time goes by and it is called historical or diachronic linguistics (Hockett, 1958, p. 303). According to Lyons (1995) semantics is traditionally defined as the study of meaning. In the study of meaning, there are several types of theories of meaning as in referential meaning (denotation) theory that focuses on the meaning of an expression to which it refers to or stands for (Lyons, 1995, p. 40). Apart from the

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vocabulary is valuable asset in speaking and writing.” He means that the

effectiveness of speaking and writing is determined by the large measure of words you know. Thus, this makes choice of words is important (p. 42).

Boer (1982) classifies the choice of words, how those words differ. The classification includes denotation, connotation, trite expression, figurative language, and especially idiomatic expressions (p. 42). Idioms are different from other types of words choice as explained below:

a. Denotative meaning

Denotative meaning stands for something that is called referent, for example rocks, horse, etc (Boer, 1982).

b. Connotative meaning

It has collocations that are called connotations, for instance cheap which refers to

low price and has unfavourable connotation of “being of little value” (Boer, 1982, p. 43).

c. Trite expressions

It is one of figures of speech and also known as clichés for example good as gold, green with envy, cool as cucumber, quick as flash, etc (Boer, 1982).

d. Figurative Language

Figurative language is commonly known as figures of speech that makes comparison or use words in an unusual way (Boer, 1982, p. 50). The most common figures of speech in figurative language are simile and metaphor. Simile

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is a comparison that often uses like or as. For instance, “The stadium looks like a

large bowl”, while metaphor is a comparison that does not use like or as. For

example, “The Atlantic is a stormy moat” by Robinson Jeffers. Other commonly

used figures of speech are personification, metonymy, litotes, hyperbole, irony, etc (Boer, 1982).

Furthermore, idioms are part of English linguistic that are also important in “choice of words”. Previous studies have shown several definitions of idioms, their origin, and formation. According to Adisutrisno (2008), idioms are type of collocation to which the meaning cannot be traced from the meaning of the individual words that collocate (p. 40). Idioms and collocations, both are different. The examples of collocations are added brain, blond hair, sour milk, flock of sheep etc (Palmer, 1981, pp. 76-79). The study of idioms is broad, as second language learner, idioms must be differed from other types of non-literal language. Learning idioms covers idioms formation, the definitions of idioms, and the types of idioms.

a. The birth of idioms

The birth of idioms has a long story and becomes the result of language which develops over time. However, how idioms exist can be traced from the significance of defining idioms. Thus it is necessary to get the clear understanding of what idioms are. According to Vizetelly and Bekker (1926) idioms have caused so much criticism so that there is a necessity to get the clearest understanding about the nature and the functions of idioms. In addition to it, they mention that

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17 idioms are derived from the Greek ίδιοѕwhich means “own, proper to, private.” It conveys a message of peculiarity or specialty (p. 1).

While Hockett (1958) states that a speaker may say something that has never heard before and it is later understood. Further, this new utterance is a nonce-form, built from familiar material by familiar patterns. Yet, the occurrence of a nonce-form does not constitute the creation of idioms. He emphasizes the additional ingredients that are required in the creation of idioms like something that is more or less unusual either about the structure of the newly-produced nonce-form, the attendant circumstances, or both, which render the form memorable.

b. The definitions of idioms

There have been a number of studies about idioms and hence, idioms have several definitions. Yet, each definition of idiom has the same point. Idioms are expressions whose meaning cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that comprise it (American University, 2009, p. 1). While according to 1993 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines idioms as peculiar language and cannot be explicated easily; therefore, people need to learn not only the separated words but also need to fully understand the whole meaning of the phrases because it cannot be derived from the conjoined meaning of their elements (Bill, personal communication, June 30, 2005).

Palmer (1981), Adisutrisno (2008) and Carter (1998) have the same point about the definition of idioms. In the same point, they give definition of idioms as a group of words that requires collocation to which the meaning cannot be

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expressed individually or by a single word but as a whole. Further, Carter (1998) explores more about idioms that can also be transformed or allow “structural changes to its form” as in “to drop a brick” (= to make a mistake). In other structural changes, it can be “he dropped a really enormous brick this time” or “a

brick has been dropped” (p. 65). However, he asserts that not all idioms allow insertion and are structurally flexible because some of them are syntactically and morphologically fixed. Carter (1998) “tentatively defined idioms as (1) non-substitutable or fixed collocations, (2) usually more than single word units, (3) semantically opaque” (p. 66). Thus, he concludes idioms as fixed expression.

