A Cognitive Linguistic Treatment of Idiomaticity in an EFL Context, MA thesis

A Cognitive Linguistic Treatment of Idiomaticity in an EFL Context

Vassiliki Geka

May 2011

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA

in Applied Linguistics

Dissertation supervisor: Professor Sophia Marmaridou

ΕΘΝΙΚΟ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΠΟΔΙΣΡΙΑΚΟ

ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΗΜΙΟ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ

ΣΜΗΜΑ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ ΓΛΩΑ ΚΑΙ

ΦΙΛΟΛΟΓΙΑ

ΜΕΣΑΠΣΤΥΙΑΚΟ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΣΗΝ

ΕΦΑΡΜΟΜΕΝΗ ΓΛΩΟΛΟΓΙΑ

NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN

UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

FACULTY OF ENGLISH STUDIES

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME IN

APPLIED LINGUISTICS

A cognitive linguistic treatment of idiomaticity in an EFL context Vassiliki Geka

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Conceptualising, planning, writing and most importantly finishing this master

thesis would have been simply impossible without the help, the support and the

constant guidance of my supervisor Professor Sophia Marmaridou, who

wholeheartedly devoted her time in encouraging and advising me. Thus, special

thanks are due to her for her immense patience and her unique devotion that have set

an example in my academic career as well.

Thanks are also due to all the professors of the Department of English Studies

of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens that I had both the honour and

the pleasure to be a student of during my undergraduate and my postgraduate studies.

Their inspiration has been without doubt tremendous and unceasing.

Last but by no means least, I would like to thank all those people who were by

my side during the difficult and sometimes lonely process of the compilation of my

master thesis. It would not be an overstatement to say that if they were not there for

me, I would not have been able to complete it.


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ABSTRACT1*

The present dissertation investigates the ways in which a cognitive linguistic

approach to idiomaticity could contribute to the teaching of idioms within an EFL

context. In particular, it aims at offering a cognitive semantics view of idiomaticity by

drawing on both the viewpoint of the theoretician of language and the viewpoint of

the teaching practitioner. The latter is the main contribution of this thesis since,

despite the discussion carried out at a theoretical level, little work has been done in

relation to providing practical, working ideas and activities for treating idioms in

Cognitive Linguistics-inspired methods in EFL contexts.

Drawing on the premise that idiomaticity is far from arbitrary, the present

thesis is primarily concerned with the conceptual motivation of idioms whose

semantics only seemingly appears to be randomly formed and haphazard. To this end,

the study engages in an analysis of the various approaches and definitions proposed

for idioms to conclude that a cognitive approach to idiomaticity provides a rather

inviting and intriguing option for the teaching of idiomatic expressions. In fact, this

approach is the only one, to the best of my knowledge, that lends itself not only to a

theoretical discussion of the notoriously cumbersome issue of idiomaticity but to

pedagogical application, including key issues in the field of EFL didactics such as

learning strategies, communicative competence and learning styles.

Capitalising on this distinctive quality of the cognitive linguistic approach, the

present thesis frames a detailed pedagogical proposal for idiom instruction within a

self-designed lesson plan and tasks related to anger idioms. Anger idioms are

generally found to be motivated by the general conceptual metaphor ANGER IS HEAT,

which is further instantiated by two more specific versions, namely the ANGER IS FIRE

and the ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER metaphors.

It transpires from the above that the present study may be of interest both to

scholars aspiring to develop or enhance further a cognitive, critical glance at

idiomaticity at a theoretical level, but also to those interested in exploiting the

conceptual network of idiomaticity in EFL contexts and specifically in materials‘

design. It might also be of interest to those wishing to explore idiomaticity and

* The abstract of this dissertation is also available in Greek at the last page of this dissertation.


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figurative language from an educational and intercultural point of view, as idioms are

understood to be sensitive to cultural construals and enhance speakers‘ creativity.

In short, a cognitive linguistic treatment of idiomaticity is expected to

contribute some innovative pedagogical proposals of interest to theoreticians and

language practitioners alike. Exploiting the potential of the particular approach in

order to explore these proposals is what this thesis will set out to do.

Key words: Cognitive Linguistics, idioms (idiomaticity), conceptual metaphor,

motivation, EFL didactics, lesson plan - practical applications


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 2

Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 3

Tables and Figures ....................................................................................................... 7

Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 8

1.1.Aim of the study ................................................................................................... 8

1.2.Structure of the study ........................................................................................... 9

1.3.Defining idiomaticity ......................................................................................... 10

1.3.1. Idiomaticity: Towards a definition ............................................................. 10

1.3.2. The main characteristics attributed to idioms ............................................. 13

1.3.3. Glimpses on the history of idiomaticity ..................................................... 16

Chapter 2 A Brief Overview of a Cognitive Approach to Idioms ......................... 25

2.1.The origin of the cognitive enterprise ................................................................ 25

2.1.1. The main tenets of the cognitive enterprise ............................................... 25

2.1.2. The main branches of the Cognitive Linguistics model ............................. 26

2.2.The cognitive approach to metaphors and its significance to idioms................. 27

2.3.Cognitive model: Making a difference ............................................................... 30

Chapter 3 A Cognitive Linguistics Approach to Teaching Idioms in an EFL

Context ........................................................................................................................ 32

3.1. Cognitive linguistics going applied .................................................................. 32

3.1.1. Metaphoric competence and EFL methodology ........................................ 33

3.1.2. Learning strategies and EFL methodology ................................................. 34

3.1.3. Cognitive and learning styles in EFL methodology ................................... 36

3.2. From theory to practice ..................................................................................... 39

3.3. A Cognitive Linguistics-inspired teaching methodology for idioms ................ 41

3.3.1.Which idioms to include in the materials? Selection criteria ...................... 41

3.3.2. What kind of activities and materials should be used? ............................... 42

3.3.3. Is the age of the learners a significant parameter? .................................... 43

3.3.4. What is the right level? ............................................................................... 44

3.4. The rationale behind the lesson plan ................................................................. 44

3.4.1. Description of the tasks .............................................................................. 45

Chapter 4 Discussion, Implications and Limitations of the Study, Conclusion .. 48

4.1. Importance of the study ..................................................................................... 48


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4.2. Suggestions for further research-Desiderata for a cognitive approach to idioms

.................................................................................................................................. 50

4.2.1. Implications for materials‘ design .............................................................. 50

4.2.2. Implications for test development .............................................................. 54

4.3. Limitations of the study-suggestions for future research .................................. 56

4.4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 58

References ................................................................................................................... 60

Appendices ................................................................................................................. 73

Appendix 1: Tables and Figures.............................................................................. 74

Appendix 2:A CL-inspired lesson plan ................................................................... 82

Appendix 3: Materials for the lesson plan .............................................................. 94

Appendix 3a: Worksheet A ..................................................................................... 95

Appendix 3b: Worksheet B ..................................................................................... 96

Appendix 3c: Worksheet C ..................................................................................... 97

Appendix 3d: Worksheet D ................................................................................... 100

Appendix 3e: Worksheet E .................................................................................... 101

Appendix 3f: Worksheet F .................................................................................... 102

Appendix 3g: Worksheet G ................................................................................... 103

Appendix 3h: Worksheet H .................................................................................. 104

Appendix 3i: Worksheet I ..................................................................................... 106

Appendix 4: Key to the tasks of the lesson plan ................................................... 107

Appendix 5: Abstract in Greek .............................................................................. 113


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TABLES AND FIGURES Tables

Table 1: Parameters for defining idioms .................................................................. 13

Figures

Figure 1: The main branches of the orthodox/traditional approach to idioms ......... 20

Figure 2:The main branches of the compositional view ......................................... 22

Figure 3: Two different notions of compositionality ............................................... 23

Figure 4: A schematic representation of the main tenets and branches of the

cognitive linguistic model ........................................................................................ 27

Figure 5: The main pedagogical implications of a cognitive linguistic approach to

idiomaticity .............................................................................................................. 51

Appendices: ............................................................................................................. 73

Appendix 1: Tables and figures ................................................................................ 74

Figure I: The components of communicative competence in Bachman‘s model . 75

Figure II: The direct strategies in Oxford's and Ehrman's taxonomy .................... 76

Figure III: The indirect strategies in Oxford's and Ehrman's taxonomy ............... 77

Figure IV: Contrasts on the two poles of the Field Independent (Analytic)- Field

Dependent (Concrete/Holistic dimension ................................................................ 78

Figure V: Kolb's experiential learning cycle and the interrelations of learning

styles ......................................................................................................................... 79

Figure VI: Kolb's learning styles presented as quadrants of the learning cycle ..... 79

Figure VII: Learners‘ notions and attitudes towards idiomaticity ......................... 80

Figure VIII: The components of the Task-based Learning framework.................. 81


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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Aim of the study

Idioms undoubtedly constitute one of the most elusive, interesting and yet

perplexing areas in intercultural exchanges. Apparently, their difficulty in the

repertoire of any language arises- inter alia- from the fact that they are to a great

extent fixed expressions exhibiting syntactic and semantic frozenness, lack of

permutability and, most importantly, meaning obscurity. That is why more often than

not they constitute a really important part of foreign language learning that

necessitates a lot of effort, diligence and hard work on the part of the learner.

However, by casting a closer look at what lies behind idiomatic phrases one is bound

to discover a whole ―universe‖ of concepts in operation. It is exactly this conceptual

universe organised in systematic networks that this dissertation will attempt to

investigate within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics and in particular by

adopting a cognitive approach to idioms with the aim of informing teaching practices

expected to facilitate idiom comprehension and retention.

In other words, the present study, despite the undeniable difficulties and problems

that idioms pose, will investigate how they can be presented to learners within a

framework that caters for their idiosyncratic nature without presenting them as totally

arbitrary syntactic or semantic anomalies to be learnt by heart. On the contrary, it will

indicate that most idioms reveal aspects of the human conceptual system and are also

motivated parts of a systematic network. To this end, this dissertation will present

samples of activities aiming at idiom teaching within a framework of a complete

lesson plan formed on the basis of the principles of the cognitive approach to idioms.

Focusing thus on the pedagogical implications of this approach to idiomaticity, this

dissertation is expected to shed more light on teaching idioms from a cognitive

perspective. A perspective that to the best of my knowledge (and as is elsewhere

stated2 as well) the EFL literature has failed to benefit from with very few exceptions

like that of Kövecses and Szabó (1996).

2 Cameron and Low (1999: 77) stated that "Despite the work done on metaphors and idioms in the last

two decades, little has reached Applied Linguistics."


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But before proceeding to the main contribution of this dissertation, namely that of

exploring idiomaticity through the perspective of the cognitive approach and its

pedagogical implications in EFL contexts and materials‘ design let me delineate

briefly the structure of the study. Then I will proceed to analysing and defining the

concept of idiomaticity as well as discussing the main principles of a cognitive

approach to idiom teaching.

1.2.Structure of the Study

The study is divided into four chapters. Chapter one is devoted to a discussion of

the different definitions provided for idioms and idiomaticity while also investigating

the main features attributed to idioms. Its last part engages in a brief historical

overview that provides the readers with ―glimpses on the history of idiomaticity‖

(Kavka and Zybert, 2004: 54).

It is this last section of chapter one that paves the transition to chapter two that

engages in an analysis of the main tenets, branches and goals of Cognitive Linguistics

in general and the cognitive linguistic approach to idioms in particular. Chapter two

explains the theoretical underpinnings of this approach and aims at dissolving the

myth of arbitrariness that has surrounded idioms for such a long period of time. The

concepts of motivation and cognitive systematicity are also explored, adumbrating the

significance of the conceptual networking for idiomaticity in EFL contexts.

Chapter three is where the methodology behind the practical applications of the

cognitive linguistic model to idioms is described in detail, preparing the reader for the

sample lesson plan and the tasks designed. Methodological issues pertinent to the age,

level of proficiency, or the nature of the materials and the tasks are analysed in detail

with the aim of informing the reader of the methodological parameters that have to be

taken into account in a real EFL context which endorses a CL-inspired idiom

instruction.

Finally, chapter four is devoted to a critical appraisal of the whole study and its

implications as well as restrictions. In this chapter, I provide a list of potential areas

for future research and I state quite clearly that there are a lot of desiderata that the CL

approach has yet to fulfill in relation to Applied Linguistics. I also state that future

research in relation to the cognitive approach to idioms should be gauged towards the


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direction of materials‘ design and test development, with a heavy emphasis on the

former.

1.3.Defining Idiomaticity

Idiomaticity has been a notoriously difficult notion from which many language

experts have steered clear at all costs. I will therefore start by dealing with this

notoriously difficult concept by referring to the multiple names and different

definitions that scholars have endowed it with.

1.3.1 Idiomaticity: Towards a Definition…

Providing an exact definition of what idiomaticity might be appears to be a

rather daunting task. As Langlotz quite aptly mentions in his book Idiomatic

Creativity (2006: 1), "idioms are peculiar linguistic constructions that have raised

many eyebrows in linguistics and often confuse newcomers to a language." It is not

accidental, therefore, that while searching the relevant literature one is sure to be

baffled by the many terms used interchangeably for the study of idioms; starting with

idiomaticity, idiomatology, idiomatics or even phraseology to name but a few (Kavka

and Zybert, 2004). The so many labels assigned to idiomaticity, of course, are

certainly another type of evidence for the fact that there has always been a consensus,

albeit a tacit one, that although challenging, idioms cannot be dismissed frivolously

by any serious study of language simply because they are well entrenched in our

minds (Casas and Campoy, 1995).

Yet, despite the many labels assigned to the study of idioms, it would not be

an overstatement to say that comprehensive theories of idioms have been rather

scarce. This might be quite understandable, however, given the fact that

Structuralism- according to which idioms have an exocentric, marginal and most

importantly anomalous status in language- was the prevalent theory of language for

quite a long time.

Undoubtedly, idioms are not always amenable to structural or syntactic

manipulation and they certainly constitute an extremely problematic area to

accommodate for any theory of language. Nonetheless, there is just too much

idiomaticity in all language systems to simply ignore it or overlook it. This is also


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probably the reason why a number of distinguished scholars have attempted to

investigate the issue. Hockett, 1958; Malkiel, 1959; Katz and Postal, 1963; Chafe,

1968; Weinreich, 1969; 1972, Fraser, 1970; Makkai, 1972; Newmeyer, 1974; Glasser,

1980; Strassler, 1982 are just some examples serving to illustrate that idiomaticity has

repetitively been an issue of great concern or even a bone of contention for some

scholars. Highly reputable scholars have contributed their definitions of idiomaticity

that range significantly from Hockett‘s (1958) all-embracing approach3

to less

encompassing theories conflating idioms with collocations. They all tend to agree,

however, that the meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced from the meaning of its

components. This contrast between the meaning of the whole idiom and the meaning

of its parts was especially underlined by A. Healey (1968: 71) who defined an idiom

as ―any group of words whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of the

individual words‖. The idea that the meaning of an idiom is more than the sum of the

meaning of its constituents is a recurrent one whenever definitions have been ventured

by scholars. This holds true for both Weinreich (1972) and Cacciari and Tabossi

(1988). In fact, the latter, taking this feature of idioms into account, proposed the

following definition:

―Typically, an idiom is characterised as a string of words whose semantic interpretation cannot be

derived compositionally from the interpretation of its parts. Thus, idiomatic expressions defy the

standard view of language comprehension according to which understanding a sentence entails at least

recognizing the individual words in the sentence, retrieving their meanings from the mental lexicon and

combining them accordingly to their grammar relations‖ (ibid: 668).

Uriel Weinreich‘s (1972) contribution to idiomaticity, however, deserves a

closer look. He generally accepted that the meaning of an idiom cannot be derived

from the meaning of its elements but he claimed that an idiom is a subset of a

phraseological unit4. Nonetheless, his main contribution to idiom understanding has to

do with his emphasis on context. In his definitions of the phraseological unit and its

subset of idiom respectively, Weinreich states that in a phraseological unit a selection

3 Hockett (1958: 172): [The idiom is…] ―any Y in any occurrence in which it is not a constituent of a

larger Y‖, where Y is ―any grammatical form whose meaning is not deducible from its structure‖ and

"...An idiom is a grammatical form-single morpheme or composite form, the meaning of which is not

deducible from its structure".

4 Weinreich (1972: 89) views "idiomaticity ...as a phenomenon which may be described as the use of

segmentally complex expressions whose semantic structure is not deducible jointly from their syntactic

structure and the semantic structure of their components.‖


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of subsense is determined by context and also that in an idiom there is a reciprocal

contextual selection of subsenses. Of course, although the context can play a decisive

role in our understanding of idioms, we have all experienced cases whereby the

ambiguity of an idiomatic expression cannot be eliminated by/in context. Weinreich

himself does not ignore these potential cases of ambiguity but he postulates that when

we find ourselves before such instances of ambiguity that even the context fails to

decipher, then we find ourselves before ―genuine idioms‖.

Other scholars like Strassler (1982) chose to adopt a pragmatic view towards

idiomatic expressions and defined idiom as a functional element of language, namely

as a pragmatic phenomenon, i.e. something that can be judged by the point of view of

the language user.

These multiple definitions assigned to idioms serve as indicators of scholars‘

preoccupation with idiomaticity and their difficulty in creating a comprehensive

framework wherein idiomaticity could be accommodated and defined successfully.

Perhaps, Nunberg et al (1994) were quite successful after all when they argued that

"no precise definition of idiom is possible because idiom is a fuzzy category that is as

much defined by what is not5 an idiom as by what is."

As already mentioned, of course, this dissertation will investigate the issue of

idiomaticity from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics that views idioms as

conceptual in nature. For the purposes of our discussion, I will adopt Langlotz‘s

(2006) working definition of what an idiom generally is:

―An idiom is an institutionalised construction that is composed of two or more lexical items

and has the composite structure of a phrase or semi-clause, which may feature constructional

idiosyncrasy. An idiom primarily has an ideational discourse-function and features figuration; i.e. its

semantic structure is derivationally non-compositional. Moreover, it is considerably fixed and

collocationally restricted.‖ (ibid: 5)

Rounding off the issue of defining idioms, what I will now turn to is a

categorisation of the different features of idioms that have been attributed to them by

different scholars.

5 My emphasis.


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1.3.2 The main characteristics attributed to idioms

Before presenting and delineating the different models to idiom

comprehension and processing, I will hereby try to make a brief reference to the

characteristics that have been attributed to idioms.

