Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Learning a new language can be fun, but also incredibly difficult. There are always so many rules! The whole process can be really confusing. But one thing that every language has is idioms.
Idioms are phrases that describe something different than what the original words say. For example, a common idiom in English is “It’s raining cats and dogs.” Of course, cats and dogs are not actually falling from the sky. It just means that it is raining really hard.
Gary and Sara wonder where idioms come from. Find out more in today’s English lesson about language.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Gary: About a week or two ago, I was watching a soccer game, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire game. It was so exciting!
Sara_R: Where did that come from, “edge of my seat”? What is that?
Gary: I don’t know. It’s this funny idiom, right?
Sara_R: Idiom. What are other examples of idioms?
Gary: “Don’t pull my leg.”
Sara_R: “Kick the bucket.”
Gary: They’re so confusing sometimes. I bet a lot of non-native speakers think it’s just a silly sentence that someone has said, and…
Sara_R: It’s probably very hard to understand.
Gary: Yeah.
Sara_R: And there are countless idioms.
Gary: There really are. I try not to use them, but sometimes it’s the perfect way to describe how I feel.
Sara_R: It’s true. And it’s a natural part of how we speak.
Gary: It is! Wow. I’m going to be thinking about that much more often now.
Sara_R: I will be on the edge of my seat.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Future Progressive Tense" from this lesson
Quizzes
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Discussion
Gary tells Sara that when he was watching a soccer game last week, he was on the edge of his seat. Gary uses an idiom without even realizing it! He thinks idioms can be confusing, but he admits he uses them a lot.
Sara is a little confused about what idioms are and where they come from. Together, she and Gary come up with a couple more idioms and realize that they use idioms every day. She just hopes non-native English speakers can understand her.
What is an interesting idiom from your country?
Comments
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Ukraine |
Azerbaijan |
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Egypt |
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Iran, Islamic Republic Of |