The same idea goes the same with the definition of idiom by Cruse (1986) that idioms are “semantically peculiar” and traditionally, they are defined as

“expressions whose meaning cannot be inferred or deduced from the meaning of their parts or components (Vizetelly & Bekker, 1926)” or “an expression whose meaning cannot be accounted for as a compositional function of the meanings its

parts have when they are not parts of idioms” (p. 37). Cruse (1986) tends to define an idiom according to the number of lexical constituent and its semantic constituent. Cruse (1986) gives example as in “This will cook Arthur’s goose”. In this example, it is shown that it “constitutes a minimal semantic constituent”

while “cook ___’s goose is therefore and idiom”. (p. 37). In addition, Cruse (1986) interprets “any expression which is divisible into semantic constituent, even if one or more of these should turn out on further analysis to be idioms” (p. 37). The last,

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meaning from dictionary definition of the individual words” (as cited in Caro,

2009, p. 127).

c. The classification of idioms

Since English language has a wide range of idioms, some experts have tried to classify idioms into some types. Gibbs (1987) generally classifies idioms into two kinds; transparent idioms and obscure idioms based on the compositionality of idioms. The meaning of idioms can be predicted by the lexical items in transparent idioms; for example, lay one’s cards on the table that

means „to reveal the secret‟. However, the obscure idioms are contrary. They convey obscure meaning between literal meaning and figurative meaning; for example, kick the bucket meaning „to die‟ (as cited in Hsu, n.d., p. 32).

Further studies present the classification of idiom differently. Idioms can be classified according to the pattern or idioms formation and the “the idiom -creating events called naming” (Hockett, 1958, pp. 310-311). The first is Anaphoric substitutes in the types of idioms which are referred to the formation of new idioms, and the second is proper names.

Carter (1998) likely determines the types of idiom according to the fixedness of lexical patterns are. Accordingly, he classifies idioms into three types such as compound idioms; for example, dead drunk, red tape, full idioms; for example, to rain cats and dogs, to be in the doghouse, to smell a rat, and semi-idioms; for example, a fat salary, beefy-looking (p. 67).

Furthermore, according to Palmer (1981), there are many kinds of idioms containing a verb and a noun as in spill the beans, fly off the handle, put on good

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face, etc. Phrasal verbs are common type of idioms that are frequently used in many contexts. They are combination of verb plus adverb, verb plus preposition, and also sequences of verb, adverb, and preposition; for instance, put down, give in, look after, go for etc. In phrasal verbs, there are some types that are not idiomatic and thus have different degree of idiomaticity (p. 80).

In accordance with idioms classification, idioms are classified according to the parts of speech that are used, situation/theme, categories, and comparison. Seidl and McMordie (1980) specifically provide a wide range of idiom examples like with the combination of adjectives as in a dead language, a dead weight, to leave someone for dead. And then with noun, as in to gain one’s end, to shoot a line. Idioms with verb, as in to run a risk, to throw a stone. According to the categories, idioms can be colour idioms as in black magic. Animal idioms; to bark up the wrong tree, to hold your horses. Parts of body; to foot the bill, to be at hand, to learn something by heart and many more.

B.Findings

In this section, the researcher presents the result or the answers of the research problem of this research. In previous section, the researcher presented three major theories that are theories of idioms, vocabulary learning, and foreign language learning. This research focuses on the benefits of learning idioms for English Language Education students. To support the findings, the researcher used the main theories taken from Thornburry (2002) about vocabulary learning, the theory of lexical chunks from Nattinger and Carrico (1992), Thornburry (2002)

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21 as well as theory of fluency in English from Fillmore (1979) as cited from Brumfitt (1984).

1. Enhancing Idiomatic Vocabulary on English Idioms

The significance of learning idiomatic vocabulary is based on British

council that „language users are expected to use idiomatic vocabulary‟ (as cited in

Tran, 2013, p. 24). Apart from it, there are many studies who have tried to classify idioms and their kinds into several types. Hence, the researcher would like to discuss the classification or the categories of idioms based on the book of Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom by Thomas (1989), Essential Idioms in English by Dixon (1971), and English Idioms and How to Use them by Seidl and McMordie (1980). Based on those three books, the researcher has compiled the classification of idioms into their categories. The classification is shown below:

Table 2.1 The Types of Idioms

No. Idioms

categories/types Note Example 1 Animals Idioms dog‟s life, guinea pig, puppy fat 2 Idioms of Body parts to let one‟s hair down, to be all ears 3 Idioms of colors a red herring, to have green fingers 4 Food idioms butter-fingers, in a jam, full of beans 5 Idioms of Names peeping Tom, smart Alec, Jack of all

trades

6 Idioms of Numbers catch 22 situation, one-armed bandit, 7 Idioms of time pressed for the time, it's high time, to kill

time 8 Idioms of

comparisons

with

adjectives/noun as cool as cucumber, as gentle as a lamb with verbs to work like a Trojan, to fight like cat

and dog 9 Idioms with

adjectives a dead-end job, a pretty kettle of fish 10 Idioms with nouns to drop someone a line, to make up one's