The difficulty in devising an accurate and successful definition of idioms, as

we already saw, arises from the special features that idioms demonstrate in relation to

their semantics, their syntax, their pragmatics and their structure. That is why any

definition should take into account the features and parameters presented in the

following table:

Parameters for Defining Idioms

Semiotic Dimension Feature Term Grammatical status Degree of

conventionalisation or

familiarity

Institutionalisation

Form Formal complexity of

construction:

multiword unit

Lexicogrammatical

behaviour: restricted

syntactic,

morphosyntactic and

lexical variability

Paradigmatic

constraints on the

selection of lexical

items

The presence of

idiosyncratic and

irregular lexical items

and grammatical

patterns

Compositeness

Frozenness (also fixedness

or inflexibility)

Restricted collocability

Constructional Idiosyncrasy

Meaning Meaning can be derived from

constituent words but is

extended/figurative.

Non-compositionality

Table 1: Parameters for defining idioms (adapted by Langlotz 2006: 3).

Institutionalisation is used to capture the degree of conventionality of an idiom

within a specific language community and it was first coined by Fernando (1996:3).

Compositeness in its turn refers to the fact that idioms are multi-word units that are

composed of two or even more lexical constituents. Frozenness or


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fixedness/inflexibility (Fraser, 1970) on the other hand are used as generic terms

capturing lexicogrammatical restrictions influencing the variability (or lack of

variability) and the grammatical behaviour that the lexical constituents of idioms will

display. By and large, the potential flexibility of an idiom could be investigated by the

degree of syntactic modification that it can allow. Topicalisation, VP ellipsis and

prenominalisation experiments etc. might reveal a lot in relation to this feature6.

Barkema (1996) specifies that form-wise, idioms also exhibit restrictions on

the paradigmatic level of language that he chooses to define as restricted collocability

which in simple words suggests that a constituent of an idiom cannot be replaced by

other lexical items7. Finally, idioms sometimes contain unique lexical constituents

that make them constructionally idiosyncratic (Langlotz, 2006).8

Generally, the necessary feature that an idiom should display is that of

conventionality that may or may not be accompanied by other typical features such as

inflexibility, figuration, proverbiality, informality or affect (Langlotz, 2006; Croft and

Cruise, 2004). But what has been regarded as the primary feature of idioms is their

semantic non-compositionality which suggests that their meaning is not the

derivational sum of the meanings of their constituent parts9. Nunberg et al (1994)

uphold that some idioms can exhibit syntactic and semantic compositionality,

although their semantics is by definition conventional. In such instances of idiomatic

expressions, a correspondence may be said to exist between the literal and the

figurative interpretations. The degree of compositionality in such cases will be

determined by the degree of freedom or boundedness that the individual components

will present. According to this viewpoint, idioms like ―pull strings‖ or ―spill the

beans‖ are compositional while ―kick the bucket‖ is non-compositional

(Antonopoulou, 2009-2010). The caveat that should be borne in mind in this case,

however, is that compositionality does not imply transparency since ―pull strings‖

6 For example, the idiom ―pull somebody‘s leg‖ allows for some syntactic freedom. (Example 1: “He is

in the business of pulling legs”→Tense, lexicalization of the possessive, gerundial construction or

“What John did was pull his sister’s leg”→Pseudoclefts with Prenominalisation) (The examples have

been selectively chosen or adapted from Antonopoulou, 2009-2010). 7 For instance, in the idiom: ―trip the light fantastic‖, the lexical item ―trip‖ cannot be substituted by

―walk‖ or ―play‖ as in ―*walk/play the light fantastic‖ because this would result in incoherence. 8 Langlotz (2006) mentions for instance that the idiom ―blow the gaff‖ is constructionally idiosyncratic

because it includes the unique lexical item ―gaff‖. 9 ―The essential feature of an idiom is that its full meaning, and more generally the meaning of any

sentence containing an idiomatic stretch, is not the compositional function of the meaning of the

idiom‘s elementary parts.‖ (Katz and Postal, 1963: 275)


15

and ―kick the bucket‖ would probably be equally opaque to an uninformed language

user. Opacity and transparency refer respectively to whether a language user is able to

recover the rationale for the figuration involved in an idiom; something that may

depend on the user‘s powers of imagination as well. Based on the degree of

transparency that idioms may display they can be classified into encoding or decoding

idioms (Fillmore et al., 1988). The former are defined by Croft and Cruise (2004: 231)

as ―interpretable by the standard rules for interpreting sentences but their meaning is

conventional/arbitrary‖. The latter are said not to be decoded by the hearer in the

sense that the hearer cannot comprehend the meaning of the whole from the meaning

of the parts. The distinction between encoding and decoding idioms presents a certain

resemblance with the distinction between idiomatically combining expressions and

idiomatic phrases that Nunberg et al (1994) have put forth.

Fillmore et al. (1988) have also characterised idioms as grammatical or

extragrammatical; the difference between the two being that the latter cannot be

parsed by the general syntactic rules of grammar (Croft and Cruise, 2004). Typical

examples of extragrammatical idioms are the following: ―by and large‖, ―battle

royal‖, ―No can do‖ etc. Their third way of dividing idioms is into formal/schematic

and substantive idioms. The first are lexically open idioms in which ―at least a part of

the idiom can be filled by the usual range of expressions that are syntactically and

semantically appropriate for the slot‖ (ibid: 233). Whilst the second are lexically filled

idioms in which all elements are fixed. The last distinction advocated by Fillmore et al

(1988) is the distinction between idioms with a pragmatic point and idioms without a

pragmatic point. ―Good morning‖ or ―See you later‖ would be typical examples of

idioms with a pragmatic point since they are used in specific contexts. Such a

distinction of idioms according to Croft and Cruise (op. cit) draws on the ―information

structure‖ or ―discourse‖ component and contextual properties of idioms that cannot

be predicted.

A final classification of idioms that is worth mentioning is Fillmore et al‘s

(1988) categorisation according to the features of a) lexical regularity, b) syntactic

regularity and c) semantic regularity. On the basis of these parameters, Fillmore et al

(op.cit) reach the following classification:


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Unfamiliar pieces unfamiliarly arranged

Substantive: “kith and kin”

Schematic: “the + Comparative, the + Comparative”

Familiar pieces unfamiliarly arranged

Substantive: “all of a sudden”

Schematic: “n-th cousin n-times removed”

Familiar pieces familiarly arranged

Substantive: “pull someone’s leg”

Schematic: “watch me” (do something)10

Having referred to the different definitions of idioms and their main features

as put forth by various scholars, I will now focus on a categorisation of the main

approaches suggested for idioms. I wish to clarify, nonetheless, that this

categorisation is by no means exhaustive. It is simply indicative of the main

contributions (some of which were briefly mentioned before) made by certain scholars

and certain paradigms in the field of idiomaticity. Such a categorisation is expected to

assist us in understanding the shift that the cognitive approach has heralded and how

the entire approach can be juxtaposed to other theoretical frameworks.

1.3.3 Glimpses on the History of Idiomaticity11

Given the notoriously idiosyncratic and problem-generating nature of idioms,

one certainly feels the need to pay tribute to all those scholars that devoted their time,

hard work and research in attempting to define or analyse idioms. Therefore, in this

section I will try to offer ―glimpses‖ of the history of idiomaticity by dividing the

different theoretical accounts, proposals or models into the language paradigms they

belong to and the different time periods they were prominent in. For the sake of

clarity, the different views to idioms will also be presented schematically in

summarising figures.

The central debate around idioms may be said to "boil down to" whether

idioms can be attributed a motivated internal semantic structure that influences their

syntactic and lexical flexibility or whether they are completely arbitrary, irregular and

10

The examples have been selectively chosen or adapted from Antonopoulou (2009-2010). 11

This is also the original title of an article by Kavka and Zybert (2004).


17

exceptional cases of languages. Consequently, these two opposing viewpoints have

given rise to disparate strands in approaching idioms12

:

a) The traditional/orthodox view of idiom representation and processing: Idioms

should be viewed as essentially non-compositional, unanalysable and unmotivated

lexical units. Assigned the status of lexical units, they are therefore processed through

a direct lexical retrieval on the part of the language user.

b) The Compositional View: A significant number of idioms appears to exhibit an

internal, conceptually motivated semantic structure that renders them semantically

analysable. These kinds of idioms do not constitute semantic units and they can thus

be processed compositionally. Idiom variability corroborates and at the same time

reflects this internal semantic organisation of these constructions.

Here follows a brief presentation and classification of the different theories belonging

to each of the two strands respectively:

1) The Orthodox View: Idioms as Semantic Units (This view is best exemplified by

early Transformational Generative13

accounts of the linguistic status of idioms14

as

well as the psycholinguistic correlates of these approaches.)

A. TRANSFORMATIONAL GENERATIVE ACCOUNTS

Idioms as Non-compositional Phrases

The generative treatment of idioms is decisively influenced by their

characterisation as semantically non-compositional strings. The latter should be seen

in relation to the concept of compositionality or rather the principle of

compositionality attributed to Frege (1950). As O‘ Grady et al. (1997: 260) suggest,

the principle of compositionality suggests that ―the meaning of a sentence is

determined by the meaning of its component parts and the manner in which they are

arranged in syntactic structure.‖ Therefore, in accordance with such a principle, 12

This categorisation is based on Langlotz's categorisation (2006: 15) 13

Hereafter referred to as TG. 14

These transformational generative frameworks are influenced by two central principles: a) the

meaning of a grammatical construction is seen as determined by the principle of compositionality and

b) syntax is regarded as the central component of linguistic structure. Given these principles, idioms,

which are commonly seen as semantically and syntactically idiosyncratic by definition, present a

stumbling block to the generative paradigm (Langlotz, 2006).


18

idioms were regarded as linguistic expressions occupying an ―outlaw‖ position in

language.

Katz (1973: 358) for instance does not hesitate to state the following: ―Idioms are

the ‗exceptions to the rule‘: they do not get their meaning from the meaning of their

syntactic parts. If an idiom is treated as if it were compositional, false predictions are

made about its semantic properties and relations.‖

Based on this criterion of compositionality, early generativist idiom taxonomies

classified idioms into ―lexical‖ and ―phrase‖ idioms (Katz and Postal, 1963). The

former were thought to behave like ordinary lexical units and failed to present a

serious challenge to the generative theory. This did not hold true for the phrase idioms

such as shoot the breeze, spill the beans etc that exhibited a complex syntactic

structure that was patterned on a sentence level - although in a restricted manner15

-

and prevented them from just being listed in the lexicon. This classification urged

Katz and Postal (1963) to split the lexicon into a lexical-item part and a phrase-idiom

part. Weinreich capitalised on this division and he assigned idioms to the lexical

component of the grammar while he decided to rename the phrase-idiom part into

“idiom list” (Weinreich, 1969: 57). In an attempt to integrate this list into the general

generative framework, he devised a matching procedure that he named ―the idiom

comparison rule‖. By doing that, he simply stressed even more the semantic

irregularity of idioms that, as postulated by the orthodox view, relegates them to the

position of irregular semantic units.

B. THE PSYCHOLINGUISTIC CORRELATES OF THE ORTHODOX

VIEW

The Direct Look-up Models

The orthodox view to idioms as semantically non-compositional, complex phrases

is manifest in psycholinguistic models that treat idioms as word-like lexical units to

model idiom comprehension processes. That is why Glucksberg (1993: 4) names

these models ―direct look-up models‖. Within these models, Bobrow and Bells‘

(1973) psycholinguistic idiom-list hypothesis deserves special reference. According to

15

Fraser (1970) named this restricted syntactic manipulation frozenness while Weinreich (1972) opted

for the term transformational deficiency.


19

this hypothesis, idioms are first interpreted literally and if this literal interpretation

does not contradict the context wherein the idiomatic string is found, then the

comprehension process of the idiom is said to be completed successfully. In case,

however, the literal interpretation is found to be ―contextually defective‖, the

idiomatic meaning is activated and processed by retrieving it from the mentally

represented idiom-list through direct look-up. Nonetheless, as Ortony et al. (1978)

mention, psycholinguistic time experiments were quick in depriving this theory of its

accolades as they proved that potentially ambiguous idioms were generally processed

faster when used idiomatically, whilst literal ones seemed to decelerate the processing

speed. 16

In other words, psycholinguistic measurements of processing indicated that

the figurative conception of idioms precedes the literal one. By extension this suggests

that idioms are in fact directly retrieved from memory before any literal

comprehension is both attempted and completed. These findings helped Gibbs (1980,

1985, 1986) in buttressing his direct-access theory.

Although the literal-first and the figurative-first models of idiom

comprehension and processing differ in their starting points significantly, in essence

they still share the same basic view as regards the mental status of idioms. They both

espouse the premise that idioms are semantic units and consequently they must be

attributed the psycholinguistic status of lexical items.

The configuration hypothesis offers a refined alternative to these direct-look

up models, without, however, adopting the semantic description to idioms (Cacciari

and Tabossi, 1988; Tabossi and Zardon, 1993, 1995). It claims that idioms constitute

complex arrangements of single words and are not stored as simple form-meaning

associations. The basic postulate of this model is that a language user will initiate

idiom processing only when the idiom at hand will be recognized as a configuration

that is to say a linguistic unit that is composed of simpler lexical elements. The trigger

that will signal the commencement of the processing according to this theory is called

―key‖. Every idiom is supposed to contain one or more such lexical ―keys‖ upon the

hearing of which, a hearer will evoke the idiomatic configuration as a whole and as a

result the idiomatic meaning of the expression will be activated. Before the hearing of

the key, the hearer attempts to interpret the idiomatic string according to its literal

16

(Swiney and Cutler, 1979; Estill and Kemper, 1982; Glass, 1983; Gibbs and Gonzales, 1985,

Schweigert, 1992; Mcglone et al., 1994).


20

meaning. Yet, as soon as the key is recognized, the idiomatic meaning can be

activated. It is only rational therefore that what plays a decisive role is the position of

the key that will signal the switch from the literal to metaphorical meaning17

. A final

point that should be mentioned in relation to this model is that it claims that the literal

meaning is only pushed to the ground so that the idiomatic meaning will become more

prevalent, but it is not suppressed. It is exactly this point that allows us to conclude

that in reality the configuration hypothesis occupies an intermediary position in-

between the literal-first and the figurative-first hypothesis (Langlotz, 2006).

So, schematically the Orthodox/Traditional view seems to be divided into the

following branches:

Figure 1: The main branches of the orthodox/traditional approach to idioms.

2) The Compositional View

Scholars like Nunberg (1978), Wasow et al (1983) and Gazdar et al (1985)

vehemently attack and criticise the generative conception of idioms as non-

compositional semantic units and offer an alternative conception which gives credit to

the semantic characterization of idiomaticity.

17

For example, in the proverbial idiom ―When in Rome do as the Romans do”, as soon as someone

hears the word ―Rome‖, s/he will be able to evoke the idiom. This is so because the word ―Rome‖

functions as the key of this idiomatic configuration.


21

Nunberg et al‘s critique addresses mainly the syntactic arguments of the

generative paradigm that provide support to the semantic-unity view. To this end,

these scholars provide a more precise description of idiom semantics refusing to

accept the view of idioms as non-compositional semantic units on the grounds of its

being extremely simplistic. Their counterproposal is a different definition of

compositionality which has to do with ―whether a native speaker would recover the

sense of an idiom on hearing it in an ‗uninformative context‘‖ (Nunberg et

al.1994:495). Their findings point out that when an idiom appears in a usage-context,

then it is usually fully understandable. On the basis of these findings, Nunberg et al

refuse the simplistic equation of the semantic structure of idioms with bottom-up non-

compositionality that was upheld by the generative models. They therefore argue in

favour of a top-down analysability and in favour of semantically compositional

idioms. In fact, they use the term ―idiomatically combining expressions‖ to refer to

semantically compositional idiom. They claim that ―…to say that an idiom is an

idiomatically combining expression is to say that the conventional mapping from

literal to idiomatic interpretation is homomorphic with respect to certain properties of

the interpretation of the idiom‘s components‖(Nunberg et al 1994: 496). Of course,

they stress that not all idioms can be described as idiomatically combining

expressions and they place these idioms in the category of what they call idiomatic

phrases.

In a nutshell, Nunberg et al‘s theoretical framework rejects the semantic unity

view proposed by generative accounts. Introducing thus the division between

semantically compositional idiomatically-combining expressions (idioms where parts

of the idiomatic meaning can be put in correspondence with parts of the literal

meaning e.g. ―answer the door‖) and semantically non-compositional idiomatic-

phrases (no correspondences can be established in these idioms e.g. ―shoot the

breeze‖), they were able to account for the syntactic variability that such constructions

exhibit.

The compositional view did not manage to escape criticism and its suggestions

have been disputed by a number of scholars (Schenk, 1995; Nicolas, 1995; Abeille,

1995 etc).


22

The psycholinguistic correlates of the compositional view

After Nunberg‘s (1978) classification of idioms, Gibbs and Nayak (1989) put forward

their decomposition hypothesis. Following the compositional view of idioms, the

decomposition hypothesis argues that a significant number of idioms ―are

semantically decomposable or analyzable with the specific meanings of their parts

contributing independently to their overall figurative meanings‖ (Langlotz, 2006: 36).

Indeed, as certain experiments of comprehension speed suggest, language users try to

subject idioms to a compositional analysis while attempting to understand them and

they generally tend to take more time when dealing with non-decomposable idiomatic

expressions, whilst decomposable idioms seem to be processed more rapidly because

they function as linguistic units that can be produced and comprehended in terms of

semantic (de)composition.

So, in summation, the branches of the Compositional View may be

schematically presented as follows:

Figure 2: The main branches of the compositional view.

Before bringing this section to an end, let me clarify that although the

decomposition hypothesis seems to be quite close to the configuration hypothesis,

there is a marked difference between the two. The former focuses on the possibility

of a structured relationship between the overall idiomatic meaning and the literal

meaning of their constituents, while the latter underscores the great importance

assigned to the meaning of the constituents for idiom comprehension processes. The

The Compositional View

Division between: Semantically

Compositional Idiomatic

Expressions and Semantically Non-

Compositional Idiomatic

Expressions

Psycholinguistic Correlates of the

Compositional View

The Decomposition

Hypothesis


23

two models, therefore, choose to highlight two alternative types of compositionality,

namely the literal compositionality (idioms as word configurations) and figurative-

literal decomposition (idioms constituting analysable linguistic strings).

