Idioms are a very important part of the English language: you are told that if you want to go far (succeed) you should pull your socks up (make a serious effort to improve your behaviour, the quality of your work, etc.) and use your grey matter (brain).1 Learning and translating idioms have always been very difficult for foreign language learners. The present paper explores some of the reasons why English idiomatic expressions are difficult to learn and translate. It is not the aim of this paper to attempt a comprehensive survey of the vast amount of material that has appeared on idioms in Adams and Kuder (1984), Alexander (1984), Dixon (1983), Kirkpatrick (2001), Langlotz (2006), McCarthy and O'Dell (2002), and Wray (2002), among others. The paper concentrates on idioms as a learning-translation problem; it makes no claim to be comprehensive or academically rigorous. Leech (1989) defines an idiom as follows: “An idiom is a group of two or more words which we have to treat as a unit in learning a language. We cannot arrive at the meaning of the idiom just by adding together the meanings of the words inside it. E.g.John and Mary usedto be hardup (='They had very little money'.)”(P.186) To be more exact, an idiom is a sequence of words which is semantically and syntactically restricted, so that they function as a single unit. From a semantic point of view, the meanings of the individual words cannot be summed to produce the meanings of the idiomatic expression as a whole. Thus, fly off the handle, which means lose one's temper, cannot be understood in terms of the meanings of fly, off, or handle. The idiom phrase hot air, which means empty or boastful talk, is neither hot nor air; with hot air we are dealing with a set phrase where the meaning cannot be suggested on the basis of the two constituent words. The idiomatic meaning of spill the beans in So who spilt the beans (=told the secret) about her affair with David? has nothing to do with beans or with spilling in its literal sense. The foreign-language learner is left trying to figure out where and how the beans were spilt. From a syntactic viewpoint, the constituent parts of an idiom often do not permit the usual variability they display in other contexts. The point to be emphasized here is this: most idioms do not lend themselves easily to manipulation by speakers and writers; they are invariable and must be learned as wholes, but concord ofnumber, person and gender in the idiom phrase is still necessary, i.e. the verbs must be put into the correct form, and pronouns must agree with their antecedents: I don't give a hoot for her opinion! 2 • She doesn't give a hoot for my opinion! etc.)║He won, but only by the skin of his teeth2• She won, but only by the skin of her teeth• Iwon, but only by the skin ofmy teeth,I had to run for the train, and caught it by the skin of myteeth, etc.║He kept pullingmy arm, throwing me off my balance 2 • She kept pulling his arm, throwing him off his balance • We kept pullingher arm, throwingher offher balance, etc.2 The present paper is divided into five parts, as follows: Part I: An Overview; PART II: Learner’s Difficulties with Idioms; PART III: Some Pedagogical recommendations and Suggestions about Idioms; Part IV: Activities to Practice Idiomatic Expressions; Part V: Summary and Conclusion.
The aim of this research is to diagnose the impact of competitive dimensions represented by quality, cost, time, flexibility on the efficiency of e-learning, The research adopted the descriptive analytical method by identifying the impact of these dimensions on the efficiency of e-learning, as well as the use of the statistical method for the purpose of eliciting results. The research concluded that there is an impact of the competitive dimensions on the efficiency of e-learning, as it has been proven that the special models for each of the research hypotheses are statistically significant and at a level of significance of 5%, and that each of these dimensions has a positive impact on the dependent variable, and the research recommended
... Show MoreAbstract: The research covered five chapters: So, the first chapter definition of the research is from the introduction to the research and its importance, as the importance of the research lies in an expression of the reality of e-learning as it is one of the new patterns of the educational process and its role in enhancing communication and interconnectedness between the learners from the students ’point of view Physical Education and Sports Sciences for Girls, University of Baghdad, as for the problem The research was, and through the researcher’s acquaintance with many previous studies, references and sources, and being a student at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences - University of
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The research aims to identify the impact of using the electronic participatory learning strategy according to internet programs in learning some basic basketball skills for middle first graders according to the curricular course, and the sample of research was selected in the deliberate way of students The first stage of intermediate school.As for the problem of research, the researchers said that there is a weakness in the levels of school students in terms of teaching basketball skills, which prompted the researchers to create appropriate solutions by using a participatory learning strategy.The researchers imposed statistically significant differences between pre and post-test tests, in favor of the post tests individually and in favor of
... Show MoreWorld War II has brought suffering for all people; it has led people to have a nostalgic feeling. The war has many faces all of them are ugly, like death, separation, loneliness, violence, crime, betrayal, and disconnection and many other meanings. Michael Ondaatje in his novel The English Patient (1992) portrays a picture of the effect of World War II on four different characters; Hana a Canadian nurse, The English patient who is Hungarian, Caravaggio a Canadian-Italitan thief, and Kip an Indian sapper. They live together in one house, share their secrets and memories about World War II. Ondaatje brings them together to reveal their secrets and to heal their wounds of the war experience.
World War II has brought suffering for all people; it has led people to have a nostalgic feeling. The war has many faces all of them are ugly, like death, separation, loneliness, violence, crime, betrayal, and disconnection and many other meanings. Michael Ondaatje in his novel The English Patient (1992) portrays a picture of the effect of World War II on four different characters; Hana a Canadian nurse, The English patient who is Hungarian, Caravaggio a Canadian-Italitan thief, and Kip an Indian sapper. They live together in one house, share their secrets and memories about World War II. Ondaatje brings them together to reveal their secrets and to heal their wounds of the war experience.
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This research focuses on the contemporary geostrategic transformations that afflicted the countries of the Middle East, with a focus on the countries of the Arab East, after the collapse of the system of international relations, and the emergence of the unipolar system led by the United States of America. After the events of September 11 and the events that followed, especially the occupation of Iraq in 2003, the study area witnessed a group of geopolitical variables and the emergence of dangerous phenomena that threatened the state structure in the countries of the Middle East; the most notably are the phenomenon of terrorism, cross-border armed groups, sectarian polarization, the phenomenon of migration and the internal and the externa
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Characterized the Middle East has geographic, economic, and geostrategic peculiarities, but it suffers from many problems, such as disagreement over what it means as a concept, or what it represents of a geographic extension. The question is related to the ambiguity surrounding the concept of the Middle East? The purpose of its launch? As it relates to its geostrategic, economic, and geo-cultural importance? And manifestations of this importance? And to what extent he retained his value in the strategies of the major powers? Research hypotheses:
-The multiplicity of concepts for the Middle East region, with international political and Geostrategic interests.- The geostrategic value of the Middle East has made it a focal point for
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