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11 Pairs of adjectives few and far between 12 Pairs of nouns babes and sucklings 13 Adjective + noun

phrase a cat burglar, flying colors

14 Noun phrases bags under the eyes

15 Adverbial phrases first and foremost 16 to be +

noun/adjective phrase to be a party to something 17 to be + prepositional

phrase to be at daggers drawn

18 with common verbs to break prison, to come clean 19 with less common

verbs to smell a rat, to stick around

20 Phrasal Verbs

call off, to pick out, to keep off, to burn down, turn up, get away, come around, set off, run out

with special situations

Banking the rate of interest

Business bad debts, to go bankrupt, on business, Buying and

selling to be up for sale, to do a roaring trade Health, illness to get over an illness, to pass away, to go

on the sick Holiday and

Travel a rubberneck, to travel light Motoring to hog the road

Politics and

government a back-bencher, the shadow-cabinet Telephoning a party line, to ring someone up Work and

industrial relations

to make someone redundant, to give someone the sack

(Source: Thomas B. J., Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom,; Dixon J. Robert, Essential Idioms in English; Seidl, J., & McMordie W., English Idioms and How to Use them ).

From the table shown before, it is clear that idioms have a lot of variations. There are hundreds kinds of idioms that vary. Each idiom is used differently according to the situation that happens. In another study, the classification of idioms is basically the same as explained before. According to Maisa and

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23 Karunakaran (2013), the classification of idioms is defined according to the theme and situations:

1. Animals: don’t count your chicken, the black sheep of the family.

2. Idioms formed by rural life: eat like a horse, strike when the iron is hot, put the cart before the house.

3. Idioms affected by technology: I need to recharge my batteries.

4. Idioms that come from the entertainment and sports world, for example, play the second fiddle, behind the scenes, etc.

5. Idioms in history and literature: sour grapes, the streets are paved with gold, etc.

6. Idioms from bible and Shakespeare‟s works such as ships that pass in the night, your pound of flesh, etc.

7. Idioms that show feelings and emotion: lose your bearings, in high spirits, come out of your shell, etc.

Idioms are often used by native speakers or foreign students (Dixon, 1971) when communicating each other. In fact, it indicates that speaking with English idioms means that the speakers are able to use “natural English” which is spoken in informal way and then creates a language more conversational (Caro, 2009, p. 129). When speakers use idioms, it means that the communication sounds idiomatic, natural (Dixon, 1971) and has variety (Caro, 2009, p. 124). The wide variety of idioms is used in many fields such as in mass media like newspaper and articles. In electronic media, idioms are used in some blogs and websites, and in printed media such as textbook and newspaper headlines. Therefore, it indicates

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that idioms are widely applied both in oral and in discourse (Maisa & Karunakaran, 2013).

In this research the researcher would like to answer the first benefit of learning English idioms for English Language Education students. First of all, the researcher used the theories of vocabulary learning and lexical chunks/approach as the base. The theory from Thornburry (2002) about lexical approach shows that the high frequency of words in the form of word combinations like chunks (e.g. idioms) can improve vocabulary. While according to Curtain & Dahlberg (2004) about foreign language learning that it can enhance the knowledge of structure and vocabulary. David Wilkins, the linguist clarifies the significance of vocabulary in learning foreign language that by learning words and expressions, the learners will improve their English (Thornburry, 2002, p. 13).

Further, the vocabulary knowledge can enhance other skills such as reading and writing. The second theory is about lexical approach which points out that high frequency of words including the form of word combination like chunks becomes the base of vocabulary learning (Thornburry, 2002, p. 112). According to Thornburry (2002) lexical chunks have different types and degree of

„chunkiness‟ which also include idioms (p. 115). Based on the theories mentioned, the researcher would like to give examples of idioms in written context based on the table in the following page:

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25 Table 2.2 Vocabulary Building with the Meaning

No. VOCABULARY

1 a back-bencher a less important member of the Commons

2 a cat burglar a burglar who enters house from the roof by climbing 3 a party line, a telephone line shared to two or more people

4 a pretty kettle of

fish a confusing situation

5 a red herring unimportant or irrelevant matter

6 a rubberneck a tourist who turns his head as much as possible when seeing sightseeing

7 as cool as cucumber

a person who remains calm in difficult or dangerous situation

8 babes and

sucklings innocent children

9 bad debts debts which are not expected to be paid 10 bags under the eyes dark skin under the eyes

11 butter-fingers someone who cant‟s hold objects properly or tends to drop it

catch 22 situation a problem that cannot be solved and is impossible to escape because one problem must be solved before solving other problems.

