up and down on and off

to and fro then and there

through and through one and all

over and above all and sundry

now and again first and foremost

IV. Think of fifteen idioms that initiate with the preposition in

V. Insert articles if necessary.

take ... dislike to produce ... impression on

take ... liking to keep ... secret from

take ... fancy to cast ... glance on

make ... fuss about make ... attempt at

lend ... hand to pay ... visit to

VI. Analyse the structure of the idioms; compare the three groups from the viewpoint of grammar.

gain ground take an interest take the trouble

give way run a risk get the hang

get wind take a chance have the cheek

leave effect win a victory have the guts

take heed make a stand spill the beans

do good stretch a point know the ropes

mean harm lend a hand take the lead

eat dirt produce an effect take the starch

take action keep a secret tell the truth

lose interest make a crack blow the gab

give consent lift a finger save the day

make pretence cast a glance

VII. Define the meaning of each idiom; use thorn in a story.

take pains take chances

make friends make arrangements

speak volumes take steps

take decisions make plans

VIII. Arrange the following into groups of semantically related idioms.

at best at least at first

at last at worst at latest

at most at farthest at nearest

IX. Reproduce an episode from the book you are reading; employ the given idioms.

come to a head take into account

arrive at a decision come into existence

fly into a passion come into sight

X. Recall some more idioms of a similar structure: Verb + Preposition + Noun.

fall in love take by surprise

keep in check keep in mind

take in tow roll in money

XI. Give an idiom for each number.

1. pass away 5. fall for

2. take to 6. see through

3. make out 7. chime in

4. give in 8. pass on

XII. Group the idioms according to their structure.

in any case, in a whisper, in full cry, at all costs, on no account, in bad shape, at any rate, into the bargain, in deep water, at the same time, under the weather, in the long run, in a tight corner, at a moment's notice, in no time, by no means, on excellent terms, in a bad way, in a flash, in good humour, at arm's length, in the end, At close quarters, on a high horse, with breakneck pace.

Puzzle - making

The next task for students is to work out the puzzle by marching the idioms and their definitions. First, put puzzle-pieces on the desk with the word facing up Take one and match the idiom to the definition. Having done that, place the puzzle-piece, word-side-up, in the chosen rectangle. When you have used up all the pieces, turn them over. If they form a picture of a landscape, the choices are correct If not, rearrange the picture and check the idiom-definition correspondences.

The game objectives. To work out the puzzle, students had to match idioms with their definitions. The objective of the game was for each pair to cooperate in completing the activity successfully in order to expand their vocabulary with, in this case, colloquial expressions.

All students were active and enjoyed the activity. Some of their comments were as follows: "Very interesting and motivating" "Learning can be a lot of fun" etc.

Students also had to find the appropriate matches in the shortest time possible to beat other participating groups. The element of competition among the groups made them concentrate and think intensively.

Translation activity. The other group of students had to work out the meanings of the idioms by means of translation. Unlike the previously described group, they did not know the definitions. The expressions were listed on the board, and students tried to guess their proper meanings giving different options. My role was to direct them to those that were appropriate. Students translated the idioms into Russian and endeavoured to find similar or corresponding expressions in their mother tongue. Unlike the game used for the purpose of idiom introduction, this activity did not require the preparation of any aids. Fewer learners participated actively or enthusiastically in this lesson and most did not show great interest in the activity.

Administering the test. In order to find out which group acquired new vocabulary better, I designed a short test, for both groups containing a translation into English and a game. This allowed learners to activate their memory with the type of activity they had been exposed to in the presentation. The test checking the acquisition of newly-introduced reading vocabulary I. Match the definitions of the idioms with the pictures and write which idiom is depicted and described:

to he inexperienced

to listen very attentively

to be terrified

to be dominated by someone

to be attentive

to be insincere, dishonest

The proper answers are the following:

d., to be wet behind the ears

a., to be all ears

e., to have one's hair stand on end

f., to be led by the nose

b., to be all eyes

с., to be two-faced.

II Translate into English (the translated sentences should be the following):

He is soft in the head.

She is two-faced, always criticizes me behind my back.

Mark has a sweet tooth, so he is not too slim.

Will you hold your tongue if I tell you something?

Why are you such a loose mouth?

Don't be nosy! This is none of your business.

Description of vocabulary picture puzzle

To prepare the puzzle. I cut two equal-sized pieces of cardboard paper into rectangles. The selected idioms were written onto the rectangles in the puzzle-pieces board and their definitions on the game board. On the reverse side of the puzzle-pieces board. 1 glued colourful photographs of landscapes and then cut the puzzle-pieces board into individual pieces, each with an idiom on it. The important thing was the distribution of the idioms and their definitions on the boards. The definitions were placed in the same horizontal row opposite to the idioms so that when put together face to face each idiom faced its definition.

Puzzle Pieces Board

The idioms and their definitions were the following The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms, New York, 1989, p.77:

to be soft in the head: foolish, not very intelligent;

to have one's hair stand on end: to be terrified;

to be two-faced: to agree with a person to his face but disagree with him behind his back;

to make a face: to make a grimace which may express disgust, anger;

to be all eyes: to be very attentive;

to be an eye-opener: to be a revelation;

to be nosy: to be inquisitive, to ask too many questions;

to be led by the nose: to be completely dominated by, totally influenced by;

long ears: an inquisitive person who is always asking too many questions;

to be all ears: to listen very attentively;

to be wet behind the ears: to be naive, inexperienced;

a loose mouth: an indiscrete person;

one's lips are sealed: to be obliged to keep a secret;

to have a sweet tooth: to have a liking for sweet food, sugar, honey, ice cream, etc.;

to grind one's teeth: to express one's fury;

to hold one's tongue: to say nothing, to be discrete;

Exploring metaphors in the classroom

When our students listen to pop songs in English, browse web sites in English or watch movies in English they frequently meet language rich in its use of metaphors. Yet metaphors are often rather neglected in the classroom. So what kinds of metaphors should we teach, why should we teach them and how can we do so effectively?

Kinds of metaphors

Our students may meet many different kinds of metaphors in English. We usually think of metaphor as being a comparison between two things which are not usually connected with each other, so that the characteristics of the one are carried over to the other. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, for example, Romeo famously compares Juliet to the sun, so that the qualities of the sun (radiance and warmth) are carried over to Juliet. Not only literary English, but everyday English is full of these kinds of metaphors. For example, there are many fixed expressions found in dictionaries which can only be understood metaphorically, such as:

'a step in the right direction' or

to 'sell like hot cakes'

There are also many words which can have both literal and metaphorical meanings:

verbs such as to' hammer' or 'to stream'

adjectives such as 'infectious' or 'lukewarm'

nouns such as 'ingredients' and 'foundation'.

Increasing student vocabulary

Metaphors provide a handy and memorable way of organizing new vocabulary to be learned. Most teachers are familiar with the notion of a lexical set, where vocabulary is grouped according to a topic area, such as 'food' or 'transport'. This idea can be extended to create 'metaphorical sets', where we group together the words and expressions that have a metaphorical, rather than a literal, meaning. Here are some examples:

Body vocabulary

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