Schematically, thus, the concept of compositionality within these two models is

treated as Figure 3 shows:

Figure 3: Two different notions of compositionality

Finally, there is also a hybrid view of idiom processing which was endorsed by

proponents of simultaneous processing models (Gibbs, 1990; Schweigert, 1992). This

view suggests that the literal and the figurative interpretation of an idiom are

processed in tandem. Another more sophisticated version of this view, attempting to

combine the decomposition and the configuration hypothesis, was put forth by Titone

and Connine (1999) who argue that both the compositional and the non-compositional

views of idioms are problematic when seen in isolation. Hence, mixing them up and

producing a hybrid approach to idiom representation and processing that views idioms

as stored both in the form of unitary words and in the form of compositional word

sequences seemed ideal to them.

Having entertained these ―glimpses‖ in the history of idiomaticity, one might still be

wondering what else another theory of idioms could add, change, or improve. This is

exactly where the cognitive approach to idioms comes to the fore. All theories

delineated above have attempted to explain how idioms are processed or understood

IDIOM

COMPOSITIONALITY

The Configuration

Hypothesis: idioms as

word configurations

The Decomposition

Hypothesis: idioms as

analysable linguistic

strings


24

in rather mechanistic ways considering idioms as more or less inconvenient and

uncomfortable cases for any theoretical framework of language, that have to be

accommodated nonetheless. Also, none of these theories investigated idioms through

the perspective of teaching with the view of informing teaching practices and

replacing the rote learning typically associated with idioms with a more convenient

teaching. This might be the case because none of these theories saw much else in

idioms apart from syntactic or semantic irregularities that were processed figuratively-

first, literally-first, or simultaneously.

This is one of the major blind spots that a cognitive approach to idioms can

address by introducing concepts like motivation, which will distinguish it from other

approaches that overlook the fact that a great number of idioms is indeed conceptually

motivated. In the following section, I will thus focus on a) what a cognitive approach

to idioms actually is and b) how it stands out from the other models by allowing a

pedagogical orientation to idiom teaching.


25

CHAPTER 2

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO IDIOMS

2.1. The Origin of the Cognitive Enterprise

Cognitive Linguistics is a relatively recent model of linguistic thought and

practice concerned with the interrelationship between the human language, the mind

and the socio-physical experience. It initially emerged in the 1970s as a direct result

of the dissatisfaction with formal approaches to language that were dominant at that

time. With proponents like Fillmore (1988), Lakoff and Thompson (1975), Lagnacker

(1987) or Rosch (1975), Cognitive Linguistics has had a longstanding influence and

grew out to be an influencing model of linguistic thought in the early 1990s. Since

then, there has been an escalating proliferation of research towards its direction all

over the world. It was this growing interest that led in 1989 to the foundation of the

International Cognitive Linguistics Association and heralded the official birth of the

Cognitive Linguistic model (Evans et al, 2006).

The Cognitive Linguistics enterprise may be said to be roughly divided into

two main branches, namely the Cognitive Semantics and the Cognitive Approaches to

Grammar characterised by two fundamental commitments; the generalisation

commitment and the cognitive commitment (Lakoff, 1990).

2.1.1 The Main Tenets of the Cognitive Enterprise

The generalisation commitment refers to the cognitive linguists‘ preoccupation

with generalising their principles so that all aspects of language can be accounted for.

In contrast to this mode of theorising, other models, falling within the paradigm of

formal linguistics mainly, (Chomsky 1965, 1981, 1995) preferred the segmentation

and modularisation of the language faculty into distinct areas (e.g. phonology,

semantics etc.). In lieu of such a modular approach, Cognitive Linguistics, drawing on

its generalisation commitment, seeks to investigate how the various aspects of

language actually emerge from a common set of human cognitive abilities.

The cognitive commitment on the other hand represents a commitment to

characterising the general principles of language in accordance with what is known

about the mind and brain. It is this commitment that highlights both the cognitive (as


26

its name suggests) and the interdisciplinary dimension of this model. In other words,

the cognitive commitment represents the view that the principles of linguistic

structure should reflect what is known about human cognition from the other

cognitive and brain sciences, especially psychology, cognitive neuroscience, artificial

intelligence, and philosophy. Consequently, all the theoretical models within the

framework of Cognitive Linguistics avoid including structures or processes that

violate known properties of the human cognitive system.

2.1.2 The Main Branches of the Cognitive Linguistics Model

Having referred briefly to the two main commitments of the Cognitive

Linguistics model, let me now turn to the two main branches of this model starting

with cognitive semantics. Cognitive semantics is mainly concerned with exploring the

interrelationship between experience, the conceptual system and the semantic

structure encoded by language. More specifically, scholars working within cognitive

semantics investigate knowledge representation (conceptual structure) and meaning

construction (conceptualisation) (Evans et al, 2006). To this end, they are using

language as the ―lens‖ through which cognitive phenomena could be investigated.

Cognitive semantics has interestingly managed to establish itself as an alternative

philosophical trend, designated best by the name experiential realism that adopts a

stance towards language as being a part of general cognition (Marmaridou 2000). In

essence, this means, as Marmaridou (ibid: 5) has stated, that cognitive semantics

―aims to explain how language is systematically grounded in human condition‖ by

seeing language not as ―a representation of objectively existing reality, but of reality

as it is perceived and experienced by human beings‖ (ibid: 5). The goal of cognitive

approaches to grammar is to model the language system (i.e. the mental grammar)

rather than the nature of mind per se by taking into consideration the findings of

cognitive semantics. This branch is mainly interested in studying the cognitive

principles that give rise to linguistic organisation and in providing a broad-ranging

inventory of the units of language (from morphemes to words, idioms and phrasal

patterns) seeking accounts of their structure, compositional possibilities and relations.

The central postulate of this branch is that the basic unit of language is a form-

meaning pairing known as a symbolic assembly, or a construction (Fillmore et al.,

1988; Kay and Fillmore, 1998; Goldberg 1995, 2003). Thus, schematically, the main

tenets and branches of Cognitive Linguistics may be presented as follows:


27

Figure 4: A schematic representation of the main tenets and branches of the cognitive linguistic model.

Hoping that this rather sketchy outline of Cognitive Linguistics has

adequately paved the way for what is to follow in this dissertation, I would like to

engage now in a presentation of the cognitive theory of metaphor (henceforth referred

to as CTM) that has provided the main theoretical underpinnings for the analysis of

idioms within the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm. But apart from the fact that CTM

with its inspirational insights has shed new light into idiom comprehension, it has also

provided us with valuable contributions from a teaching-pedagogical perspective as it

has sparked off a completely new approach to the teaching of idioms within EFL

contexts.

2.2. The Cognitive Approach to Metaphor and its Significance to Idioms

As it has been noted, the basic hypothesis entertained in this dissertation is that

a large number of idioms can be attributed a figurative semantic structure that is

motivated and analysable. That is to say that idioms cannot be described as simple,

arbitrary, word-like lexical units that can be accounted for in terms of an autonomous

lexical representation or a direct lexical retrieval. Rather, idioms appear to present

Cognitive Linguistics

Two Main Commitments

The Generalisation Commitment: All aspects

of language should be accounted for; no modularisation.

The Cognitive Commitment: The general

principles of language should be in accordance

with what is known about the human mind and brain.

Two Main Branches

Cognitive Semantics: studies the

interrelationship between experience, the conceptual system and the semantic

structure.

Cognitive Approaches to Grammar: provide a broad

ranging inventory of the units of language.


28

systematicity, network interconnections, as well as a coherently-shaped and motivated

semantics.

The notion of motivation is perhaps what should immediately attract our

attention as regards the treatment of idioms within the cognitive linguistics paradigm.

Motivation as Langlotz (2006: 45) states ―refers to a speaker‘s ability to make sense

of an idiomatic expression by reactivating or remotivating their figurativity, i.e. to

understand why the idiom has the idiomatic meaning it has with a view to its literal

meaning‖. It is this concept of motivation that primarily distinguishes this model from

others that relegated idioms to the position of mere items of the lexicon that were

completely independent of any conceptual system. Swimming against the tide and

striving to prove that idioms are far from arbitrary, cognitive linguists and among

them Lakoff and Johnson (1980) were the first to stress the concept of idiom

motivation on the basis of conceptual metaphors. In their seminal book Metaphors We

Live By, they define metaphor as a conceptual mechanism with the help of which one

relatively concrete experiential domain (called Source Domain) is partially mapped

onto a different relatively abstract experiential domain (called Target Domain), so that

the second is understood in terms of the first one. Consequently, within the framework

of Cognitive Linguistics, metaphors are seen as properties of the human mind or

rather as cognitive phenomena that simply surface in language through different

linguistic or idiomatic expressions. Up until then, however, metaphors were thought

of as imaginative and creative linguistic expressions used to enhance poetry, literary

texts or rhetorical language. So, it was with the advent of the cognitive approach to

language that metaphors started to be recognised as linguistic, conceptual, neural,

bodily, and social all at the same time, in the same vein that idioms are or at least can

be, as will be subsequently shown.

This by extension means, that the starting point of idioms is the conceptual

network in language users‘ minds rather than the realm of language. The direct

repercussion of this position is that a significant number of idioms are motivated,

deeply entrenched in our minds, far from isolated, and as a matter of fact well

systematised in the networks of conceptual metaphors that generate them in the first

place. Lagnacker (1987: 25), will even state about idioms that: ―To regard an idiom as

opaque or as primarily a fixed phrase is [...] simplistic. It is more accurately seen as a


29

complex of semantic and symbolic relationships that have become conventionalized

and have coalesced into an established configuration‖.

On the basis of this analysis, Cognitive Linguistics endorsed a view of idioms

as products of our conceptual system, not as expressions that have a certain meaning

on the basis of their constituent parts. Idiomatic meaning was thus defined as

essentially conceptual in nature, based on the correspondences between the two

domains of experience involved in conceptual metaphors. But how exactly can

conceptual metaphors provide semantic motivation for the occurrence of particular

words in idioms?

To answer this question let me very briefly comment on a few rudimentary

concepts about metaphors. With relation to their cognitive function, conceptual

metaphors have been divided into three types: a) structural metaphors, b) ontological

metaphors and c) orientational metaphors (Kövecses, 2002: 32-33). Briefly,

structural metaphors are a way of understanding a typically abstract concept in terms

of another typically concrete concept. An orientational metaphor has to do with

concepts that are spatially related to each other through an upward-downward, inside-

outside orientation18

etc. Finally, the function of ontological metaphors is to represent

an abstraction, such as an activity, emotion, or idea as something concrete, by

assigning it a specific status like the status of an object, substance, or container etc.

All of these types are pertinent to my discussion of idioms since they all have the

potential to give rise to idiomatic expressions as research has shown. For instance, the

idioms ―to be feeling down‖ and ―to be in high spirits‖ - one being the exact opposite

of the other -seem to be motivated by the orientational metaphors HAPPY IS UP and

SAD IS DOWN.

In fact, Kövecses and Szabό (1996) provide a number of different examples of

idiomatic expressions motivated by conceptual metaphors or other cognitive

mechanisms. 19

Exploiting the productivity of the target domain of emotions – the

perhaps par excellence abstract domain that requires the import of structure from a

concrete one- they engage in analysing how idioms can actually prove to be

18

The spatial dimensions involved in orientational metaphors are the following: up or down , in or out,

front or back, on or off , deep or shallow , central or peripheral. 19

It has to be mentioned that Kövecses and Szabό (1996) state that apart from conceptual metaphors,

the cognitive mechanisms of metonymy and conventional knowledge are also at work in the motivation

of idioms.


30

cognitively motivated. To mention but a few, they examine how the conceptual

metaphor ANGER IS FIRE (or its second version ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A

CONTAINER) gives rise to the following idiomatic expressions:

After the row, he was spitting fire.

Smoke was coming out of his ears.

He is smoldering with anger.

She was fuming.

Boy, am I burned up! Etc

By this and similar groupings of idiomatic expressions on the basis of

metaphors or other cognitive mechanisms, they provide evidence for what Langlotz

(2006: 135) will quite aptly state ten years later: “idioms constitute conceptual

routines that are evoked to group a target-scene relative to an alternative source-

scene”.

Bringing this section to a close, I will now focus on the achievements of the

Cognitive Linguistics enterprise that set it apart from other models of thought and that

are also of great interest to us in relation to the teaching of idioms.

2.3. Cognitive Model: Making a Difference

The final section of this chapter will be devoted to reviewing the most

significant achievements of the cognitive model that in one way or another have also

had considerable influences on the treatment of idioms within the cognitive paradigm.

If one was to prepare a brief but comprehensive account of these, s/he should ideally

include the following:

An integrated view of language and thought (this is fairly evident by the fact

that Cognitive Linguistics probes into the interrelationship of language and

thought and seeks to provide cognitive evidence for what in the past has been

viewed as purely linguistic).

Integration of formalist and functionalist concerns (Cognitive Linguistics is

without doubt functionalist in spirit since it is interested in exploring the

social and communicative functions of situated language use. But it also


31

espouses formalist concerns as it is interested in developing adequate

accounts of linguistic phenomena by modeling the representation of the

knowledge of language in the human mind (Evans et al, 2006).

Providing motivation and advocating systematicity for what other paradigms

have dismissed as arbitrary. (Idioms and by extension metaphors, are the par

excellence candidates in this case. Going against the current of the dominant

linguistic view, cognitive linguists advocated the existence of motivation and

systematicity that opposed the concept of arbitrariness typically assigned to

idioms.)

The last point of motivation will be shown to be significant for the teaching of

idioms to L2 learners as I shall explain promptly.


32

CHAPTER 3: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS APPROACH TO TEACHING

IDIOMS IN AN EFL CONTEXT

3.1. Cognitive Linguistics Going Applied…

So far, my intention has been to provide a broad but - hopefully- adequate

overview of the different approaches to idiomaticity followed by an emphasis on the

cognitive approach to idioms that has triggered this master thesis. Now, however, my

focus will be shifted to the ultimate goal of this dissertation, namely the connection of

EFL didactics with a Cognitive Linguistics approach to idioms. This is so because

idioms have been regarded as a thorny issue in foreign language teaching contexts.

Being considered as unsystematic parts of the lexicon (Sornig, 1988), idioms have

posed problems not only in relation to teaching but also in relation to materials'

design. As Ponterotto (1994) has stated, most EFL textbooks skirt the issue of

figurativeness involved in idioms and present them as exceptions to the rule to be

memorised and used only in certain - usually informal only - contexts.

Treating idiomaticity, however, in a CL -inspired way has provided evidence

to the contrary; not only in relation to the teaching of idioms but also in relation to

students' effective comprehension of idioms and their maximised retention in learners‘

memory (Kövecses, 2002). Although further research and empirical tests-particularly

from the field of EFL- are always more than welcome and can shed more light in this

direction, the experiments conducted by cognitive linguists are overall encouraging

towards a CL-based idiom instruction in EFL contexts (Kövecses and Szabό, 1996;

Stahl, 1999; Irujo, 1984; Blachowicz and Fisher, 1996, Bromley, 1984; Boers, 1999,

2000a, 2000b; Lazar, 1996; Littlemore, 2001a). Evidently, there is an ongoing process

of thinking and rethinking the ways in which a cognitive model could be applied in

the teaching of idioms as well as a process of empirically testing its theoretically-

argued merits, e.g. the long-lasting memory storage of idioms when presented in a

CL-based framework.

The crucial question that arises from all the above is in what respect exactly

Cognitive Linguistics can be related to EFL didactics generally and to idioms‘

instruction specifically. Admittedly, the research conducted on the pedagogical

significance and implications of Cognitive Linguistics in EFL contexts is rather

limited. So, to answer the above question, I should probably start by referring to the


33

concept of metaphoric competence that lies in the heart of the cognitive approach to

idioms and how that relates to the different cognitive styles and strategies that learners

might exhibit. For as most EFL literature has indicated, competencies, strategies and

learning or cognitive styles are of paramount importance for effective teaching and

learning in general. Therefore, my points of focus illustrating the profound

relationship between EFL methodological matters and Cognitive Linguistics will be

the following:

Communicative competence and the component of metaphoric

competence

Learning strategies: cognitive and metacognitive strategies and

motivation

Learning and cognitive styles of learners

3.1.1 Metaphoric Competence and EFL Methodology

Communicative competence, a term first coined by the American sociolinguist

Dell Hymes (1972), is a key notion in EFL methodology that postulates that effective

communication in a second language will be the result of a speaker‘s ability to use

language appropriately in a given situational context. Such a competence is said to

entail therefore knowledge of both the rules of a language as a code and the rules of

use of the code as established within social groups. This initial, revolutionary at its

time, discussion about communicative competence in the field of Applied Linguistics

was taken up by a number of scholars, among them Canale and Swain (1980) and

more recently Bachman (1990: 81-100)20

. It is the latter‘s model of competencies that

will attract our attention since Bachman was quick to mention that the notion of

communicative competence should reserve a special place among the rest of its

components for the interpretation of figurative language that was listed under the

sociolinguistic component of the communicative competence. This kind of

competence was named by Danesi (1986: 3) metaphoric competence.

In relation to metaphoric competence, Danesi stated that ―the true indication

that a learner has achieved mastery in a foreign language is his/her ability to

20

For a schematic representation of Bachman‘s model of communicative competence, please see

Appendix of this work on p.75.


34

metaphorise21

‖. Furthermore, he concluded that figurative knowledge should be at the

heart of any learning material aiming at developing learners‘ communicative

proficiency and competence (Danesi, 1986: 9, 1992: 193). Littlemore (2001b) and

Littlemore and Low (2006: 279) also noted that ―effective communication in a second

language involves the ability to use metaphors‖; metaphor being, of course, as

explained above, the central cognitive mechanism behind the motivation of a large

number of idioms. Bearing in mind that communicative competence is a sine qua non

that functions as the main driving force of almost all contemporary EFL

methodological frameworks, recognising metaphoric competence as a component of

communicative competence serves to emphasise that there is yet another link among

EFL didactics, Cognitive Linguistics, and the teaching of idiomaticity and figurative

language in particular.

3.1.2 Learning Strategies and EFL Methodology

One of the main objectives of education today is to assist learners in

becoming independent and autonomous. Learners‘ autonomy in learning is shaped by

the cognitive and metacognitive strategies they use. So, let me start by defining

strategies and referring to one way of classifying them.

Although there seems to be no consensus on an exact definition of strategies

or on their exact number, they should generally be understood as what helps students

transform the comprehensible input (what the teacher (or environment) generally

sends out) provided into comprehensible intake (what the student actually takes in and

stores after deep processing). An interesting definition of strategies, although not

agreed upon by all experts, seems to be the following one that views strategies as:

―any set of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage,

retrieval and use of information, … that is, what learners do to learn and do to regulate their learning‖

(Rubin, 1987: 19 as cited in Hedge, 2000: 77).