13 dog's life a miserably unhappy existence 14 few and far

between rare

15 full of beans energetic, badly mistaken 16 go bankrupt to become insolvent

17 guinea pig the subject for any sort of experiment 18 in a jam in hard situation

19 peeping Tom a person getting pleasure from watching others secretly 20 pressed for the time feeling that one has to hurry

21 puppy fat a fat like on the body of a child and will disappear at adolescence

22 shadow-cabinet the group of ministers of the parliamentary opposition 23 smart Alec a person who like to show off his cleverness or

knowledge 24 to be a party to

something to take part in it 25 to be all ears to listen eagerly 26 to break prison to escape from prison 27 to burn down to burn to the ground

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28 to do a roaring

trade to do good business and make high profits 29 to drop someone a

line to write to someone

30 to get over an

illness to recover from it completely

31 to go on the sick to give a report to the workplace that you are sick 32 to have green

fingers to be good at gardening

33 to hog the road to drive in the middle of the road 34 to keep off to stay away from

35 to let one's hair

down to relax and enjoy

36 to make someone redundant

to end a worker's employment because he is no longer needed

37 to work like a

Trojan to work very hard

(Source: Thomas B. J., Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom,; Dixon J. Robert, Essential Idioms in English; Seidl, J., & McMordie W., English Idioms and How to Use them)

Note: The idioms‟ meanings of number 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 29 the above were

taken from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ and

http://dictionary.reference.com/.

The table above presents vocabulary building on English idioms. It is presented with the random categories or types of idiom with their meaning. There are idioms of names, animals, idioms of colours, and other kinds mentioned above. The English language learners or English Language Education students can learn each idiom and its meaning in English through repetition or memorizing which is done through repeated rehearsal of the material (Thornburry, 2002, p. 24). With the two methods of learning such as memorization and repetition, the learners can effectively absorb and memorize the chunks of idioms as well as the meaning. Repetition method can strengthen the memory about expression or chunks stored in mind. This will assist them to be more advanced in vocabulary knowledge.

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27 There are many kinds of idioms that often appear in written context as in many texts in the books, magazines, articles, textbook and especially news headlines. Some newspaper headlines contain idiomatic expressions that are difficult to understand. In that situation, the readers may need to understand several idioms because of most newspaper headlines sound idiomatic as in the news titled Minna’s skirts all the rage taken from http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/ News/Minnas-skirts-are-all-the-rage-.htm (Appendix 3). It contains the idiom, all the rage (Jones, 1990, p. 14) which means to be very popular at particular time (dictionary.cambridge.org). Idioms in news headlines also appear in the leading city newspaper such as Daily News and New York Post.

The researcher has cited some idioms from those two city newspapers from http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/07/murdoch-new-york-post.html (Appendix 4). The Daily News’ headline is Humble Pie which means humility forced upon someone; usually under embarrassing situation (http://dictionary.reference.com). While the New York Post‟s headline is All In the Family means that something is not for people who are not in our family (http://www.goenglish.com). The news taken from www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25565898 titled ‘Obamacare’ health reforms come into force in US (Appendix 2) contains idioms as well. The idiom, come into force (Jones, 1990, p.

14) means to become effective

(http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic3531.html). There are still many idiomatic words in news headlines or articles. Thus, it might be necessary for readers to enhance their

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idioms knowledge through reading. Otherwise, reading English newspapers or articles will enhance idioms vocabulary.

The most common idioms in written context are phrasal verbs which are combined from verb plus adverb (Palmer, 1981, p. 80). They can be categorized as one of idioms because many of them sound idiomatic. The use of phrasal verbs in written text is shown in the example below:

The story

We had broken out in the desert kingdom and we realized that we had to get away. Amanda turned up at my apartment three hours late, so we immediately got the car and set off across the desert. Soon, our petrol supply ran out, but we managed to beg some from a passing lorry. We were within sight of the border, when there was a sudden, loud bang, and everything went black. When I came around, night had fallen and Amanda was watching over me with a worried expression. It was then that I realized we had driven over a landmine. Completing the sentences using right phrasal verbs from the story

1. He is still unconscious; I‟ll call you when he (comes around) 2. She was so unhappy at home that she just had to (get away) 3. If you (turn up) late, you won‟t be allowed into the concert 4. We‟ll have to (set off) really early to catch the ferry. 5. Just use a cheque if your cash (runs out)

