Актуальные научные исследования в современном мире iscience. In. Ua

«MODERN SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES AND TRENDS»
 
SCIENCECENTRUM.PL 
ISSUE 3 
ISBN 978-83-949403-3-1 
152
Saparboyeva Gulandom Masharipovna, 
Pulatova Muhayyo Azimboyevna 
(Urgench, Uzbekistan) 
 
THE ROLE OF IDIOMS IN ESL CLASSSOOM AND HINDRANCES IN TEACHING 
Abstract
: The article aims to show the importance of idioms in teaching 
English as a foreign language and the ideas of foreign scholars on the issue. 
Key words
: idioms, pedagogy, approaches, British English, American 
English 
English is the represented language of popular music, advertising, home 
computers and video games. Most of the scientific, technological and academic 
information is expressed in English all over the world. International communication 
in English is expending very fast. People have to communicate with each other. It is 
very important for them to understand foreigners and be understood by them. In this 
case learning the English language comes to be very serious problem. A word 
comes to be a very powerful means of communication but also can be a cause of a 
great misunderstanding if it is not clearly understood by one of the speakers. 
Idioms cover a lot of drawbacks of the English language and it makes one-
third of the colloquial speech. That‘s why, being a non-native speaker, one should 
avoid using idioms without knowing its meaning properly. This may lead to some 
misunderstandings in communication. So, it is fact that second/foreign language 
learning/teaching has been a complex process. Using an appropriate approach or 
method in language teaching has always been a matter of concern among 
language learners and teachers. Liu (2003: 671) maintains that ―Idioms have rather 
rigid structures, quite unpredictable meanings and fairly extensive uses, and that 
they are ―a notoriously difficult‖ but at the same time a very useful aspect of English 
for language learners.‖ In addition, Moon (1998: 3) points out that ―idiom is an 
ambiguous term, used in conflicting ways‖. As Cooper (1998) points out, 
comprehending and producing idioms present language learners with a special 
vocabulary learning problems as they are figurative expressions that do not mean 
what they literally state and since they are so frequently encountered in both oral 
and written discourse. Simpson and Mendis (2003: 423) define the idiom as ―A 
group of words that occur in a more or less fixed phrase whose overall meaning 
cannot be predicted by analyzing the meaning of its constituent parts.‖ It is also 
stated by the same authors that ―The word ‗idiom‘ conjures up language that is 
thought to be entertaining, engaging, casual, char
ming, colorful and memorable‖ (p. 
419). It is evident that teaching idiomatic expressions deserves an important place 
in developing a desired proficiency level for the language learners. Fernando 
(1996), Wray (1999) and Schmitt (2000) suggest that mastering of idioms is 
required for successful language learning and native
–like command of language. 
Thus, idiomatic expressions have begun to draw much more attention as they are 
commonly encountered in daily speeches (Charteris-Black, 2002). 
From another dimension, the difficulty of idioms probably stems from the fact 
that idioms are deeply rooted in the culture of the target language. There are 
sayings, biographies, and stories behind idioms and so L2 learners do not have a 

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