So, strategies have been divided by scholars into different kinds of taxonomies

but the taxonomy that will be of interest to this thesis is the one put forth by Oxford

and Ehrman (1990)22

. According to them, strategies might or might not be conscious

steps or behaviours adopted by learners that are generally divided into two broad

21

My emphasis. 22

Please, see Appendix pages 76-77.


35

categories; the direct and the indirect strategies. Direct strategies are those behaviours

involving direct use of language and they include three main subtypes of strategies,

namely a) the memory strategies (for storing information in memory and retrieving it),

b) the cognitive strategies (for manipulating language for both meaning reception and

meaning production purposes) and c) the compensation strategies for overcoming

limitations in learners‘ existing knowledge. Indirect strategies, in their turn, support

language learning although they do not directly involve use of the language per se;

they rather deal with organising the language learning process (Oxford and Ehrman,

1990). Indirect strategies include a) the metacognitive strategies (used for organising

and evaluating learning)23

, b) the affective strategies (for managing emotions and

attitudes involved in the learning process) and c) the social strategies (that are related

to learning with others). My emphasis in this paper on tasks and materials based on a

cognitive linguistic approach to idioms has interestingly been found to relate to the

development of learners‘ strategic action and in particular to the development of the

cognitive and metacognitive strategies. These two include basic but also complex sub-

strategies for information processing like rehearsal, elaboration, organisation,

deductive reasoning and critical thinking (cognitive strategies)24

or planning,

monitoring and regulating that assist learners in the control and regulation of

cognition (metacognitive strategies) (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia and McKeachie, 1991).

Boers (2004) was among the first to refer to the enhancement of strategies as

a result of learners‘ exposure to the cognitive approach to idioms. Without a doubt,

such a correlation between the cognitive approach to idioms and the development of

strategic action brings to the surface another under-researched area of interconnection

between the Cognitive Linguistics and central notions of EFL literature. By

introducing learners to the cognitive approach to idioms, we are providing them with

one more useful cognitive strategy for organising the idiomatic expressions presented

to them by a) tracing them back to the metaphors that motivated them and b) by

grouping idioms under certain conceptual metaphors. Grouping idioms (Skoufaki, 23

Metacognition and metacognitive strategies in general are claimed to be the key to self-regulated, as

autonomous learning according to research, seems to be based on the strategic action, metacognition

and learner motivation present in learners (e.g. Bin, 2008; Boekaerts, 1999; Moschner, 2007; Winne

and Perry, 2000). 24

As Schmeck, Geisler-Brenstein and Cercy (1991) have remarked ―cognitive strategies include both

practice and what can be called ‗deep processing‘ which involves a constant analysis, synthesis, and a

continuous development and adjustment of schemata.‖


36

2008) and trying to make informed guesses about their meaning undoubtedly requires

cognitive effort and learners‘ problem-solving skills (Boers, 2004). Thus, greater

cognitive processing is requested on the part of the learner and by extension activation

of direct and indirect strategies as defined and classified by Oxford and Ehrman

(1990)25

. Activating strategies might also facilitate the easier retrieval of idioms and

maximise the mnemonic benefits of deep processing. What is also worth commenting

on is that as mentioned, strategic action aims at instilling in learners the values and

principles of autonomous, self-directed learning that they will resort to on their own

without the educator‘s prodding26

. Consequently, if learners are familiarised with the

cognitive mechanism of metaphor that motivates certain idioms, then they might be

able to resort to this deep processing (which actually depends on cognitive strategy as

I explained) again when presented with new idioms.

Lastly, this may also increase their motivation in their EFL studies in general

as it will decrease significantly the heavy memorisation demands that learners have

been accustomed to by the traditional model to idioms‘ teaching. As we shall see,

however, in the last section devoted to the desiderata of a unified research perspective

between CL and EFL research, this kind of reasoning needs to be buttressed and

supported by empirical evidence which has not been provided yet.

3.1.3. Cognitive and Learning Styles in EFL Methodology

Let me now focus on the importance of employing Cognitive Linguistics when

teaching idioms through the lens of cognitive and learning styles as established and

analysed in the pertinent EFL literature. Learning style is a broad term covering

different patterns of mental functioning and dealing with new information that

learners exhibit (Lawrence, 1984). When analysed from a cognition-centred

approach27

, learning styles are renamed into cognitive styles that refer to the ways in

which individuals acquire knowledge (cognition) and process information

(conceptualisation). It was Witkin et al. (1962), and Witkin and Goodenough (1977)

25

Please, see Appendix p.76-77 for an analysis of the taxonomy proposed by Ehrman and Oxford

(1990). 26

―Students are self-regulated to the degree that they are metacognitively, motivationally and

behaviourally active participants in their own learning process‖ (Zimmerman, 2001: 5). 27

"There are three distinct traditions of style-based work in psychology: a) the cognition-centred

approach, b) the personality-centred approach, and c) the activity-centred approach." (Grigerenko and

Sterberg, 1995: 207). For the purposes of our discussion, I will focus on the cognition-centred approach

that focuses upon cognitive and perceptual functioning.


37

who introduced the term ―cognitive style‖ in an attempt to describe the different,

consistent stylistic preferences that individuals exhibit when organising stimuli and

constructing meaning. Cognitive styles are in simple words related to mental

behaviours that individuals apply habitually when they engage in solving problems or

dealing with demanding tasks. By and large, they reflect the stable and persistent

personality dimension of individuals that influences greatly their attitudes, values and

mode of social interaction (Uto, 1994). Naturally, however, not everyone fits neatly in

one or another of these styles to the exclusion of the other, parallel styles. On the

contrary, learners seem to partake to a lesser or greater extent of a number of different

styles but they tend to manifest rather consistent cognitive styles across different tasks

and over long periods of time (Guilford, 1967; Pask, 1988).

As Boers and Littlemore (2000) mention, psychologists have identified –and

continue to identify- a number of cognitive styles28

(e.g. Bever, 1975; Holyoak, 1984;

Schmeck, 1988; Witkin and Goodenough, 1977, 1981). This means that there are

different taxonomies and different models put forth. Interestingly enough, all of them

tend to agree upon a representation of cognitive styles in terms of continua (Moran,

1991). I am only en passant referring to the general framework of cognitive and

learning styles that in the EFL literature occupies a prevalent position in order to

emphasise two dominant continua of cognitive styles that are particularly interesting

in relation to the cognitive linguistic approach to idioms. As Riding and Cheema

(1991) have quite persuasively argued, there are two principal, superordinate

cognitive style continua, namely the analytic/holistic continuum and the

verbaliser/imager continuum.

The analytic/holistic cognitive style continuum (Bever, 1975; Brumby, 1982;

Kirby, 1988) has been found to relate to a learner‘s tendency to process information

either as separate, segmented parts or as large integrated chunks in an undividable

whole. This in essence means that a learner favouring a holistic cognitive style, once

confronted with a particular task, will study the whole picture. On the other hand, a

learner exhibiting an analytic cognitive style will prefer to focus on the separate parts

of the problem (cf. Oxford and Anderson, 1995: 204). The verbaliser/imager

28

Please, see Appendix pages 78-79 for more information on learning styles.


38

continuum refers to a subject‘s preference of thinking either in words or in pictures

(e.g. Paivio and Harshman 1983).

According to Boer‘s and Littlemore‘s (2000) experiment, these two continua

appear to have a profound effect on the way individuals process metaphors and most

importantly idiomatic or figurative language in general. The results of the experiment

conducted indicated that the analytic participants were best at tracing the conceptual

metaphor motivating an idiomatic expression or a metaphor per se back to its source

domain. They were also able to distinguish quite clearly the literal from the figurative

use of language.

Holistic participants had greater difficulty in identifying the metaphor and by

extension the source domain of the specific metaphor motivating the idiomatic

expression in question. In fact, they were likely to blend their conception of different

domains without making a clear-cut distinction between the figurative and the literal

language employed in the experiment.

Finally, with reference to the imager/verbaliser continuum, the findings

indicated that imagers were more likely to explain the metaphors motivating the

figurative language presented by referring to concrete scenes, unlike verbalisers who

faced greater difficulties. These findings are important for the EFL teacher seeking to

employ the cognitive linguistic approach to idioms in different ways. For instance, the

teaching/learning materials designed should try to accommodate these different

cognitive styles by bearing in mind that analytic and imager learners might be more

―susceptible‖ to this method of instruction than others.

What I would like to stress by bringing this brief reference to learning styles to

a close is that perhaps investigating Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model and his

analysis of learning styles in his seminal book Learning Styles Inventory (1976) might

also be interesting for exploring the correlations between the cognitive linguistic

approach to idioms and learning styles. Kolb's learning styles' theory suggests that

there is a four-stage learning cycle composed of four distinct learning styles in which

"immediate or concrete experiences" provide "a basis for observation or reflection"

(Kolb, 1984). These observations are then assimilated and distilled into "abstract

concepts" producing new implications which can be actively tested, resulting perhaps

in new experiences. Kolb's learning styles are named Diverging, Assimilating,


39

Converging and Accommodative / Accommodating respectively. If what Kolb

suggests about learning holds true, then a learner goes through a spiral process in

learning, "touching upon all the bases" of the circle before actually learning

something.29

So, schematically, this circle could take the following shape:

Figure 5: Kolb's experiential learning cycle and the main tenets of his theory.

Source: http://www.leopard-learning.com/kolb.html (Accessed 10/05/2011)

To the best of my knowledge, there has been no study exploring the potential

relationships between this model and the cognitive approach to idioms, despite the

fact that they seem to have a lot in common (e.g. the concrete experiential domain as

opposed to the abstract one etc.). Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate

whether the converging learning style that Kolb mentions in his theory as being

related to abstract conceptualisation is more dominant in learners that do well in the

cognitive approach to idioms. Interesting and plausible as this potential might sound,

further research is called for before any safe conclusion can be reached.

3.2. From Theory to Practice

In an attempt to connect theory with practice, this dissertation will now shift to

analysing the pedagogical implications of a cognitive linguistic approach to idioms

that has not been particularly salient in the EFL literature. Thus, in this thesis I will try

to deal with this aspect of the cognitive linguistic approach by providing practical

29

For more schematic representations of Kolb's theory on learning styles, please see Appendix page 79.

http://www.leopard-learning.com/kolb.html


40

ideas, suggestions and most importantly CL-inspired activities targeting idiom

teaching placed within the framework of a complete lesson plan.

Exploiting the main advantage of the CL approach, i.e. bringing to light the

hidden relationships that are woven among conceptual metaphors and idioms, I will

proceed to designing a lesson plan addressed to upper-intermediate adult learners of

English. The lesson plan will aim at teaching idioms related to the feeling of anger

grounded in the general conceptual metaphor ANGER IS HEAT, that is further

subdivided into two specific versions: a)ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER and

b) ANGER IS FIRE.

Yet, before proceeding to the construction of the lesson plan, there are a

number of parameters that have to be analysed in relation to the methodology

followed. More specifically, in the following section, I will attempt to provide

answers to the following questions:

What level should learners involved in a lesson adopting a CL approach to

idioms' instruction exhibit? Is there a significant difference among beginner

levels, intermediate or advanced ones?

Is the age of learners a significant parameter to be taken into account when

constructing CL-inspired activities aiming at teaching idioms? And if so,

which age spectrum appears to be more suitable for this kind of instruction and

why?

Two further questions that one has to pose before engaging in designing materials that

promote a CL approach to idioms' teaching are the following:

What kind of tasks and materials should be used?

Which idioms to include in the materials? Selection criteria.

The above questions should be part of a teacher's reflection as they can determine

in certain respects the success of the instructional method adopted. Without neglecting

the fact, that the starting point for effective teaching and materials' design should be

our learners and their needs, the parameters delineated above may play a significant

role. It is high time then we directed our attention to providing answers to these


41

methodological questions paving thus the way for the sample lesson and tasks

illustrating Cognitive Linguistics going applied.

3.3. A Cognitive Linguistics-Inspired Teaching Methodology for Idioms

Understanding the principles of the cognitive paradigm in relation to idioms is

one thing but applying them creatively and setting all the necessary parameters for

effective instruction is another, demanding task or -idiomatically speaking- "a whole

different kettle of fish". Let me therefore engage in answering the methodological

questions posed above so that I can illustrate how theory may be put into practice.

Reversing the order of appearance of the questions in the previous section, I will now

commence my discussion with the very last -but by no means least important-

question in our methodological agenda.

3.3.1 Which idioms to include in the materials? Selection criteria.

It is unfortunately true that although quite promising, the Cognitive

Linguistics perspective to idioms fails to account for all idioms. This is the case

because as Boers and Littlemore (2000) stress ―not all idioms lend themselves equally

well to the Cognitive Linguistics approach and to explicit imaging techniques‖.

Therefore, the selection of idioms to be included in a lesson plan should be quite well

thought-out and based on certain criteria.

In the lesson plan that follows, for instance, I have decided to present

idiomatic expressions motivated by the conceptual metaphor ANGER IS HEAT as

instantiated in its two more specific versions: a)ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A

CONTAINER and b) ANGER IS FIRE. The reasons for selecting these idioms over others

are mostly related to the productivity of these idiomatic expressions given the fact that

they describe an emotion. As the relevant literature has concluded, emotions

constitute the par excellence abstract domain of experience which consequently is in

need of structuring from a more concrete domain of experience (Kövecses, 2002: 21).

This would probably lead to greater frequency of idiomatic expressions belonging to

this systematic network over others, although no corpora frequency measurements

have been carried out. At this point, I would also like to stress that idioms related to

anger are significantly imagistic, this is a quality that facilitates cognitive processing


42

and has been referred to in the relevant literature as semantic transparency (Boers and

Littlemore, 2000). It is perhaps this special characteristic of idioms related to anger

that has provided them also with a certain prominence in the vast majority of the

papers revolving around the treatment of idiomaticity through a cognitive linguistic

approach (cf. Kövecses and Szabό, 1996; Berendi, Csábi and Kövecses, 2008; Boers,

2000a; Dobrovol‘skij and Piirainen, 2005; Gibbs et al, 1997 etc). This was yet another

reason that directed my selection of idiomatic expressions while designing the

materials that follow. A final reason for selecting these specific idiomatic expressions

is that they are also based on our conventional knowledge of the world and our bodily

experience, e.g. the rise of our bodily temperature and the concomitant blush in our

facial skin.

Although the aforementioned serve to explain my specific rationale behind the

selection of the idiomatic expressions that inspired the materials designed, the

selection criteria for idiomatic expressions to be treated within the framework of

Cognitive Linguistics are not expected to vary significantly. In other words, the

frequency of the idioms in authentic speech, the productivity of the source and the

target domains of the conceptual metaphors that motivate them, accompanied by their

socio-physical grounding, will in all likelihood constitute the main criteria along

which idioms selection should be made.

3.3.2 What kind of activities and materials should be used?

As all modern trends in ELT pedagogy postulate, the primary goal of a teacher

is to act as a facilitator and to provide his/her students with materials and activities

that are purposeful, meaningful and real-life or life-like. Having as his/her point of

departure the needs of the learners, a teacher should first try to investigate what the

attitudes vis-à-vis the teaching and learning of idioms are. Liontas (2002) for instance,

shows that learners‘ attitudes towards idioms should be awarded a top priority

position and should be investigated thoroughly30

. This is extremely important as the

activities and the materials to be presented to students should reflect their learning

expectations out of an EFL programme. Another characteristic of successful materials

30

For a detailed description of Liontas' findings in relation to learners‘ attitudes towards idioms, please

see the Appendix of this work, on p.80.


43

and tasks is that they should make the teaching aims behind them clear enough

through situations, contexts and examples rather than through complex metalanguage

or drill-like exercises. Moreover, as I already exemplified in the previous section,

materials should also seek to promote the development of productive learning and

cognitive strategies while catering for different learning and cognitive styles.

Ideally, materials and tasks should promote learner autonomy as well while at

the same time encourage co-operation with other learners. With relation to our point

of focus this would result in learners taking the opportunity to work on their own in

order to enhance their understanding of idiomaticity and figurative language by

employing the conceptual mechanisms of metaphor upon encountering new idioms.

From an intercultural EFL perspective, idioms appear to be crucial too, as they

constitute the par excellence source for creative discussion on cultural differences,

different world conceptualisations, and different cultural identity construals across

distinct language communities. Capitalising on recent developments in ELT

methodology, initiated to a great extent by the work of the Council of Europe, culture

has been attributed a central role in EFL contexts. As a result, materials focusing on

the study of idioms from a cognitive perspective may serve as manifestations of cross-

cultural similarities or alternatively cross-cultural differences and can be characterised

as the sine qua non of effective EFL teaching and learning materials (Kövecses,

2005).

3.3.3 Is the age of learners a significant parameter?

As Andreou and Galantomos (2008) state in their article in relation to the age

of learners involved in CL-inspired lessons aiming at teaching idioms, adults seem to

be better candidates than teenagers or very young learners. This is so because the

Cognitive Linguistics framework requires a certain familiarisation with abstract

reasoning and pragmatic skills on the part of learners which are more easily

encountered in adult learners than younger ones and adults are purported to have

developed their abstract reasoning and analytic ability 31

more than younger learners.

Therefore, since abstract reasoning and analytic ability have been found to correlate

31

According to Sternberg (1985) there is a triarchic theory of human intelligence that distinguishes

among three types of intellectual abilities: analytic, creative, and practical. Analytic abilities are those

needed to analyse, evaluate, explain, and compare or contrast. Therefore, analytic thinking involves

applying problem-solving processes to abstract problems.


44

with more effective idiom comprehension and retention through a CL-based approach

to idioms (cf. Boers and Littlemore, 2000), the target group of the sample lesson plan

provided is adult learners.

3.3.4 What is the right level?

Boers (2004: 221), as Andreou and Galantomos (2008) cite, suggests that

learners ranging from an intermediate to an upper-intermediate or advanced level are

perhaps the best candidates for CL-inspired activities aiming at enhancing their

understanding of idiomaticity. This is so because beginners are likely to face problems

due to lack of the lexical knowledge required for the processing of the given

instructions or the idiomatic expressions in the first place. As Boers states quite aptly,

to interpret the idiomatic expression “she was fuming” by employing the cognitive

approach, one first needs to know what “fuming” actually means. Chances are,

therefore, that an elementary language learner would be seriously inhibited by lack of

language resources in applying this cognitive linguistic approach to idioms, unlike

upper-intermediate or advanced learners. This assumption seems to be corroborated

further by other scholars like Deignan, Grabys and Solska (1997: 358) who noted that

―students below mid-intermediate level might not be equipped with the necessary

metalanguage for discussion‖ if they are to be exposed to the cognitive linguistic

method of idiomatic instruction.