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29 (The story and questions were taken from Naunton J, Think Ahead to First Certificate, Longman; as cited in Thornburry, 2002, p. 126)

The story above consists of six phrasal verbs which are common in English. The learners will find those kinds of phrasal verbs either in oral conversation or texts. From the text, the phrasal verbs which are mentioned cover broken out (No. 6) meaning to begin suddenly, get away (No. 2) meaning to escape, turned up (No. 3) meaning to arrive, set off (No. 4) meaning to leave, ran out (No. 5) meaning to finish, came around (No. 1) meaning to recover consciousness. After reading the text, the learners should have understood the meaning of each phrasal verb and therefore, they have to be able to apply the phrasal verbs if used in different context as in the six questions above.

This kind of story as in written example above can be a good way of learning idioms. The learners will find so much variety of idioms such as phrasal verbs which frequently appear in texts particularly. The frequent occurrence of idioms in text creates an effective way to enhance vocabulary through idioms with the reading passage especially with the questions that test the comprehension of those six phrasal verbs. The previous statement is suitable that according to Thornburry (2002) the high occurrence of idioms like phrasal verbs in the text is conducive ingredient to successful vocabulary learning (p. 126). He adds that working out with idiomatic meaning in text contributes to passive vocabulary knowledge and improve reading skill as well (Thornburry, 2002, p. 128). The point here, lies on when the learners study the idioms especially with story as the

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reading skill. On the other hand, if the learners know well about idioms vocabulary, they will be able to understand the reading passage then answer the question. Simply, involving the learners how to work out with idiomatic meaning like in reading passage will contribute to passive vocabulary knowledge but also improve reading skills as well (Thornburry, 2002, p. 128).

The researcher further contends that by learning idioms, the English language learners especially English Language Education students will achieve better comprehension on speaking fluency (Nattinger & Carrico, 1992) or communication particularly if a person interacts or communicates with native speakers. On the other hand, the learners can achieve what is called by natural English through learning idioms. It means that learning idioms can help the learners speak English in informal way (Caro, 2009, p. 129) and with an easy or relaxed tone (Casas, 1995, p. 59).

2. Achieving fluency in speaking English

Other types of idioms can function to help learners describe human‟s phenomena, feelings, emotions, characters of someone and the present situation. This means that idiom is one of non-literal ways to describe person, situation,

time, action, one‟s skill, or object and conveys ideas or intention of speakers. It is shown in the following page:

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31 Completing sentences using verbs in the box

1. Hard work –not much money, no time to enjoy yourself. It‟s a (dog's life) 2. I was once (a guinea pig) in a medical experiment to test a new drug 3. Wait a minute! It has been very tiring all day, I need to (let my hair down) 4. If you want to be a successful gardener, of course you‟ve got (to have

green fingers)

5. Someone who can do many different things is called (Jack of all trades). 6. This gambling machine is called (one-armed bandit)

7. I want to (kill the time). The principal's speech has been for hours.

8. Although it was very dangerous but he could manage to be (as cool as cucumber).

9. It‟s (a pretty kettle of fish). I do not know what decision to take. 10. I‟d like to (drop her a line) by the time I finish this assignment. 11. Johnny used to show his action at night by being (a cat burglar). 12. My mom has (bag under the eyes). She must be unhealthy. 13. 150 convicts managed to (break prison) a month ago.

14. The corruption eradication commission has recently (smelt a rat) among the officials.

dog‟s life let my hair down Jack of all trades guinea pig kill the time have green fingers one-armed bandit drop her a line as cool as cucumber a pretty kettle of fish break prison smelt a rat

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(Source: Thomas B. J., Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom,; Dixon J. Robert, Essential Idioms in English; Seidl, J., & McMordie W., English Idioms and How to Use them)

The „filling in the blanks questions‟ in the previous page may be very useful for English Language Education students. With idioms above, English Language Education students will have better descriptive skill by using non-literal language like idioms. This is supported by Maisa and Karunakaran (2013) who explain the use of idioms to describe personality, character, appearance, work, success, illness, and health (p. 112). While, the idioms above are taken from random types of idioms each of which helps them to be able to use them in describing many things. Specifically, the good knowledge on the variety of word combination such as idioms will become an aid to fluency (Thornburry, 2002,

p.112). The term „fluency‟ in using English is later asserted by Thornburry (2002)

that the capacity to use chunks (e.g. idioms) in conversation will develop fluency. The theory of fluency is taken from Fillmore (1979) as cited in Brumfitt (1984). Fluency has four different kinds including the ability to say appropriate things in a wide range of contexts and to be creative and imaginative in language use such as creating metaphors, jokes, puns, varying styles, etc. This means that speaking English more informally or idiomatically can contribute to fluency in English. Improving fluency is shown through various examples of filling the blank questions mentioned before.

