Teaching Idiomatic Expressions: A Comparison of Two Instructional Methods

Twenty hearing-impaired children enrolled in a state residential school for deaf students in a large south central U.S. city participated in a study that compared the efficacy of two instructional designs used to teach idiomatic expressions. One of the methods consisted of videotape presentations followed by classroom discussion, and the other consisted of extended classroom discussions. The children ranged in age from 13 to 16 years, with a mean age of 13 years, 11 months. Their reading grade level scores ranged from 1.9 to 6.9, with a mean of 3-5.

Sixteen popular idiomatic expressions were selected and original scripts depicting the expressions were prepared and then performed by members of the local deaf acting club. Each expression was also captioned on the tape. At the conclusion of the filming, the skits were edited into two videotapes consisting of eight idioms each.

The children were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the videotape group or the classroom discussion group. Both groups improved their understanding of the idioms significantly over the course of the study. However, improvement was significantly greater when the children received instruction under the videotape method. Tests given to the students 8 and 16 weeks after the experiment showed that they had retained the knowledge.