Based on these findings, the sample lesson plan provided in Appendix 2 (p.82)

targets adult learners of an upper-intermediate level in English that have already

developed a certain competence in abstract reasoning and are likely to feel relatively

at ease with the lexis involved in the idioms presented.

3.4. The Rationale behind the Lesson Plan

Designing lesson plans and tasks ought to stem from a meticulously thought

process by any educator since it is through the learning materials that teachers and

educational institutions in general implement their short-term objectives and long-

term goals. Therefore, the sample lesson plan presented in this thesis serves as an

illustration of how teachers could actually apply the principles of the cognitive

linguistic approach to idiomaticity in order to achieve their teaching objectives.


45

Adopting an eclectic approach, the lesson plan designed follows a hybrid

methodological model drawing on the Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) and the

task cycle proposed by the Task Based Learning32

framework. This was deemed

necessary because the emphasis in this kind of lessons is on enhancing learners‘

language awareness in relation to idiomaticity, rather than on developing their

receptive skills further which could be achieved through a pre-/during or while-/post-

skill lesson plan (PDP framework)33

.

More specifically, during the presentation stage, the teacher will draw

learners‘ attention to specific idioms through contextualised use and imagery or visual

stimuli that have been proved to be extremely useful in the presentation,

comprehension and retention of idioms (Szczepaniak and Lew, 2011; Ellis, 1994;

Sökmen, 1997; Lindstromberg and Boers, 2005). Then, during the practice stage, the

teacher‘s control over the materials and the tasks eases and learners start working on

the idioms presented initially under somewhat controlled tasks and then in freer ones.

3.4.1 Description of the Tasks

In this section, I will only briefly and in broad terms refer to the tasks that

make up the whole lesson plan, as each task is followed by detailed teacher‘s notes

that explain the rationale behind each step, as well as how each task feeds into the

other.

The presentation stage involves three warm up activities, which aim at

activating learners‘ schemata about the feeling of anger and its intensity. Preparing

students cognitively for the tasks that follow is of paramount importance, as in this

way the whole lesson will seem coherent and meaningful to them. What is also

important at this stage is that the tasks employ imagery and visual stimuli, which are

32

Hereafter referred to as TBL. For more information please see: Bygate, Skehan and Swain, 2001;

Ellis, 2000; Willis, 1996a, 1996b and Appendix 1 (figure VIII) of this work p.81. 33

The PDP Framework: This lesson framework helps teachers plan and deliver effective listening,

video and reading lessons. The framework helps ensure that students are motivated, engaged and

active before, while and after (pre, during and post – PDP) listening to, watching, reading a text, or

speaking. Activities in the PDP framework are sequenced and scaffolded in such a manner that

learners are provided with the support they need to fully understand a given text. The stages of the

framework are a) the pre stage, b) the while-stage/during stage and c) the post stage.


46

likely to increase both the learners‘ motivation and understanding. The last task of the

presentation stage is based on textual stimulus whose whole coherence depends on

the use of the cognitive network of idioms related to anger. The text and the questions

that accompany it will be used in order to elicit the learners‘ answers in relation to the

idioms presented in the text. Learners will be asked to notice the idioms related to

anger and think about similar idiomatic expressions in their mother tongue. The

ultimate goal of this task is to introduce learners to the systematicity of idioms and

their motivation on the basis of conceptual metaphors.

The practice stage is based on the anger idioms presented in the text (or other

related idioms) and their underlying metaphors. Elaborate metalanguage that would

hinder learners‘ understanding is obviously avoided. The tasks assigned to students at

this stage call either for the grouping of idioms34

on the basis of the conceptual

metaphors that motivate them or for their categorisation in terms of their formal

characteristics. The production stage consists of two tasks, the second of which is

assigned as homework to learners. Both of these tasks are characterised by the

teacher‘s minimum control and the students‘ maximum freedom in output. The first

task of this stage is an activity focusing on speaking, whereby students have to report

briefly to their classmates their own ―anger stories and experiences‖ by drawing on

their overall language resources as well as the newly-presented idiomatic expressions.

The final homework task develops further the writing skills of learners as it invites

them in a creative, motivating and most importantly authentic writing task that will

require the activation of the sum of their language resources as well as their

knowledge about idiomaticity. Learners will be asked to prepare a ―comment‖ to be

posted on the facebook page of a ―group‖ called ―Anger Management‖ that would

narrate a personal experience that infuriated them.

In conclusion, the proposed lesson plan follows the principles of CL towards

idioms and puts them in practice through meaningful and authentic tasks that require

co-operation (pair work and group work) on the part of learners (Rahimi, 2008;

Dornyei, 2001; Ellis 1991, 2003). It also takes into consideration that imagery and

visual stimuli should be used because they will facilitate learners‘ better

comprehension of idioms. Evidently, based on the previous discussion of the

34

Skoufaki (2008) and Schmitt (1997: 211-217) suggest that grouping and storing idioms in motivated

clusters in our minds can lead to better and more long-lasting retention as well as easier retrieval.


47

interrelationship between learning and cognitive styles and the cognitive approach to

idioms, one may understand that visual stimuli are also expected to facilitate the

possible imager learners in our classroom35

. A last thing to be noted is that all the

activities have been constructed on the basis of an authentic, real-life purpose and an

appropriate situational context in mind.

35

Please see pages 36-39 of this work.


48

CHAPTER 4

DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY,

CONCLUSION

4.1. Importance of the study

In this dissertation, I set out on the premise that idiomaticity is far from

arbitrary or unsystematic and firmly believing that a cognitive linguistic approach can

offer educators not only a viable but also an effective framework for teaching idioms.

Bearing in mind that a cognitive approach to idioms derives from the theoretical

framework of Cognitive Linguistics and that there has been empirical evidence

(Kövecses and Szabό, 1996; Kövecses, 2002; Boers 2000a, 2000b) suggesting that

this model has practical pedagogical implications, I aimed at implementing this

perspective by designing a specific lesson plan.

Trying to investigate whether the EFL literature has taken advantage of the

new possibilities that this framework offers for the teaching of figurative language in

general and for the teaching of idioms in particular, I was confronted with a shortage

of relevant articles by foreign language experts and practitioners in traditionally

prominent EFL publications. In fact, Kövecses‘ and Szabo‘s (1996) influential article

“Idioms: A View from Cognitive Semantics” in Applied Linguistics seems to be-to the

best of my knowledge- a brilliant exception to the rule since although written by

experts in the field of Cognitive Linguistics, it appeared in one of the most prominent

journals dealing with Applied Linguistics. There are, of course, other papers and

articles advocating the use of a cognitive linguistic approach to idioms coming mostly

from experts in the field (Boers, 2000b; Boers and Lindstromberg, 2008; Andreou and

Galantomos, 2008, Skoufaki, 2008 etc) but they feature in publications related to

Cognitive Linguistics only.

An interesting example of a cognitive linguistic approach to idioms in an

applied context is the exemplary book of John Wright (2002) entitled Idioms

Organiser: Organised by Metaphor, Topic and Key Vocabulary. This book could be

used as a supplementary source of material for learners ranging from an upper

intermediate level to an advanced level of English. But what is important about it is


49

that, as its name suggests, it provides learners with a grouping of idioms on the basis

of the conceptual metaphors that motivate them.

Against this backdrop, this dissertation has aimed to bring to the fore the

benefits of adopting such an approach for treating idiomaticity in an EFL context from

the perspective of a language teacher. To this end, it provided samples of activities

endorsing the principles of a cognitive approach to idioms but also communicative

principles of creating effective teaching materials (Rahimi, 2008; Dornyei, 2001; Ellis

1991, 2003). Applying effectively a theoretical model to teaching requires a careful

merging of two seemingly different perspectives that of the theoretician of language

and that of the teaching practitioner. Apparently, the contribution of this thesis is that

instead of theorising about the potential applications of the CL approach to idioms, it

comes up with a readily available lesson plan to be implemented in an actual EFL

context.

Having engaged meticulously in the relevant literature, I soon realised that the

activity-samples offered did not seem to be realistic, authentic, purposeful or

interesting for application. Not to mention that none of these suggestions for activities

or even actual activity-samples were embedded within the framework of a complete

lesson plan. For instance, despite Boers‘ and Lindstromberg‘s (2008) "good

intentions" in favour of the CL approach to idioms, the activities they suggest are

rather artificial and unlikely to attract potential learners‘ attention. None of the

activities they propose is contextualised or with a clear objective and a purpose for

communication. Also, the series of activities they have prepared do not really manage

to form a coherent sequence of tasks, as one task does not feed into the other and the

potential learning audience is not provided with any textual or visual stimulus, or in

any case just a context - framework into which this new knowledge could be

embedded. In addition, their selection criteria regarding the choice of the idioms

included are rather vague and learners are not presented with reasons accounting for

the choice of idioms used in the activities. Lastly, another shortcoming of their

suggestion for pedagogical application is that all the activities they designed fail to

take into account the need for the learners to work with idioms and produce their own

output. It should be noted, of course, that this lack of continuity in the activities is also

the result of not being framed into a lesson plan, but nonetheless, the activities per se

are hardly engaging or meaningful. Assuming that these activities were designed by


50

scholars accustomed to treating language on a more descriptive and theoretical level, I

feel that the main problem with their pedagogical suggestion lies on the fact that they

constructed their teaching material more as theoreticians of language rather than as

practitioners of it36

.

Evidently, my thesis is not free from restrictions or shortcomings either, as I

will suggest in one of the forthcoming sections of this chapter. So, having clarified

this point and having also delineated the main contribution of my study with its dual

focus on theory and practice I shall now proceed to suggestions for further research.

4.2. Suggestions for further research-Desiderata for a cognitive approach to

idioms

A careful consideration of what has been mentioned so far in relation to

idioms, to the cognitive paradigm, and to its practical, pedagogical applications can

lead one to think that there are still certain desiderata that a cognitive approach to

idioms has to fulfill. Moreover, one is also bound to observe that apart from its

theoretical significance, this model can have immediate, practical applications in two

main strands of Applied Linguistics, namely materials‘ design to idioms, and testing

vocabulary and idioms.

4.2.1. Implications for Materials’ Design

Having established that steering clear from idiomaticity is not the solution to

treating idioms in language, I have argued that the figurative language involved in

idioms should occupy a prominent position in EFL teaching materials. Gibbs (1994:

454) has stated that ―figuration is not an escape from reality but constitutes the way

we ordinarily understand ourselves and the world in which we live‖. So, if idiomatic

figurativeness is a natural and pervasive phenomenon in language and everyday

interaction, then it should be a part of EFL curricula and the materials used therein.

Andreou and Galantomos (2008) underscore the significance of conceptually

motivated idiomaticity in materials by suggesting the development of a conceptual

syllabus in a foreign language context. A syllabus, as they righteously claim, should

be considered ―a specification of the content of a course of instruction that lists what

will be taught and tested‖ (Richards, 2001: 2). In other words, if the curriculum is the 36

For the presentation of their activities, please see Boers‘ and Lindstromberg‘s (2008: 378-388).


51

general destination to be reached, the syllabus is the specific path to be followed

towards this destination. Syllabi have been generally divided into two main

categories: a) the product-oriented syllabi and b) the process oriented syllabi Nunan

(1988:27). The former can be either grammatical or functional-notional, laying heavy

emphasis on what is to be taught, while the latter can be procedural or task-based,

focusing on how something is going to be taught and learnt (Nunan, 1988: 27-59; O‘

Dell, 1997: 260).

Although Andreou and Galantomos' suggestion about the development of a

conceptual syllabus sounds interesting, the two scholars, unfortunately, fail to explain

what a conceptual syllabus really is, since they explain neither what its structural units

will be, nor how they will be sequenced and ordered. The original suggestion for the

development of a conceptual syllabus stems from Marcel Danesi's work (1995) who

discussed the interrelationships between Second Language Teaching (SLT) and the

research in Cognitive Psychology and Linguistics. Danesi (1995) stresses the

importance of the development of conceptual fluency (CF) - the main parameter in his

opinion - that distinguishes a native from a non-native speaker. In particular, he

argues that non-native students' discourse is characterised by an "unnatural over-

literalness" (ibid: 4) because non-native students tend to consider metaphors or idioms

to be optional, ornamental features of discourse. What is more, in cases that they do

try to use figurative language, they might come up with utterances that are

conceptually inappropriate37

. As he quite aptly states:

"...students 'speak' with the formal structures of the target language, but they 'think' in terms of their

native conceptual system: i.e., students typically use target language words and structures as 'carriers'

of their own native language concepts...when these coincide...then the student texts coincide

serendipitously with culturally appropriate discourse texts; when they do not, students' texts manifest

an asymmetry between language form and conceptual content" (ibid: 5).

Therefore, his suggestion about developing a conceptual syllabus is based on

his main assumption that language reflects or "encodes" concepts on the basis of

metaphorical meanings (ibid: 5). Of course, Danesi mentions that overgeneralisations

37

In his discussion, he uses the following example. If someone uses the phrase "I would like to discuss

my ides through this paper", rather than "in this paper", then this would not really be a linguistic error

as it arises from the application of a PAPER IS A CONDUIT metaphorical formula in the learner's

mother tongue, in lieu of A PAPER IS A CONTAINER formula used in English (Danesi, 1995). Such

examples triggered Danesi's interesting discussion of Contrastive Analysis and Interlanguage (or

concept transfer as he named it) associated with error correction to be found in the same paper.


52

that would render all concepts as metaphorical should be avoided and he also admits

that there is still a lot of work to be done in order to show how grammatical and

semantic categories reflect conceptual structures or domains38

. Bearing this caveat in

mind, as well as the difficulty in sequencing and ordering concepts, Danesi concludes

that a conceptual syllabus should be integrated with grammatical and communicative

syllabi, since the last two reflect the former. In brief, what Danesi suggests is a

rethinking of Second Language Teaching (SLT) by integrating language, cognitive

processes and culture in a coherent way in SLT syllabi with the aim of developing

learners' conceptual fluency. As it can be understood, such a syllabus would cover not

only idioms or metaphors but it would present how the language system can be shown

to reflect each culture's conceptual system in various ways. The cognitive styles of

learners and the need to develop further their cognitive strategies would also be taken

care of effectively under the umbrella of a conceptual syllabus39

.

Furthermore, in relation to idioms' teaching, such a conceptual syllabus would

probably increase the motivation of learners as it will make them realise that the their

semantics is inherently motivated by conceptual metaphors. This boosting of learners‘

motivation, which, as Gardner (1985) has emphasised, is crucial in learning, will

increase learners‘ self-esteem when dealing with the issue of idiomaticity but this time

with the ―weapon‖ of conceptual metaphors under their belt. Interestingly, several

researchers have already noted that learners were especially motivated and interested

during the experiments conducted (Csabi, 2004; Deignan, Gabrys and Solska, 1997).

Nonetheless, intuitive guesses and observations during the experiments cannot lead us

to safe conclusions.

Motivation may also increase since learners will be exposed to an approach

that does not require rote learning and sterile memorisation but rather involves

meaningful, motivated categorisations. In this framework, more long-lasting retention

of idioms in learners‘ memories is to be expected. Inviting and promising as these

claims may sound, research in this area has been limited and is still much needed in

the respective areas of motivation and memory retention.

38

In his paper, he discusses how the prepositions "since" and "for" are related to the conceptual system

as reflexes of the conceptual metaphors TIME IS A POINT and TIME IS A QUANTITY (Danesi,

1995: 9, 16). 39

Please, see pages 34-39 of this work.


53

In fact, the issue of longer idiom retention in learners‘ minds seems to be a

rather controversial issue. Some post tests (Boers, 2004) have not verified this

theoretically-argued merit of the cognitive approach, while other tests (Boers, 2000a)

have corroborated it. Boers (2004) was the first to voice his suspicion regarding the

issue of the time devoted to CL-inspired idiom instruction that he examined in

correlation with the period of idiom retention in learners‘ memory. He concluded that:

―a one-off eye opener about cognitive metaphors as an organiser of figurative lexis is

not sufficient to turn metaphor awareness into a (conscious) learning strategy that

could contribute to learner autonomy‖ (ibid: 216). Ellis (1994) as cited in Boers

(2004: 215), however, counterargues that inferring the meaning of unfamiliar

figurative expressions requires ―cognitive effort and involves deep, cognitive

processing which raises the probability of memory storage‖. Generally, the benefit of

maximum idiom mnemonic retention has been used as an asset attributed to a CL

approach to idioms, but further research is required to confirm or modify this

theoretically-argued merit.

A further point of interest arising from a cognitive perspective should be the

component of intercultural awareness related to idiomaticity. CL-inspired methods to

idiom instruction introduce learners to culture-specific differences across languages

that are expressed through metaphoricity and by extension through idiomaticity. In

simple words, idiomaticity, which is deeply rooted in culture, is representative of how

a given linguistic community construes reality and develops social practices

(Kövecses, 2005). Consequently, if learners are exposed to a CL approach to idioms,

they will also come into contact with the different ways that languages have invented

for constructing and representing realities, thereby increasing their intercultural

awareness of otherness. Yet, there is no research investigating the enhancement of

intercultural awareness through a CL approach to idioms in EFL contexts, although

this appears to be a worthwhile and insightful field of exploration. Needless to

mention that exploring this cross-cultural dimension of idiomaticity would also be of

interest to other fields of Applied Linguistics like the field of Translation Studies (cf.

Schäffner, 2004).

Overall, the implications for adopting a cognitive linguistic perspective so as

to design appropriate materials related to the teaching of idioms suggest that further

research is necessary in relation to the following:


54

The CL approach to idioms and the development of cognitive

strategies

The CL approach to idioms and its impact on learning-cognitive styles

The CL approach to idioms and its possible effects on learners‘

motivation

The CL approach to idioms and memory retention

The CL approach to idioms and enhancement of intercultural

awareness

and most importantly:

The development and integration of a conceptual syllabus with

grammatical and communicative syllabi that are expected to facilitate second

language learners understanding of the conceptual system in relation to L2

not only in relation to idiomaticity or figurative language but also in relation

to the development of their mastery in L2.