Of all 14 questions before, there are some aspects that are described like

person‟s situation as in number 1; dog’s life which means to a miserable or unhappy life, 7; kill the time which means that someone as if wanting to do

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33 something so that the time can run faster. He or she might be boring, 9; a pretty kettle of fish meaning to a confusing situation. The skill/capability of a person is described in number 4; to have green fingers meaning to be good at gardening and 5; Jack of all trades or someone who can do many different things. The idioms above also describe an object as in 6; one-armed bandit which means a gambling machine and one‟s character as in 8; as cool as cucumber (a person who is always calm in dangerous or difficult situation). The idioms attached in

each question above also describe one‟s activity or action, one‟s experience,

physical appearance, and feeling. Number 10; drop her a line (an activity or action to write to someone), 13; break prison (an action to escape from prison), and 3; let may hair down (an activity to feel relaxed) describe the activity or action of a person. Number 11; a cat burglar which describes a person who likes to climb the roof by climbing the pipe, 2; a guinea pig (a person who always becomes a subject of experiment) represents or describes a person‟s bad

experience. Idioms also function to describe one‟s physical appearance and feeling as in number 12; bag under the eyes (dark skin under the eyes) and 14; smelt a rat means to suspect something.

Direct interaction absolutely requires interface communication. It deliberates two speakers or more. The plot or the topic of the conversation may use many kinds of expressions which sound idiomatic. At this situation, the speakers are required to understand the topic being discussed especially if it contains idioms. The previous statement shows that the learners need to figure out various themes or topics of lexical chunks (idioms) in the conversation which are

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used. This variation can be found in idioms which have different topic to be used in conversation. Nattinger and Carrico (1992) point out the significance of lexical chunks or phrases to provide effective and efficient way of interaction about self-selected topic with other speakers and it will test the speakers how to construct responses accurately.

In real life, if the speakers want to discuss a certain topic, they can use idioms according to the theme whether it is about holiday or travel, motoring, politics or government, telephoning, or about job. Several idioms are classified according to the theme or situation. Learners who intend to learn idioms according to the theme of the conversation will know how to use idioms which suit the topic of the conversation. When they are discussing about business, they can use idioms like bad debts (see. p. 27, no. 8) which means debts that are not expected to be paid, go bankrupt (see. p. 28, no. 15) or to become insolvent. If it is about holiday and travel, a speaker can describe the behaviour of tourist in common with idiom as in rubberneck (see. p. 27, no. 5) which means a tourist who often turns around his head for being amazed of sightseeing around him.

People also often discuss about politics and government. They can say terms of idiom like a back-bencher (see. p. 27, no. 1) which means a less important member of House of Commons, the shadow-cabinet (see. p 28, no. 22) meaning the group of Ministers of Parliamentary Opposition. In another situation as in public relations or job, a superior can use idiomatic expression as in to make someone redundant (see. p. 29, no. 37) which means to end one‟s employment because he is no longer needed. The use of idiom in every topic of conversation

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35 will make it varies and more lively. In other words, when it comes to a specific conversation, the speakers can respond with the appropriate idioms in right context. Learning idioms according to their theme will enhance learner‟s vocabulary towards specific idioms.

3. Avoiding Misinterpretation in Conversation

Maisa and Karunakaran (2013), in their research, presents the teachers‟

perspective on the advantages of learning idioms that knowledge on idiomatic English can promote language fluency in terms of language capacity and give the learners opportunity to convey message in shorter manner in flowery language (p. 117). The real advantage is learning idiom may assist learners to avoid misinterpretation when communicating with non-literal language like idioms. It also depends on how the learners understand the conversation or dialogues containing idioms (Caro, 2009, p. 133). This notion is also based on the dialogue example cited from Irujo (1985) and was adapted from Phap (1980). It contains the misinterpretation in using several idioms. The dialogue example as follows: Girl : why don‟t you give me a ring some time?

Foreign boy : Oh, no! I don‟t know you well enough to marry you! Girl : you must be pulling my leg!

Foreign boy : How can I pull your leg? I‟m not even near you!

