Whenever I ask my students where their difficulties in learning English lie, they invariably give me one of two responses: they either say that they have trouble with verb tenses, or they reply that they do not have enough vocabulary. As language teachers, we try many methods to help students increase both their passive and their active vocabularies. One of the most effective ways for students to incorporate new words and expressions into their language is through the study of idioms and idiomatic expressions. Indeed, the Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms (1993) states in its introduction that the “accurate and appropriate use of English expressions which are in the broadest sense idiomatic is one distinguishing mark of a native command of the language and a reliable measure of the proficiency of foreign learners” (p. x). That is, once students are able not only to understand idiomatic expressions, but also to produce them, we can say that they have attained a high level of second-language proficiency. [-1-]
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