4.2.2. Implications for Test Development

The second strand of Applied Linguistics that can be potentially affected by

the application of a cognitive approach to idioms is test development. As already

mentioned, the development of a cognitive strategy that would enable learners to

make informed guesses about the idiomatic language they encounter could also be

regarded as a vocabulary test-taking strategy to be employed once learners are faced

with an unfamiliar vocabulary test item. Test-taking strategies have been defined as

the kind of strategies that learners resort to as they complete language tests. They are

usually consciously selected processes that test respondents use in order to cope not

only with the language issues but also with the item-response demands in the test-

taking tasks at hand (Cohen, 2006: 308). If familiarising learners with the conceptual

motivation of idioms can indeed be found to function as a vocabulary test-taking

strategy for unknown idioms, then we will find ourselves before another advantage of

the cognitive approach that has not been considered in the past. No matter how

interesting this hypothesis sound, empirical investigation and appropriately designed

experiments are called for in order to confirm it.


55

A final, albeit extremely interesting suggestion for future research would be to

shift our focus from the ―what‖ of the cognitive linguistic approach to idiomaticity to

the ―how‖. To the best of my knowledge, no study has focused on developing a

typology of tasks in order to test which particular task types would favour learners'

better performance in a context whereby students would have previously been

exposed to a CL approach to idiomaticity. For instance, it would be quite interesting

to measure if learners would fare better in a gap filling exercise regarding idioms or in

a multiple choice one after having been instructed in a CL-inspired way. Such an

investigation aimed at comparing and contrasting different task types and the testees'

performance at them has generally been ignored but it could open up new possibilities

in the field of testing. Another interesting research question, which is germane to test

development, would be to probe which kinds of tasks lend themselves more

effectively for exposing learners to the cognitive approach to idioms. For example,

grouping exercises (whereby idioms are categorised according to the metaphors that

motivated them) might be easier for the presentation or practice of idioms than

multiple choice questions.

It follows that a task-type research will also have significant back-wash

effects on materials‘ design. In fact, the reason why the present study aimed at

contributing a complete lesson plan with tasks based on a CL approach to idioms was

so that both strands of Applied Linguistics could be focused upon. A teacher and a

learner need the right materials to work on and a test developer needs the right tasks

to measure effectively and fairly the testees' competence and knowledge. Finally, a

researcher needs the right tasks that will guarantee the accuracy of his/her findings in

the experiments to be conducted. Consequently, coming up with the right tasks for

introducing and applying a cognitive linguistic approach to idioms is important.

Overall, the pedagogical implications of CL and the suggestions for future

research in the strands of materials‘ design and test development can be summarised

in the figure that follows:


56

Figure 5: The main pedagogical implications of a cognitive linguistic approach to idiomaticity.

4.3. Limitations of the study-suggestions for future research

As it is typical of any master dissertation, despite the good intentions of the

author, there are always dimensions that remain unexplored and the present thesis

could not be an exception to the rule. Recognising the limitations of the study and

suggesting ways to overcome them through research is exactly what this section will

focus on.

The very first limitation that I would like to acknowledge is that despite the

contribution of this thesis, namely the complete pedagogical proposal I am putting

forth through the lesson plan designed, I have not been able to implement this lesson

plan in an actual EFL class of adult learners. If that were the case, I would have been


57

able to validate my claims with empirical evidence or modify my hypotheses. In fact,

a researcher should ideally use two classes of adults; one of which would be

instructed in a cognitive linguistic approach, while the other would be taught the same

idioms in the "traditional way". By the term "traditional way", I mean treating idioms

as fixed, idiosyncratic items of the lexicon without any conceptual motivation.

Consequently, a teacher adopting the traditional approach to idioms, would present

them as frozen patterns of language that students would have to memorise.

In such an experiment, the researcher should also carry out a pre-test to both

classes so as to check whether and to what extent learners are familiar with the anger

idioms, as this can distort the significance of the findings. In this way, s/he would

maximise the validity of the experiment's results. Finally, carrying out a post-test with

the same students after a certain period of time would also allow a researcher to draw

some useful conclusions as regards the debatable issue of more long-lasting memory

retention.

Yet, what seems most intriguing in relation to future research would be to

conduct a more longitudinal experiment again with two classes spreading over a

whole course or a whole academic period, however this may be defined by an

educational institution. The rationale behind that being to design a series of lessons

like the one presented herein, so as to form a complete conceptual syllabus aiming at

enhancing learners‘ knowledge of the conceptual system of the L2 in general, as well

as their knowledge of idiomaticity. The conceptual syllabus would be used, however,

only with one of the classes, while the other would be instructed the same subject

matter in a traditional way delineated above.

Of course, the selection of idioms to be included in the syllabus in this case

should be based on strict selection criteria, one of which, as I mentioned elsewhere,

should be their frequency as measured in corpora. The results of such an experiment

will probably reveal interesting aspects of the teachability and learnability of idioms

in CL-inspired and traditional EFL lessons that have remained unexplored.

Finally, a last dimension that I have not been able to investigate and to the best

of my knowledge has only partially been explored in relation to idiom instruction in

general (Liontas, 2002) is the attitudes of learners towards the cognitive approach of

idiom instruction. In this case, both qualitative and quantitative methods should be


58

used, mainly through questionnaires and interviews. What learners think and their

desires and needs should always be the starting point and the driving force for any

lesson, syllabus, or curriculum.

4.4. Conclusion

In this thesis, I have attempted to provide an overview of idiomaticity starting

from the past and reaching out to its very vibrant present. In particular, I have adopted

a view to idioms that has debunked the myth of arbitrariness that has surrounded them

for so long, placing them on the margins of linguistic theorising and research.

Advocating the implementation of a cognitive approach to idioms, I have offered

practical ideas on how this model could be creatively applied in an EFL context

providing students with intellectually challenging and motivating learning options.

Endowing learners with the useful insights of the cognitive approach to idioms

will hitherto enable them to perceive idioms as conceptually motivated and categorise

them accordingly. An innovative paradigm of linguistic thought such as CL will

certainly take time to ripen in educators‘ minds and will also require time, effort and

hard work to expand in the area of materials‘ design and testing. Nevertheless, a CL-

inspired pedagogy and idiom instruction can provide us with new insights in the way

learners acquire idioms and in the way different languages construe reality.

The present thesis has precisely provided an argument for the applicability of

cognitive linguistic insights to foreign language instruction and the teaching of idioms

in particular. So, I would like to bring this thesis to a close by referring to the

debatable issue of the teachability of idioms that was humourously presented by Boers

(2010) in one of his presentations40

as follows:

Spending time on idioms!?

―Reaction from the mainstream: ―You must be mad! Idioms are just the icing on the cake.‖

CL: ―But they cause comprehension problems.‖

Mainstream: ―They‘re simply not common enough. That‘s the long and short of it.‖

40

Boers, F. (2010) ―Pathways for engagement: Some ideas from ‗Cognitive Linguistics.‘‖ Paper

presented at conferences at Copenhagen Business School, Approaches to the Lexicon.

(Availableat:https://cypress.cbs.dlk?index.php/lexicon/lexicon/paper/view/840/508. Last modified:

28/07/2010) (Accessed: 22/04/2011)


59

CL: ―But in some genres idioms are quite common.‖

Mainstream: ―Okay then if you‘re teaching advanced learners. But to aid comprehension, not

production.‖

CL: ―Absolutely. Glad we‘re seeing eye to eye.‖

Mainstream: ―Take another look at your studies.‖

CL: ―Hmm…‖


60

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APPENDICES


74

APPENDIX 1

TABLES AND FIGURES


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COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (Adapted from Bachman, 1990)

Figure I: The components of communicative competence in Bachman‘s model (1990) (Source of

adapted material: Dendrinos, B. (2005) Applied Linguistics Reader and Workbook. Athens: National

and Kapodistrian University.

Organisational competence Grammatical Competence Vocabulary

Morphology

Syntax

Phonology/Graphology

Textual Competence

Pragmatic Competence Illocutionary Ideational Functions

Competence Manipulative Functions

Heuristic Functions

Imaginative Functions

Sociolinguistic Sensitivity to register

Competence Sensitivity to dialect or variety

Sensitivity to “naturalness"

(i.e. appropriateness)

Cultural references and figures of speech


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Figure II: The Direct Strategies in Oxford's and Ehrman's taxonomy

Source: (Oxford, R. L and Ehrman, M. 1990)


77

Figure III: The InDirect Strategies in Oxford's and Ehrman's taxonomy

Source: (Oxford, R. L and Ehrman, M., 1990)


78

Analytic (Field Independent) Holistic / Concrete (Field Dependent)

Information processing

This person finds it relatively easy to

detach an experienced (perceived)

item from its given background

The item is extractable because it is

perceived as having a rudimentary

meaning on its own; thus it can be

moved out of its presented

surroundings and into a

comprehensive category system---

for understanding (and "filing" in

memory)

Tendency to show traits of

introversion (the person‘s mental

processing can be strongly activated

by low-intensity stimulus; hence

dislikes excessive input)

Tendency to be "reflective" and

cautious in thinking task

Any creativity or unconventionality

would derive from individual‘s

development of criteria on a rational

basis

This person experiences item as

fused with its context; what is

interesting is the impression of the

whole

Item is experienced and

comprehended as part of an overall

associational unity with concrete and

personal interconnections; (item‘s

storage in, and retrieval from,

memory is via these often

affectively-charged associations)

Tendency to show traits of

extraversion (person‘s mental

processing is activated by relatively

higher-intensity stimulus; therefore

likes rich, varied input

Tendency to be "impulsive" in

thinking tasks; "plays hunches"

Any creativity or unconventionality

would derive from individual‘s

imaginativeness or "lateral thinking"

Learning strengths

1. Performs best on analytical language

lasks (e.g. understanding and using

correct syntactical structures;

semantically ordered comprehension of

words; phonetic articulation)

2. Favours material tending toward the

abstract and impersonal; factual or analytical;

useful; ideas

3. Has affinity for methods which are:

focused; systematic; sequential; cumulative

4. Likely to set own learning goals and

direct own learning; (but may well choose or

prefer to use---for own purpose---an

authoritative text or passive lecture situation.

5. "Left hemisphere strengths"

1. Performs best on tasks calling for intuitive

"feel" for language (e.g. expression; richness

of lexical connotation; discourse; rhythm and

intonation)

2. Prefers material which has a human,

social content; or which has fantasy or

humour; personal; musical, artistic

3. Has affinity for methods in which

various features are managed simultaneously;

realistically; in significant context

4. Less likely to direct own learning; may

function well in quasi-autonomy (e.g.

"guided discovery"); (but may well express

preference for a formal, teacher dominated

learning arrangement, as a compensation for

own perceived deficiency in ability to

structure.

5. "Right hemisphere strengths"

Figure IV: Contrasts on the two poles of the Field Independent (Analytic) and Field Dependent

(Concrete/Holistic) Dimension (Source: Material adapted from Willing, 1988)


79

Figure V: Kolb's experiential learning cycle and the interrelations of learning styles

Source: http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm (Accessed 10/05/2011)

Figure VI: Kolb‘s learning styles presented as quadrants of the learning cycle.

Source: http://effective.leadershipdevelopment.edu.au/series/experiential-learning-models/ (Accessed

10/05/2011)

http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm

http://effective.leadershipdevelopment.edu.au/series/experiential-learning-models/


80

Figure VII : Learners‘ notions and attitudes towards idiomaticity (Source: Liontas, 2002)


81

Figure VIII: The components of the Task-based learning

Source: http://ilovetbl.blogspot.com/2010/10/task-based-learning-video-2.html (Accessed: 11/05/2011)

http://ilovetbl.blogspot.com/2010/10/task-based-learning-video-2.html


82

APPENDIX 2

A CL-INSPIRED LESSON PLAN


83

A CL-inspired lesson plan for teaching anger idioms

Subject: English Language

Topic: Anger Management (A cognitive linguistic approach to teaching anger idioms)

Level: Upper – Intermediate (B2 +)41

Class size: 12 students

Age: Adult learners (25-35 years old)

Allocated Time: 45 minutes

Aims: 1. To introduce learners to a new framework of presenting idioms that runs

counter to mere memorisation and foregrounds conceptual motivation.

2. To enable learners to identify the conceptual metaphors that motivate certain

idioms and classify them accordingly.

3. To engage learners in the process of reporting on their own experiences by drawing

on their language resources including their newly-acquired knowledge on anger

idioms.

4. To make learners more acutely aware of the cross-linguistic and intercultural

differences or similarities of idiomatic expressions.

Prior Knowledge: 1. Learners are supposed to have developed the basic speaking,

reading and writing skills required for the present task conception.

2. Learners are supposed to exhibit a B2+ level of the English language.

3. Learners are supposed to be familiar with informal writing style and at least partly

familiar with the conventions associated with writing messages electronically or

narrating experiences electronically on facebook or blog-like sites.

Language Skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking (although the focus of this lesson will

not be on the development of skills)

Anticipated Problems: 1. Learners might need some extra time to understand a

cognitive approach to idioms and feel at ease with it. (The teacher should insist by

using the visual on Worksheet D (see Appendix p. 100) as well as more examples of

idioms motivated by conceptual metaphors.

Teaching Aids/ Materials: Worksheets A-I (multiplied x12), blackboard, chalk,

screen, data projector and laptop or laptop and interactive whiteboard (IWB) to

display the visual on Worksheet D (p.100), back up photocopies with the visuals to be

41

According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), (Council of

Europe, 2001).


84

used in class in case of a technical problem, key to the tasks of the lesson plan (for the

teacher).

Presentation Stage

Warm up Task 1

Interaction: TSs, SsSs

Class Organisation: Pair Work

Language Awareness: Vocabulary related to anger (idioms could also be expected at

this stage)

Teaching Objectives: 1. To enable learners to identify anger as the topic of

discussion.

2. To motivate learners and arouse their interest for the forthcoming text and tasks.

3. To activate learners‘ schemata and background knowledge for the feeling of anger

by eliciting pertinent vocabulary and potentially anger idioms through visual stimuli.


Material: Worksheet A (Appendix p. 95)

Description of task - instructions: Imagine that you find yourselves in the following

situations (A-E) depicted in the pictures below. What will your main feeling be and

how intense do you think it would be in each case? Talk with your neighbour and

compare the intensity of your feeling.

Teacher’s Notes: The teacher distributes photocopies of Worksheet A (Appendix p.

95) and at the same time s/he projects the visuals on an interactive whiteboard or a

screen connected to a data projector so that they will be in display for the whole class.

S/he should ask Ss to work in pairs and read the situation scripts next to the visuals

provided so as to discuss their emotional reaction(s) in these potential circumstances.

The teacher should monitor the discussion of the pairs that should be carried out in L2

so as to check a) whether any student is in need of help or further clarifications and b)

what kind of vocabulary the students have resorted to during this introductory, warm-

up stage. An additional aim of this task is to help learners identify the topic of

discussion in this lesson. So, the teacher should also keep a watchful eye on any

Input: Visual stimuli accompanied by situational scripts related to anger – activation of mental

schemata


85

learner(s) that might have trouble identifying the feeling of anger in this warm up

activity. As regards language output, learners will probably come up with some

idiomatic expressions (e.g. ―smoke would be coming out of my ears‖) - particularly

the more imagistic ones or those with direct correspondences in L142

. However, even

if, students do not come up with many or any idiomatic expressions, such a warm-up

activity will prepare them cognitively for what is to follow as it will activate their

mental schemata in relation to anger. If they only use literal language to describe the

emotion of anger, students will become even more acutely aware of the figurative,

idiomatic expressions available for expressing anger through the following tasks. The

teacher should also ask one or two pairs to report to the whole class their discussion

about their potential reaction(s) as this could really liven up the classroom or lead to

an interesting class discussion.

Warm up Task 2

Interaction: TSs

Class Organisation: Individual Work

Language Awareness: The gradable nature of the vocabulary related to anger.

Teaching Objectives: 1. To help learners understand the gradable nature of the

feeling of anger and to relate this notion of gradability to the idiomatic expressions

related to anger that will follow.

Allocated Time: 2-3 minutes

Material: Worksheet B (Appendix p.96)

Description of task - instructions: Now, based on your answers to the previous task,

answer the following questionnaire by stating how angry you would be exactly in

each of the situations depicted above. Please, circle your answers accordingly in the

scale that follows.

Teacher’s Notes: After completing warm-up task 1, the teacher should ask each

student to take a couple of minutes to complete the anger questionnaire (Worksheet B,

42

Assuming that this lesson addresses adult Greek learners, such an idiom would be readily available to

them because of its direct correspondence to an L1 idiom.

Input: The situational scripts of task 1 embedded into a questionnaire related to anger –

activation of mental schemata- familiarisation with the gradable nature of the intensity of the

feeling of anger.


86

Appendix p. 96). The rationale behind this questionnaire is to help learners understand

that there are degrees of anger that can be expressed- as they will see promptly-

through different idiomatic expressions showing the gradability of the intensity of the

feeling43

. At this stage again, the focus is not on idioms per se although students

might have activated in their minds their familiar idiomatic expressions. The aim of

the task is rather to prepare students mentally for the cognitive demands of the tasks

that follow and make them more acutely aware of the gradability of the feeling of

anger. Finally, learners might also start thinking about the difference(s) between the

literal and figurative language used for expressing anger through the visuals used at

the extremes of the continua in the scale of the questionnaire.

Warm-up Task 3

Interaction: TSs, SSSs

Class Organisation: Individual Work (reading), Class Work (answering questions,

initiating class-discussion)

Language Awareness: The imagistic characterisation of idioms related to anger.

Language Skills: Reading (sub-skills emphasised: skimming and scanning)

Teaching Objectives: 1. To expose learners to the imagistic and metaphorical nature

of anger idioms by introducing the relevant terminology to be employed through

visual representation (see Appendix p.100).

2. To introduce the relevant vocabulary used in idiomatic expressions of anger.

3. To raise learners‘ awareness about cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences or

similarities in anger idioms.


Material: Worksheet C and Worksheet D (Appendix pages: 97-100)

Description of task - instructions: You have noticed that lately, your best friend

tends to over-react to trivial things and to become too angry with no real reason. So,

43

Depicting the end of continua with visual imagery ranging from the purely literal adjective ―angry‖

to the visual that describes the idiom ―smoke was coming out of one‘s ears‖ is also expected to show

the escalation of the intensity of the feeling of anger.

Input: Textual stimulus for anger idioms –elicitation questions that will

progressively lead learners to focus on the systematicity of the idioms

included in the text.


87

you decided to find an article about anger management strategies in order to learn

more about anger and find ways to help your friend. Read the article that you found

and try to answer the following questions.