The dialogue above shows misinterpretation that occurs between the girl

and foreign boy. The girl says „pulling my leg’ which implicitly means to tease her. She tends to say so in non-literal way rather than saying “you must be teasing me”. The context of the dialogue above is joking. However, the foreign boy

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misinterprets it and supposes that the girl accuses him. In accordance with the idiom misinterpretation, the speakers who learn idioms will know how to use them in appropriate situation of the topic being discussed. It will create adequate understanding of idioms in proper context of conversation. Cacciari and Tabossi (1988) give illustration about two stories containing non-literal interpretation of idiom and its literal interpretation. The stories are shown below:

Idiom story

Alice was telling her friend about her brother Bob. “Bob saw someone steal diamond bracelet in a jewellery shop.” “Did he tell anyone?” the friend asked.

“No,” Alice replied, “he kept it under his hat.”

Literal Story

Grace and Mary were watching a magician perform at their school. For one trick, he held out a rabbit and made it disappear. Grace couldn‟t figure it out. “Where is

it?” she asked.“It‟s obvious,” Mary replied, “he kept it under his hat.”

Based on the two stories and dialogues above, it can be concluded that the idiom, kept under one’s hat has two different meanings. Literally, kept under

one’s hat means to keep something as a secret (idioms.thefreedictionary.com). In

that case one has to understand its idiomatic meaning as well to avoid misunderstanding in conversation. While the conversation between the girl and the foreign boy ends up with misinterpretation among the two. The foreign boy

cannot get what is meant by the girl‟s utterance. Thus, misunderstanding happens.

Simply, the speakers have to understand what topic or context being discussed in conversation. In this case, good comprehension on English idioms contributes a certain kind of concept for learners how to differentiate idioms in

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37 different context. In short, it means that with the adequate comprehension on idioms or by learning idioms, the learners will know how to create conversation containing idiomatic expressions appropriately in right context and situation so that the utterance will not be ambiguous. Nattinger and Carrico (1992) also point

out that “lexical chunks like idioms help speakers to be able to construct responses and expressions from word chunks and this goes the same with idioms as multi-word chunks” (p. 114). According to Nattinger and Carrico (1992) the knowledge on lexical chunks such as idioms provide effective and efficient way of interaction about self-selected topic and it will train the speakers to speak accurately. It also means that learning idioms will give considerable benefits towards the learners to use idioms in right situation and context.

The explanation above presents the benefits of learning idioms especially for English Language Education students. There are many benefits of learning idioms which are visible. Yet, the most significant benefit is that learning idioms can enhance vocabulary knowledge (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004). From the stored vocabulary of idioms and with the good comprehension of idioms, the learners will be able to use idioms in many kinds of situation either written context or oral communication. At the end, this will contribute to considerable benefits towards

the learner‟s fluency (Lewis, 1997; Tajali & Tehrani, 2009 as cited in Maisa & Karunakaran, 2013, pp. 110 -111) in using foreign language.

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CHAPTER III

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section presents the conclusions of the study about the benefits of learning idioms for English learner especially for English Language Education students as well as the recommendations for future researchers and lecturers of English Education Study Program.

A.Conclusions

English idioms are widely used by native speakers for daily speech in informal way. In written context, the English learners will often find idioms in magazines, articles, and newspaper headlines. This fact shows that idioms play significant role in English language learning. From the previous chapter, it is known that learning idioms contributes considerable benefits towards English language learning and English Language Education students. Regarding to this statement, thus, what are the benefits of learning English idioms for English Language Education students?

There are three benefits of learning idioms for English Language Education students. Firstly, it can enhance the learner’s vocabulary knowledge

and later increases the learner’s ability in reading, writing, and speaking skill. In Chapter II, the researcher has provided the examples of idioms in discourse such as reading passage, idiom vocabulary building, dialogues about idioms, and some idioms that appear in news headlines. They can be good media for learning idioms. In a nutshell, learning idioms can help English Language Education students to

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Appendix 2

1 January 2014 Last updated at 10:16

'Obamacare' health reforms come into

force in US

The federal website offering a range of health care plans has suffered a number of technical problems since its launch in October

Millions of Americans are to receive health insurance cover for the first time as President Obama's flagship healthcare reforms come into effect.

The reforms are part of the president's aim to ensure affordable healthcare is available to everyone.

But the policy is controversial and the roll-out of the new system has been beset with problems.

Some religious-affiliated groups won a last-minute reprieve from being forced to provide birth control cover.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor temporarily blocked the government from forcing such groups to offer health insurance that would include

contraception.

She acted at the request of a group of Catholic nuns in Colorado, the Little Sisters of the Poor, who had earlier lost their request for a preliminary injunction at an appeals court in Denver.

They had argued that the ruling conflicted with the Catholic Church's stance against the use of contraceptives.

