Helping ELLs Become Smart Cookies

Unpacking Idioms

Arpine Ovsepyan

Fish out of water. Think outside the box. It's raining cats and dogs. Birds of a feather flock together. Native English speakers use idioms like these in daily conversation, in print, and online. At the same time, English language learners (ELLs) in the early stages of their language development are working to decode the idiom into literal speech: fish + out of water? What is the speaker trying to say?

As an English teacher at Herbert Hoover High School in the Glendale Unified School District in California, approximately 85 percent of the students I work with are designated as ELLs. This past summer, I had the opportunity to teach an English language development (ELD) class in which 100 percent of the students were ELLs.

From working with so many ELLs, and from my own experience speaking two languages in addition to English, I learned how common idioms are and therefore how critical it was to help ELLs unlock their hidden meanings. If I failed, our study of literature and language would be a classic example of a communication breakdown.

Cut to the Chase, or the Lesson Plan

Secondary students often have a strong background in direct vocabulary; they understand the literal meaning of words. However, figurative language, like idioms, remains a challenge. To help my summer ELD class, I developed a lesson to directly address the language of idioms using Sandra Cisneros's popular novella The House on Mango Street, which I chose intentionally because of Cisneros's extensive use of idioms.

I divided the class into groups, modeled the assignment, and assigned each group a portion of the book to read and analyze. The section that challenged my students the most was titled “A Smart Cookie.” Rather than tell the students the meaning of this idiom up front, I had them guess, defend their answer, and vote as a class on the meaning based on context clues in the story. Answers for the “smart cookie” idiom ranged from “someone who is hungry” to “someone who eats cookies before a test.” When I revealed the correct meaning of the idiom as someone who is smart, the entire class exploded into laughter.

All in the Same Boat, or the Importance of Community

Next, I asked students to think about idioms in their native language and compare them to those in English. This not only helped build a common language in the class but also strengthened our class community, because students were able to discuss their challenges in mastering English through the lens of their own colloquialisms.

Building community might not be explicitly stated in the standards, but I found it to be a critical support for my students, especially my summer class, of which a majority of students arrived in the United States after fleeing war-torn countries. Their recent exposure to trauma, the stress and isolation of a new academic environment, plus the typical factors of adolescence and high school social expectations made school tough for these kids.

In general, secondary school ELLs may be more withdrawn than elementary school ELLs. They want to move away from translating and become autonomous with English. At the same time, pressure to fit in may make them reluctant to ask questions or participate in class for fear of exposing weaknesses in fluency. That's why it's imperative for teachers to help ELLs feel safe and supported in the classroom and help them acquire a rich academic vocabulary to complement the basic English vocabulary skills they have learned to survive.

Finding Your Feet, or Using Idiom Journals and Walls

Following our class discussion, students reread Cisneros's stories and wrote about how different their analysis of the text was now that they had unlocked the meaning of the idioms. As a follow-up assignment, I asked students to keep an idiom journal where they recorded idioms they heard or read on a daily basis—in the classroom, online, on television, and in popular music. In one entry, a student recorded 20 idioms in one 30-minute television show.

Each week, I dedicated a portion of class time to discuss students' idiom journal entries. This discussion time is extremely important because it helps students realize that they're not the only person struggling with complex and hidden meanings. To document student progress, I created an idiom wall using input from idiom journal discussions. In addition to reinforcing a common classroom language, the idiom wall bolsters student confidence because they can see their growth in English language acquisition.

At the end of the summer, the culminating assignment for my class involved students implementing all four areas of the California Language Arts Content Standards: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I required students to write and deliver a speech in which they accurately used at least seven idioms we had learned about in class. At the same time, I required students in the audience to record and identify the correct meaning of at least five of the seven idioms from every student's speech to demonstrate their mastery of listening skills.

This lesson helped me transform ELLs who once felt like fish out of water into smart cookies because they were able to effectively communicate their ideas in English.

Arpine Ovsepyan teaches English at Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, Calif., and graduate-level courses at Point Loma Nazarene University in Arcadia, Calif. She is a 2007 ASCD Emerging Leader and a 2006 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award finalist.