Teacher’s Notes: The teacher should give Ss a few minutes to read the text so

that they can become more familiar with the topic of anger and let them identify,

as many expressions as they can, related to it. The teacher should monitor the

class while the Ss are scanning and skimming through the text. When they finish

reading, the teacher should start by asking the very first question concerning the

topic of the text, expecting Ss to come up with ―anger and management strategies

for anger‖ as their answer. Then, s/he should ask a learner to start reporting the

expressions that s/he found so that other learners can also start contributing the

expressions they identified44

. Ss will probably come up with literal expressions

but also idiomatic ones e.g. ―fuming‖ or ―get hot under the collar‖ etc. At this

stage, imagistic idioms might be more likely since learners might be able to work

their meaning out more easily than other, more obscure idiomatic expressions like

―vent one‘s spleen‖ or ―brimming with anger‖ etc45

. After the stage of

identification, the teacher should ask the most important elicitation question of

this stage. In other words, s/he should ask learners whether the expressions they

identified could be characterised as literal, metaphorical, idiomatic, or imagistic.

His/her question should be accompanied of what these terms really mean so that

s/he reassures that there is no problem with the terminology and that learners

understand the difference among the terms. To this end, he could accompany

his/her question with an example from the text46

so that learners will feel more

secure with their answers. It is precisely this question and in particular the

44

If Ss fail to identify all the expressions related to anger, the teacher should help them by drawing

their attention to them. 45

If Ss have difficulty with the vocabulary of the text or with the vocabulary involved in the idioms

related to anger, the teacher should explain the vocabulary as the most important objective of this task

is to introduce learners to the cognitive mechanism of metaphor that motivates idioms rather than check

learners‘ knowledge of vocabulary. 46

E.g. ―they anger very easily and, once they‘re angry…‖ as opposed to ―don‘t blow your lid‖.

Questions: 1) What is the main feeling that the text analyses? 2) Can you identify

any expressions from the text that refer to it? 3) Would you characterise any of

the expressions that you found as literal, metaphorical, idiomatic, or imagistic? 4)

Are there any similar expressions or images related to this feeling in your mother

tongue?


88

―elicitation trigger‖ adjectives, ―metaphorical‖, ―idiomatic‖ and ―imagistic‖ that

will pave the way for the introduction of learners to the imagistic and

metaphorical nature of anger idioms. The teacher should begin to explain how

these idioms are motivated by the general metaphor ANGER IS HEAT that is also

further divided into two more specific versions, namely the metaphor ANGER IS

FIRE and ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER. To facilitate Ss‘ first contact

with the cognitive approach to idioms, s/he should use the visual provided in the

Appendix (p. 100). Ideally, s/he should either draw the figure on the blackboard

or use an electronic version of the visual that will be put in display for the whole

class on the screen of an IWB. Avoiding unnecessary and perplexing

metalanguage, s/he should explain that anger is an emotion and as such, it is by

definition typically abstract. Therefore, the users of the English language need to

employ something more concrete such as the image of fire or the image of a hot

fluid in a container (like a pot of water boiling etc) to express this feeling and its

degrees of intensity. Having explained the motivation of anger idioms, the

teacher could also ask learners to think about their conventional knowledge about

anger as well as their bodily reactions when they are angry (e.g. Isn‘t the learners‘

body temperature rising when they are angry? Don‘t they go red in the face? etc).

The final question to be asked is the one that would require Ss to think about

anger in terms of their mother tongue and find if there are any correspondences in

their L1 idiomatic expressions related to anger or not. This last question will

make Ss think deeper and enhance their awareness of cross-linguistic and cross-

cultural differences and similarities in idioms.

Practice Stage

Practice Task 1

Interaction: TSs

Class Organisation: Individual Work

Input: Focus on the form of idioms related to anger – idioms show a certain

degree of inflexibility and fixedness - they are not amenable to formal

changes and Ss have to work on mastering their form – a tabulation of the

anger idioms‘ formal characteristics.


89

Language Awareness: Idioms related to anger

Teaching Objectives: 1. To enable learners to familiarise themselves with (or

alternatively revise) some idiomatic expressions related to anger by matching their

halves.

2. To expose learners to a categorisation of idioms according to their formal

characteristics.

Allocated Time: 7-9 minutes

Material: Worksheet E and Worksheet F (Appendix pages 101-102)

Description of the task - instructions: Match the first parts of the idioms in

Column A with their second parts in Column B. (There might be more than one

option per item).

Teacher’s Notes: The first task of the practice stage aims to draw Ss‘ attention to

the form of newly presented idioms encountered in the text. Students should work

individually in order to practice the form of these idioms. Learners might be able

to comment on their own on the similarities they might notice on the form of

certain idioms. But if this is not the case, when Ss report their answers, the

teacher should present them with a tabulation of the formal characteristics of

idioms (please, see Appendix p.102) so that Ss can group idioms in relation to

their form as well. The tabulation should either be designed on the blackboard or

be displayed on the IWB and then distributed in photocopies to students. More

specifically, the teacher should explain that the idioms presented follow certain

structures based on prepositions, possessive determiners etc. S/he could also

initiate a discussion on (in) transitivity constructions, if time and Ss‘ background

knowledge allow it. Mastering the form of idioms will be the first step of the

practice stage that will provide Ss with the opportunity to discern idioms‘ formal

fixedness or frozenness

Practice Task 2

Interaction: TSs, SsSs

Class Organisation: Pair Work

Input: Focus on the systematic network of idioms motivated by the

conceptual metaphor ANGER IS HEAT and its two specific versions ANGER IS

FIRE and ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER.


90

Language Awareness: Idioms related to anger and the conceptual metaphors

motivating them.

Teaching Objectives: 1. To enable learners to group idioms on the basis of the

conceptual metaphors that motivate them.

2. To make learners aware of the systematicity that idioms exhibit.


Material: Worksheet G (Appendix p. 103)

Description of task - instructions: Work with your partner and try to group the

idioms in the box below under the metaphors that motivate them. Please write

your answers inside or under the circles that correspond to each metaphor.

Teacher’s Notes: During this last presentation task, the teacher asks Ss to work

in pairs and try to group the idioms provided (both idioms already presented to

them or new ones) according to the two versions of the metaphor provided. This

task will help learners expand their recently acquired knowledge to other idioms

also motivated by the same metaphors. What is also significant for this task is

that Ss are required to group idioms, which as research has shown, leads to longer

retention of idioms in Ss‘ memory and facilitates cognitive processing. To pre-

empt any problems during the completion of the task due to lack of vocabulary

knowledge, the teacher can also provide the Ss with the meaning of the lexical

items that s/he anticipates to be problematic for Ss. Once more, this is done

because the main objective of this task is to expose learners to the metaphorical

systematicity and motivation of idioms rather than test their knowledge of the

vocabulary items involved in the idiomatic expressions selected for the task. To

this end, pair work in this task is supposed to facilitate Ss‘ completion of the task

as they will have the chance to exchange views and ideas on the conceptual

motivation of anger idioms. Finally, since this task focuses on the form of idioms,

Ss will be given a list with the idioms (see. Appendix p. 103) whose constituents

will be regarded as unfamiliar to them. This is so because we do not wish Ss‘

comprehension of idiomaticity to be hindered by their potential vocabulary

problems.


91

Production Stage

Production Task 1

Interaction: TSs, Ss Ss

Class Organisation: Group work (4 groups of 3)

Language Awareness: Idioms and vocabulary related to anger

Language Skills: Speaking

Teaching Objectives: 1. To enable learners to report on anger experiences by using

idioms.


Material: Worksheet H (Appendix p. 104)

Description of task - instructions: Look at the pictures that follow and the short

descriptions below them. Each picture describes an experience that could make you

angry (or has made you angry in the past). Choose one picture depicting such an

experience and narrate to your partner the incident that the photo depicts and how

angry you would be/were by using at least three idioms related to anger.

Teacher’s Notes: The teacher should divide Ss into four groups of three and should

ask each student in the groups to choose one of the pictures (accompanied by a brief

description) to narrate a similar experience they have had or an imaginary one similar

to that depicted by the photo they have chosen. Each student in the group should

choose a different picture, so that the group discussion is not based on an identical

prompt.47

The instances described in the pictures were chosen according to the needs

of adult learners that is why they refer to incidents that could have actually taken

place in their family, professional and social life etc. The teacher should stress that the

report of their experiences should contain at least three of the newly-presented

idiomatic expressions, appropriately contextualised in Ss‘ experiences that should be

shared among the members of their group. The teacher should also explain that Ss

should briefly report (four to five utterances per student) their reactions/experiences.

Moreover, the teacher should mention that Ss are allowed to make a few notes prior to

reporting to the other members of the group but they are not allowed to write down

47

I am offering twelve different prompts so that in case all Ss choose different pictures, the overall

output will be quite varied and diverse. Additionally, in this way I would maximise the possibility of

Ss‘ using different idioms.

Input: Visual stimuli – newly-presented idioms in context that the Ss will have

to create.


92

their exact utterances. While Ss are engaged in this task, the teacher should monitor

the group reports and offer his/her help if needed (e.g. Ss looking for a word or for

effective ways to phrase their thoughts).

Task 2 (Homework)

Interaction: TSs

Class Organisation: Individual work

Language Awareness: Idioms and vocabulary related to anger, textual grammar,

narrative techniques

Language Skills: Writing

Teaching Objectives: 1. To engage learners in a writing task that will require them to

report their experiences by applying creatively their newly-acquired knowledge

related to idiomaticity.

2. To help learners relay their newly-presented knowledge to real-world tasks.

Allocated Time: 2 minutes (for the explanation of the task in class by the teacher)

Material: Worksheet I (Appendix p. 106)

Description of task - instructions: While surfing on facebook, you stumbled upon a

new group that you decided to join, called Anger Management. After reading a couple

of interesting stories on the group‘s ―wall‖, you decided to contribute your own

―anger story‖ about a recent experience you had. Write your story (100-150 words) in

the form of a facebook comment to be posted on the group‘s wall and shared among

your other facebook friends.

Teacher’s Notes: The teacher should take about two minutes to explain to Ss their

homework task. S/he should explain that their homework task is quite similar to what

most adults aged 25-35 years48

old, and probably themselves, do in their personal,

everyday life when they want to relax and share their feelings with their friends.

Instead of writing an e-mail to a friend – which seems quite artificial and outdated as

a task - learners will be engaged in a meaningful, authentic and communicative task

48

This is the target audience of the lesson plan.

Input: The overall input of the lesson accompanied by the Ss‘ background

knowledge about posting comments on facebook and narrating/reporting on

their experiences.


93

based on a very familiar situational context for them that involves posting comments

on facebook. In this case, the comment is going to be a personal ―anger story‖ that

they had and that they would like to share with the other members of the ―Anger

Management‖ group and their facebook friends (please, see Appendix p.106). The

teacher, however, should stress that just like in the case of e-mails, Ss should avoid

using netiquette symbols49

and they should stick to producing language output that

suits the stylistic conventions associated with the genre of the text they should

produce. S/he could simply say that netiquette symbols are not understood by

everyone. The teacher should also remind Ss that the register in this case is informal,

the target audience is their friends and the other members of the group they have

joined. S/he should also stress that their final product should be a facebook comment

reporting on an anger (mis)management story that they have experienced. The teacher

could also suggest to Ss to actually post their comments on the wall of this specific

group50

or alternatively just visit it so that they can see some examples of the other

group members‘ contributions. At this stage, the teacher cannot impose any

restrictions on the language output of Ss, because Ss are supposed to come up with

their own answers, drawing on all their language resources and not just the newly-

presented idiomatic knowledge. Nonetheless, the nature of the task is such that anger

idioms are to be expected while Ss are reporting their experiences.

49

Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks and netiquette

symbols should be understood as abbreviations in the form of symbols (e.g. ―@‖ standing for the word

―at‖, number ―4‖ standing for the preposition ―for‖ etc. or the combination of computer keys to produce

emoticons - facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a

writer‘s mood- e.g. :-) Smiley Face – Happy / :-( Frown – Sad / |:-} Calm / >:-( Angry Frown – Upset /

;-) Wink etc. 50

This groups is an authentic one, open to the public, available at: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=3893461543

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=3893461543


94

APPENDIX 3

MATERIALS FOR THE LESSON PLAN


95

APPENDIX 3a

WORKSHEET A

WARM-UP TASK 1

TASK 1: Imagine that you find yourselves in the following situations (A-E) depicted

in the pictures below. What will your main feeling be and how intense do you think it

would be in each case? Talk with your neighbour and compare the intensity of your

feeling.

A

Situation A You are driving down the highway with your brand new car and suddenly another car cuts you off and causes you a minor accident with another car! What do you do? How do you feel?

B

Situation B You have to submit an important report to your boss in 30 minutes and your computer has just crashed!All your archives are in danger! What do you do? How do you feel?

C

Situation C You have just found out that your husband is cheating on you with your best friend! What do you do? How do you feel?

D

Situation D You lent your only car to your best friend and he returned it back to you full of scrapes. What do you do? How do you feel?

E

Situation E The stock market has just crashed and you lost about 1.000.000$ from your investments. What do you do? How do you feel?


96

APPENDIX 3b

WORKSHEET B

WARM-UP TASK 2

Now, based on your answers to the previous task, answer the following questionnaire

by stating how angry you would be exactly in each of the situations depicted above.

Please, circle your answers accordingly in the scale that follows.


97

APPENDIX 3c

WORKSHEET C

PRESENTATION TASK 1: TEXT

TEXT

DON’T BLOW YOUR LID: ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT WORK

You‘re in the grocery store, and someone nearly

bumps into you with their cart. Later, while driving down the highway, someone in a big

SUV cuts you off and nearly causes an accident. Then, when you get back to the office,

your computer is causing you problems—it just won‘t do what you want it to do.

Do you spend the rest of the afternoon fuming, thinking about how people really

ought to watch where they‘re going—or do you let it go? Do you race to catch up to the

reckless driver and try to cut him off or shake your fist at him—or do you lay back in

your seat and think, ―I‘m thankful I didn’t get into an accident!‖? Do you pound your

fists on your desk and contemplate throwing your computer across the room—or do you

take a few deep breaths and try to find someone to help you figure out the problem?

These might seem like silly examples, but how you choose to respond to your anger has

a big effect on every aspect of your life—and how you feel while you‘re living it.

Anger is a completely natural response, and everyone experiences anger from

time to time. In some situations, anger can have positive effects. It spurs us to take action

and change an unsatisfying situation, and it helps us fight the injustices we see in the

world. All great social movements started with a seed of anger; someone saw something

that needed changing, and their anger over the mistreatment of others helped them take

the first steps toward liberation. But when we find ourselves brimming with anger on a

regular basis, it can have seriously negative effects—on our health, our relationships, and

our quality of life.

The goal here isn‘t to never get hot under the collar. The key to anger

management is understanding when you‘re angry and how to express that anger in a

healthy way. Lashing out, blowing your top, holding it all in, stewing in your own juice,

or acting out in passive-aggressive ways that allow you to seek revenge with a veneer of

niceness are all unhealthy ways of dealing with your anger. You can have too much or

too little anger, and both cause problems.

Too Much Anger: A Life of Frustration

Some people have too much anger. Or, more accurately, they anger very easily

and, once they‘re angry, they have a limited number of resources for expressing that

anger or letting it go. Almost anyone would feel a surge of overwhelming anger if their

house got broken into. On the other hand, not many people would throw their computer

across the room because their e-mail wouldn‘t work or give a close friend the silent


98

treatment for a week because of canceled plans. If you‘re consistently pessimistic,

critical, frustrated, lashing out, cursing, or shutting others out in an attempt to avoid

anger, odds are you‘re one of those who angers easily.

Research has shown that some people are born with a lower frustration tolerance.

From a very early age they‘re easily irritated and very touchy. Others are raised in an

environment that is chaotic, abusive, or lacking in emotional communication. They were

never taught how to deal with their anger appropriately. Whatever the reason, some

people really are just more likely to anger over any and every annoyance, inconvenience,

injustice, etc. than others. People who have trouble controlling their anger aren‘t always

prone to angry outbursts, either. Anger can also come out as moodiness, sulking, talking

behind other‘s backs, and shutting down.

So, if angering too easily isn‘t determined by being a ―hothead‖ or blowing up

all the time, how do you know if you anger too easily? People who anger easily tend to

focus on the negatives in a situation—all the reasons they feel like they‘re being

disrespected, mistreated, or picked-on—even if these slights are imagined. They

practically blow a fuse out of nowhere.

If someone cuts them off, they focus on the fact that the other driver did that to

them instead of seeing that there are multiple sides to every story. It could be that the

other driver didn‘t see them or that they simply made a mistake, but someone with anger

control issues won‘t even let those possibilities cross their mind; they often think,

―They‘re doing it to me, not near me.‖ This focusing on the negatives and even

imagining slights when there are none gets the person angry at every turn. A person with

anger control issues also has a tendency to have really rigid rules about what is and is not

acceptable to them. We all need to have values and boundaries, but we also need to cut

others some slack. No one is perfect, and no one is going to live up to our expectations

all the time. If you find your blood boiling with people for making one or two mistakes

or not following your rules to the letter, you might have anger control problems. But

remember blowing a gasket is not the solution.

So what can you do?

There are a number of healthy ways to express and deal with your anger. If you

have trouble with too much anger, it‘s important to focus on your thoughts. Here are

some simple ways you can start putting your anger in perspective:

Look at the other side. When you‘re really mad, looking at the situation

from the other person‘s point of view may be the last thing you want to

do, but offering some understanding can help you get a different

perspective and maybe not get so mad or at least do a slow burn.

Would it stand up in court? Ask yourself if there is any evidence to

prove that the situation really is the way you think it is. Can you prove

that the driver who cut you off did it on purpose? Do you know beyond a

shadow of a doubt that your friend didn‘t return your phone call because

they don‘t respect your friendship? If not, then don‘t lose your cool over

it!

Do I really want to do that? When you feel yourself getting angry and

about to flash with anger, ask yourself if that‘s what you really want to

do. Think about the outcome. If your way of dealing with anger is to

numb out watching too much TV, ask yourself if you‘ll feel any better. If

you want to vent your spleen, think about what that might do to the

relationship. Is there an answer? Your anger isn‘t always unjustified.


99

Sometimes there really is a problem. The key is to seek a solution instead

of a momentary quick-fix. Lashing out or masking your feelings may feel

good in the moment, but they don‘t solve the problem. Instead, look for a

reasonable solution.

These are some simple answers, and they‘re going to look a little different in every

situation. The real key is to look for the positive factors that balance out the negative and

learn to let go of the little stuff.