Glitches

Obamacare setbacks

 Nov 27: Year's delay in online insurance enrolment for small businesses  Nov 26: Spanish-language sign-up tool is postponed until December  Nov 22: Enrolment deadline for individuals is pushed back a week in

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for another year

 Oct 23: Deadline for individuals to avoid penalties is pushed back six weeks to March 2014

 July: Businesses with over 50 workers given until 2015 to provide insurance or pay a penalty

Under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, it is now

compulsory for people to have health cover - either provided for by their employer or by buying one of the private health plans now on offer.

Those who cannot afford it will get help, but those without any insurance will be fined.

As of 1 January 2014, health insurance companies are also no longer able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

More than 2.1 million people have enrolled so far for private health plans - short of the government's original target.

But the phased roll-out of the new law has suffered a number of difficulties. The federal website offering the new health plans was plagued with technical glitches when it was launched in October. There were long sign-in wait times, log-in difficulties, log-insurance account creation problems, slow page loads and outages. Insurance companies have also announced the cancellation of millions of policies, saying they did not meet the law's minimum requirements.

This came despite President Obama's promise that people would not be forced to move from plans they were happy with.

Mr Obama's approval ratings fell in the wake of the problems, but the White House says things have been fixed, the BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from Washington.

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Appendix 3

Minna's skirts are all the rage . . .

Published: 10/06/2008 00:00 - Updated: 19/02/2009 09:25 Written by SAMERA KHATOON

A FASHION student is set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Stella

McCartney, Julien Macdonald and Hussein Chalayan by showcasing her creations at Graduate Fashion Week.

Minna Ramsay, 22, of Burton Road, Branston, has been chosen from hundreds of promising fashion students from around the country to show off her designs at the event, which was taking place at London's Earls Court today.

Miss Ramsay is a final year student at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and will be one of 20 MMU fashion students chosen to showcase their work.

She said: "I'm so excited to have been chosen to show my collection at Graduate Fashion Week, especially considering some of the designers who started their careers there, I hope my garments get a great response."

Miss Ramsay, who one day hopes to develop her own high-end fashion label, is said to take her inspiration for the collection to be shown from the 1920s, especially a coat from that era which has been passed down through her family. She said: "Whatever happens I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

Manchester Metropolitan University is traditionally one of the strongest fashion schools in the country, and will also be showing off Miss Ramsay's work at the University's Manchester Fashion Show on Monday, June 16.

Programme Leader for Fashion at MMU Alison Welsh, said: "It's difficult for designers starting out to get noticed by the fashion industry and Minna has done fantastically well to be picked for Graduate Fashion Week."

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Graduate Fashion Week offers a selection of the best fashion students from around the country a platform to show off their talents in front of some of the biggest names in the business including, Donna Karan, Gucci and Calvin Klein as well as press and industry professionals from around the globe.

Read more: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Minnas-skirts-are-all-the-rage-.htm#ixzz2zguBJWkw

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Appendix 4

July 20, 2011

“Frank Talk” in the New York

Post

?

Posted by Samantha Henig

The New York Postcover this morning was, in some respects, just what you’d expect the day after James and Rupert Murdoch endured hours of questions from

members of Parliament. The headline: ―ALL IN THE FAMILY.‖ Beside it, a

white-haired man with a furrowed brow and the look that he’d like to be anywhere but there. The man in question: Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The paper doesn’t even

mention yesterday’s inquiry until Page 35, where an uncharacteristically dry headline reads: ―Frank Talk at Probe: Murdochs testify in UK.‖ And the family

referred to in the Post headline is that of Tristane Banon, who has accused D.S.K.

of rape. Her mother, Anne Mansouret, says she had a ―consensual but brutal‖ fling

with the former I.M.F. chief.

This is hardly the first example of News Corp. properties shying away from covering the phone-hacking scandal ensnaring their boss. (We at The New Yorker

have had no such compunction!) But today’s tabloid disparity is particularly jarring: its rival, the Daily News, came through with the two-inch-high play on

words you’d expect—―HUMBLE PIE.‖

Elsewhere in the press, the coverage was drier, though still front-page: ―Murdochs

Deny That They Knew of Illegal Acts‖; ―Murdochs Apologize to Lawmakers‖; ―Murdochs Are Grilled.‖ One of these things, as ―Sesame Street‖ would sing it, is

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the headlines came from today’s front pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, would anyone struggle to determine which one came from the News Corp.-owned property?

Source: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/07/murdoch-new-york-post.html

Benefits of learning idioms for English Education Students.

“

BAD LUCK TODAY,

FORTUNE TOMORROW”

'Obamacare' health reforms come into

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Benefits of learning idioms for English Education Students.

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BAD LUCK TODAY,

FORTUNE TOMORROW”

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