The Idiom Priority Problem
A Tiered Approach to Idiom Teaching
Meaning closely relates to the literal words. 'Take a break,' 'have a look,' 'give it a try.' These are extremely high-frequency and B1+ students should know them all.
Meaning can be partially inferred. 'See the bigger picture,' 'on the same page,' 'touch base.' High in business English, moderate in everyday speech — priority for professional learners.
Meaning bears no transparent relationship to component words. 'Bite the bullet,' 'under the weather,' 'spill the beans.' High memorable value, moderate frequency. Teach when they appear, not from a list.
Idiom Teaching Strategy
Context First
Always present idioms in a sentence or situation — never a list
Frequency Filter
Corpus data on idiom frequency tells you which are worth active teaching
Spaced Review
Idioms need more repetitions than regular vocabulary — plan to revisit them
Teacher Tip
“When an idiom appears naturally in conversation or a text, stop and linger on it. 'Did you notice what she said there? 'Keep an eye on things' — can you figure out what that means from context?' Discovery-based idiom learning (working it out from context) produces better retention than definition-first teaching.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I teach British or American idioms?
Prioritise the variety your student will encounter most. Some idioms are universal (take a break, keep in mind); others are very variety-specific (brass tacks, knock on wood). Flag variety-specific idioms explicitly.
Do ESL students use idioms in conversation?
At B2+, yes — spontaneous idiom use becomes possible when students have true multi-word lexical storage. Below B1, teach idioms for recognition only; production follows comprehension, usually by 6-12 months.
How many idioms should I teach per lesson?
1-2 introduced in context, with revisiting existing idioms from previous lessons. Quality of encoding and appropriate use matters far more than volume. A student who uses 'keep an eye on' correctly twice is more advanced than one who can define 50 idioms but uses none.