Author: Nan Little

(Slightly adapted text available at: http://www.anxiety-and-depression

solutions.com/articles/health_and_wellness/Anger_Management_Strategies_that_Work.php

http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/contributors/nan_little.php


100

APPENDIX 3d

WORKSHEET D

UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTUAL MOTIVATION IN ANGER IDIOMS


101

APPENDIX 3e

WORKSHEET E

PRACTICE TASK 1

Match the beginnings of the idioms in Column A with their second parts in Column B.

What can you notice? (There might be more than one option per item in some cases).

COLUMN A

COLUMN B

1. blow one‘s

a. gasket

2. brim

b. spleen

3. vent one‘s

c. with anger

4. do a

d. juice

5. blow a

e. top

6. make one‘s

f. lid

7. be hot

h. fuse

8. lose one‘s

i. slow burn

9. flash

j. blood boil

10. stew in one‘s (own)

k. under the collar

l. cool


102

APPENDIX 3f

WORKSHEET F

PRACTICE TASK 1

51

The teacher might wish to proceed to an even deeper analysis of formal characteristics by initiating a

discussion about transitive/intransitive constructions or external causation (e.g. in the case of ―make

one‘ blood boil‖. However, this tabulation of formal characteristics is supposed to suffice as this lesson

emphasises FORM + MEANING + USE of idioms without overstressing one of these three aspects.

TABULATION OF THE FORMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ANGER

IDIOMS

1) Idioms with possessive

determiners (i.e. verb + possessive

determiner (e.g. your, one‘s, etc)

+ noun)

Examples: blow one‘s top, blow one‘s

lid, vent one‘s spleen, lose one‘s cool,

stew in one‘s (own) juice, make one‘s

one blood boil51

2) Idioms with a prepositional phrase

(i.e. verb + preposition like ―in‖,

―with‖, etc + noun)

Examples: brim with anger, flash with

anger, be hot under the collar

3) Idioms following the structure:

verb + indefinite article + noun

Examples: blow a gasket, blow a fuse,

somebody is doing a slow burn


103

APPENDIX 3g

WORKSHEET G

PRACTICE TASK 2

Work with your partner and try to group the idioms in the box below under the

metaphors that motivate them. Please write your answers inside or under the

circles that correspond to each metaphor.

ANGER IS HEAT

Blow one’s lid, somebody is boiling with anger, somebody is simmering with range, be hot

under the collar, be steamed up, flash with anger, somebody is fuming, smoke coming out

of one’s ears, lose one’s cool, be fiery-tempered, be seething with anger, somebody’s anger

is smo(u)ldering, to fan the flames, to add fuel to the flames.

ANGER IS FIRE

ANGER IS A HOT FLUID

INA CONTAINER

Possible unknown words:

simmer → to boil gently, or to cook something slowly by boiling it gently

seethe→(of a liquid) boil or be turbulent as if boiling / to feel an emotion, especially

anger, so strongly that you are almost shaking

smo(u)lder→ if something such as wood smoulders, it burns slowly without a flame

As defined by the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 4th edition (2003)


104

APPENDIX 3h

WORKSHEET H

PRODUCTION TASK 1

Look at the pictures that follow and the short descriptions below them. Each picture

describes an experience that could make you angry (or has made you angry in the

past). Choose one picture depicting such an experience and narrate to your partner the

incident that the photo depicts and how angry you would be/were by using at least

three idioms related to anger.

1. Your favourite football

team has just lost the Cup!

2. You were waiting for an

important call and your phone

just ran out of battery!

3. You have just paid a

fortune for the most expensive

dish of a luxurious restaurant

but the food was a disaster!

4. Your wife has just burnt

your favourite shirt.

5. You’ve just returned home

only to find that your house

has been broken into.

6. Your professor has failed

your final paper although you

are absolutely sure that there

was no problem with it!

7. Your computer has just

crashed and you’ve lost all of

your archives.

8. You just found out that

your boyfriend has cheated on

you.

9. Waiting in the queue to pay

your bill that expires today

while the cash register closes

in 30 minutes.


105

10. You have just received

your monthly credit card

statement and you just saw

that you have a debit of

500.000$ for purchases that

your ex-wife has made!

11. You’ve just been given the

school reports of your son and

they seem anything but

satisfactory!

12. Your little daughter has

just broken your expensive

Murano vase; your only

souvenir from Italy!


106

APPENDIX 3i

WORKSHEET I

PRODUCTION TASK 2 (Homework)

ANGER STORIES: POSTING A MINI-STORY ON FACEBOOK

While surfing on facebook, you stumbled upon a new group that you decided to join,

called Anger Management. After reading a couple of interesting stories on the group‘s

―wall‖, you decided to contribute your own ―anger story‖ about a recent experience

you had. Write your story (100-150 words) in the form of a facebook comment to be

posted on the group‘s wall and shared among your other facebook friends.


107

APPENDIX 4

KEY TO THE TASKS OF THE LESSON PLAN


108

Presentation Stage

Warm-up Task 1

Accept Ss‘ answers as long as they are meaningful and coherent.

Warm-up Task 2

Accept Ss‘ answers as long as they are meaningful and coherent.

Warm-up Task 3

Accept Ss‘ answers as long as they are meaningful and coherent and as long as they

match the content of the text. Here follows a version of the text whereby all the

idiomatic expressions related to anger have been highlighted for your convenience.

TEXT

DON’T BLOW YOUR LID: ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT WORK

You‘re in the grocery store, and someone nearly

bumps into you with their cart. Later, while driving down the highway, someone in a big

SUV cuts you off and nearly causes an accident. Then, when you get back to the office,

your computer is causing you problems—it just won‘t do what you want it to do.

Do you spend the rest of the afternoon fuming, thinking about how people really

ought to watch where they‘re going—or do you let it go? Do you race to catch up to the

reckless driver and try to cut him off or shake your fist at him—or do you lay back in

your seat and think, ―I‘m thankful I didn’t get into an accident!‖? Do you pound your

fists on your desk and contemplate throwing your computer across the room—or do you

take a few deep breaths and try to find someone to help you figure out the problem?

These might seem like silly examples, but how you choose to respond to your anger has

a big effect on every aspect of your life—and how you feel while you‘re living it.

Anger is a completely natural response, and everyone experiences anger from

time to time. In some situations, anger can have positive effects. It spurs us to take action

and change an unsatisfying situation, and it helps us fight the injustices we see in the

world. All great social movements started with a seed of anger; someone saw something


109

that needed changing, and their anger over the mistreatment of others helped them take

the first steps toward liberation. But when we find ourselves brimming with anger on a

regular basis, it can have seriously negative effects—on our health, our relationships, and

our quality of life.

The goal here isn‘t to never get hot under the collar. The key to anger

management is understanding when you‘re angry and how to express that anger in a

healthy way. Lashing out, blowing your top, holding it all in, stewing in your own juice,

or acting out in passive-aggressive ways that allow you to seek revenge with a veneer of

niceness are all unhealthy ways of dealing with your anger. You can have too much or

too little anger, and both cause problems.

Too Much Anger: A Life of Frustration

Some people have too much anger. Or, more accurately, they anger very easily

and, once they‘re angry, they have a limited number of resources for expressing that

anger or letting it go. Almost anyone would feel a surge of overwhelming anger if their

house got broken into. On the other hand, not many people would throw their computer

across the room because their e-mail wouldn‘t work or give a close friend the silent

treatment for a week because of canceled plans. If you‘re consistently pessimistic,

critical, frustrated, lashing out, cursing, or shutting others out in an attempt to avoid

anger, odds are you‘re one of those who angers easily.

Research has shown that some people are born with a lower frustration tolerance.

From a very early age they‘re easily irritated and very touchy. Blowing a gasket was

always typical of them. Others are raised in an environment that is chaotic, abusive, or

lacking in emotional communication. They were never taught how to deal with their

anger appropriately. Whatever the reason, some people really are just more likely to

anger over any and every annoyance, inconvenience, injustice, etc. than others. People

who have trouble controlling their anger aren‘t always prone to angry outbursts, either.

Anger can also come out as moodiness, sulking, talking behind other‘s backs, and

shutting down.

So, if angering too easily isn‘t determined by being a ―hothead‖ or blowing up

all the time, how do you know if you anger too easily? People who anger easily tend to

focus on the negatives in a situation—all the reasons they feel like they‘re being

disrespected, mistreated, or picked-on—even if these slights are imagined. They

practically blow a fuse out of nowhere.

If someone cuts them off, they focus on the fact that the other driver did that to

them instead of seeing that there are multiple sides to every story. It could be that the

other driver didn‘t see them or that they simply made a mistake, but someone with anger

control issues won‘t even let those possibilities cross their mind; they often think,

―They‘re doing it to me, not near me.‖ This focusing on the negatives and even

imagining slights when there are none gets the person angry at every turn. A person with

anger control issues also has a tendency to have really rigid rules about what is and is not

acceptable to them. We all need to have values and boundaries, but we also need to cut

others some slack. No one is perfect, and no one is going to live up to our expectations


110

all the time. If you find your blood boiling with people for making one or two mistakes

or not following your rules to the letter, you might have anger control problems. But

remember blowing a gasket is not the solution.

So what can you do?

There are a number of healthy ways to express and deal with your anger. If you

have trouble with too much anger, it‘s important to focus on your thoughts. Here are

some simple ways you can start putting your anger in perspective:

Look at the other side. When you‘re really mad, looking at the situation

from the other person‘s point of view may be the last thing you want to

do, but offering some understanding can help you get a different

perspective and maybe not get so mad or at least do a slow burn.

Would it stand up in court? Ask yourself if there is any evidence to

prove that the situation really is the way you think it is. Can you prove

that the driver who cut you off did it on purpose? Do you know beyond a

shadow of a doubt that your friend didn‘t return your phone call because

they don‘t respect your friendship? If not, then don‘t lose your cool over

it!

Do I really want to do that? When you feel yourself getting angry and

about to flash with anger, ask yourself if that‘s what you really want to

do. Think about the outcome. If your way of dealing with anger is to

numb out watching too much TV, ask yourself if you‘ll feel any better. If

you want to vent your spleen, think about what that might do to the

relationship. Is there an answer? Your anger isn‘t always unjustified.

Sometimes there really is a problem. The key is to seek a solution instead

of a momentary quick-fix. Lashing out or masking your feelings may feel

good in the moment, but they don‘t solve the problem. Instead, look for a

reasonable solution.

These are some simple answers, and they‘re going to look a little different in every

situation. The real key is to look for the positive factors that balance out the negative and

learn to let go of the little stuff.

Author: Nan Little

(Slightly adapted text available at: http://www.anxiety-and-depression

solutions.com/articles/health_and_wellness/Anger_Management_Strategies_that_Work.php)

http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/contributors/nan_little.php


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Practice Stage

Practice Task 1

COLUMN A

COLUMN B

1. blow one‘s e, f

a. gasket

2. brim c

b. spleen

3. vent one‘s b

c. with anger

4. do a i

d. juice

5. blow a a, h

e. top

6. make one‘s j

f. lid

7. be hot k

h. fuse

8. lose one‘s l

i. slow burn

9. flash c

j. blood boil

10. stew in one‘s (own) d

k. under the collar

l. cool

Practice Task 2

ANGER IS HEAT

ANGER IS FIRE

1. flash with anger

2. lose one‘s cool

3. be fiery-tempered

4. to fan the flames

5. to add fuel to the flames

6. be hot under the collar


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ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER

1. to blow one‘s lid

2. sb is boiling with anger

3. sb is simmering with range

4. be steamed up

5. sb is fuming

6. smoke coming out of one‘s ears

7. be seething with anger

8. sb‘s anger is smo(u)ldering

Production Stage

Production Task 1

Accept Ss‘ answers as long as they are meaningful and coherent and as long as they

include at least three of the newly-presented anger idioms.

Production Task 1

Accept Ss‘ texts as long as they are meaningful and coherent and as long as they

match the conventions associated with the text-type they were required to produce.


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APPENDIX 5

ABSTRACT IN GREEK


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* Περίληψη

Η παξνύζα κειέηε πξαγκαηεύεηαη ην δήηεκα ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ ζηε γιώζζα

κέζα από ην πξίζκα ηεο Γλωζηαθήο Γιωζζνινγίαο (Cognitive Linguistics) θαη

εηδηθόηεξα κέζα από ην πξίζκα ηεο γλωζηαθήο πξνζέγγηζεο ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ

(cognitive approach to idioms). Σθνπόο ηεο κειέηεο είλαη λα θαηαδείμεη όηη ε

γλωζηαθή πξνζέγγηζε ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ παξνπζηάδεη εμαηξεηηθό ελδηαθέξνλ ωο πξνο

ηελ κέζνδν δηδαζθαιίαο ηνπο ζηελ μελόγιωζζε ηάμε. Ωο εθ ηνύηνπ, ε ελ ιόγω

δηαηξηβή απνζθνπεί ζην λα παξνπζηάζεη κηα θξηηηθή αλαζθόπεζε ηωλ δηαθνξεηηθώλ

πξνζεγγίζεωλ πνπ έρνπλ πξνηαζεί γηα ηελ κειέηε θαη ηελ αλάιπζε ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ

θαη, θπξίωο, λα παξαζέζεη πξαθηηθά παξαδείγκαηα γιωζζηθώλ αζθήζεωλ εληαγκέλα

ζε έλα ιεπηνκεξέο θαη απηνηειέο ζρέδην καζήκαηνο.

Πξνηείλνληαο, ινηπόλ, παξαδείγκαηα εθαξκνζηκόηεηαο ηεο γλωζηαθήο

πξνζέγγηζεο ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ ζηελ μελόγιωζζε ηάμε, ε ζπγθεθξηκέλε κειέηε

επηρεηξεί λα "άξεη ηνλ κύζν ηεο απζαηξεηόηεηαο" (arbitrariness) πνπ επί καθξόλ

ζθίαδε ηνπο ηδηωκαηηζκνύο, ζέηνληάο ηνπο ζην πεξηζώξην ηεο γιωζζηθήο έξεπλαο θαη

κειέηεο. Μέζα από ηελ γλωζηαθή πξνζέγγηζε ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ παξαηεξνύκε όηη

κεγάιε κεξίδα ηνπο δελ έρεη ζπζηαζεί απζαίξεηα θαη ηπραία, αιιά αληίζεηα απνηειεί

γιωζζηθή πξαγκάηωζε ηεο ελλνηαθήο θηλεηξνδόηεζήο ηνπο (conceptual motivation).

Η ελλνηαθή θηλεηξνδόηεζε ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ απνηειεί ίζωο ηελ κεγαιύηεξε

ζπλεηζθνξά ηεο γλωζηαθήο πξνζέγγηζεο, θαζώο θαηαδεηθλύεη όηη ε ζεκαζία ηωλ

ηδηωκαηηζκώλ είλαη απνηέιεζκα γλωζηαθώλ κεραληζκώλ (cognitive mechanisms)

όπωο ε κεηαθνξά, ε κεηωλπκία θ.ά. Με δεδνκέλε ινηπόλ ηελ θηλεηξνδόηεζε ηεο

ζεκαζίαο ηνπο, νη ηδηωκαηηζκνί εληάζζνληαη πιένλ ζε έλα ζπζηεκαηνπνηεκέλν

δίθηπν πνπ αληηβαίλεη ζηελ παξνπζίαζε ηνπο ωο ηδηόηππωλ - θαη κεηαμύ ηνπο

αζύλδεηωλ - γιωζζηθώλ εθθξάζεωλ, πνπ απνηεινύζε θαη ηνλ παξαδνζηαθό ηξόπν

ηεο δηδαθηηθήο ηνπο πξνζέγγηζεο ζηελ μελόγιωζζε ηάμε.

Σε απηή ηελ δηαηξηβή, ινηπνλ, επηδηώθω λα ππνγξακκίζω ηελ δηδαθηηθή

εθαξκνζηκόηεηα ηεο γλωζηαθήο πξνζέγγηζεο ζηελ μελόγιωζζε ηάμε. Τν ζρέδην

καζήκαηνο θαη ην πιηθό δηδαζθαιίαο πνπ πξνηείλω πξνο εθαξκνγή βαζίδεηαη ζηελ

παξνπζίαζε ηωλ αγγιηθώλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ πνπ ζρεηίδνληαη κε ηελ έθθξαζε ηνπ ζπκνύ

(anger idioms) θαη θηλεηξνδνηνύληαη από ηελ ελλνηαθή κεηαθνξά ANGER IS HEAT

θαη ηηο δπν πην ζπγθεθξηκέλεο εθθάλζεηο ηεο ANGER IS FIRE θαη ANGER IS A

HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER. Ταπηόρξνλα, ζην πιαίζην ηεο ζεωξεηηθήο θαη


115

πξαθηηθήο εμέηαζεο ηνπ δεηήκαηνο, ππνγξακκίδω ηνπο βαζύηεξνπο ζπζρεηηζκνύο

κεηαμύ ηεο γλωζηαθήο πξνζέγγηζεο ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ θαη θεληξηθώλ ελλνηώλ ηεο

Εθαξκνζκέλεο Γιωζζνινγίαο, όπωο νη ζηξαηεγηθέο κάζεζεο (learning strategies), ηα

καζεζηαθά ζηπι (learning styles), ε επηθνηλωληαθή ηθαλόηεηα (communicative

competence), θά.

Σπκπεξαζκαηηθά ινηπόλ, δεδνκέλνπ νηη ε παξνύζα εξγαζία αθνξά ζηελ

δηδαζθαιία ηωλ ηδηωκαηηζκώλ θαη ηελ αλίρλεπζε ηωλ πνιππνιηηηζκηθώλ ζηνηρείωλ

πνπ απηνί ζπρλά θωδηθνπνηνύλ, είλαη δπλαηόλ λα ιεηηνπξγήζεη ωο αθεηεξία γηα ηελ

δηεξεύλεζε θαη άιιωλ πξνεθηάζεωλ ηεο γλωζηαθήο πξνζέγγηζεο ζηε δηδαθηηθή ηωλ

ηδηωκαηηζκώλ, όπωο ε δεκηνπξγία δηδαθηηθνύ πιηθνύ (materials' design) θαη ε

αλάπηπμε γιωζζηθώλ ηεζη θαη θαηάιιειεο ηππνινγίαο αζθήζεωλ (test development

and task design).

Λέξεις κλειδιά: Γλωζηαθή Γιωζζνινγία, ηδηωκαηηζκνί, ελλνηαθή κεηαθνξά,

θηλεηξνδόηεζε, δηδαθηηθή ηεο μέλεο γιώζζαο, ζρέδην καζήκαηνο - πξαθηηθέο

εθαξκνγέο.

A Cognitive Linguistic Treatment of Idiomaticity in an EFL Context, MA thesis

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