TEACHING IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS FOR
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF SATYA WACANA
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Ratna Widiarti
112009014
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
TEACHING IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS FOR
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF SATYA WACANA
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Ratna Widiarti
112009014
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
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Copyright@ 2013. Ratna Widiarti and Dra. Martha Nandari S. Handoko, M. A.
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Teaching Idiomatic Expressions for English Department Students of Satya Wacana
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TEACHING IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS FOR
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF SATYA WACANA
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Ratna Widiarti
Abstract
In order to communicate naturally, it is necessary for English Department students to learn
idioms and use them in written or spoken speeches. In fact, English Department students‟
abilities to use idiomatic expressions are very limited. Keeping this issue in mind, this paper
aims to present students‟ perspectives toward learning and teaching idioms in order to find the best way of learning idiomatic expressions so that it raises teachers‟ creativities in
teaching and their willing to help their students learn idioms. In addition, this paper intends to find what techniques teachers should use in teaching idiomatic expressions, which are helpful to support their students learn idiomatic expressions. The 5 English Department students are chosen as participants that are required to share their thought about learning idioms, their own experiences in leaning idioms, and their thought about how their teachers should teach them idioms. The results from the interviews reveal that students are interested in materials that using idiomatic expressions, unfortunately there is no certain course that teaches idioms specifically at The English Department. Mostly, the ways that students like to learn idioms are by using media, by discussing, by remembering, and by practicing. Furthermore, suggestions to teach idioms and help the students to learn idioms are provided throughout this study.
Introduction
Idiomatic expression is a language style that is usually used by native speakers of
English to communicate naturally. It is kind of expression, which cannot be understood from the literal meanings of the words of which they are composed (Rachmadys Sabrony, 1986:15). An idiom itself, is a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning,
which are different from the meanings of each word understood on their own (Cambridge Advance Learner‟s Dictionary, 2003). Since idiomatic expressions are important part of language for native speakers of English, it means that idioms are important for the English learners.
Considering that importance, the writer assumed that English Department students must learn idiomatic expressions. But, the problem is that it is not easy to make English-as-foreign-language learners understand and be able to communicate using idiomatic
expressions. Moreover, English comes from some versions, like British English, American English, Australian English, etc, which means there is no standard to use which culture to be
used in teaching English. Thus, knowing where the idioms came from is enough to identify where those idiomatic expressions are appropriate to be used. In addition, the learners can use idiomatic expressions from global English.
Based on the writer‟s experiences while studying at The English Department of Satya Wacana Christian University, the writer finds that most English Department students use
idiomatic expressions rarely in their speech and writing, neither in classroom nor outside classroom. One possible reason is that Indonesian as English learners might face difficulties in mastering it.
(1988) that students‟ core grammar limit their idiomatic construction. In this case, the learner
will pass on the grammar they learned, so that everything will be translated as the way they
learn and based on their knowledge of grammar, whereas idiomatic expression cannot be translated in that way.
Thinking about idiomatic expressions, besides Kaschak‟s study there was also a study by Ismail Cakir from Kayseri, Turkey, about how learners perceive idioms in EFL classes. The finding of that study shows that the idioms provided cannot be easily interpreted by the
students, except for identical and partly similar ones (Cakir, 2011), which means that in that study the EFL students are lack of idioms. Cakir (2011) also noted in support of teaching
idioms,
“It should also be noted that in language teaching, it is not
pedagogical acceptable that some concepts like proverbs, idioms,
metaphors should be skirted. On the contrary, a good language teacher should strive to teach them in a communicative and
meaningful way together with the culture of that target language in
order to foster learners‟ lexical competence (Cakir, 2011).”
In addition, Liu (2008, p. 124) remind us the reasons not to incorporate idiom learning into
the entire curriculum because idioms are best learned naturally in normal language use and because of the amount of time allocation for exclusive idioms. Because of that, it is debatable
about using a special class only to teach idioms.
Considering those arguments, the writer wants to conduct a study to find appropriate ways of teaching idiomatic expressions that are fit to English Departmet of Satya Wacana
Christian University students. Using some techniques provided by Liu and theories used by some researchers, the writer interviewed the participants, which are the third and fourth year
teaching and learning idioms or idiomatic expressions. And the research questions to be answered are “What do students think about the best way of learning idiomatic expressions,”
which is aimed to reveal what techniques that students think and experience are helpful for them to learn idioms, and “What techniques do teachers have to use in teaching idiomatic
expressions?” By knowing students‟ needs and interests in their ways of learning idioms,
teachers may understand what they have to do to help their students learn idioms.
By finding those, the writer hopes that this study will be significant, not only for the
writer, but also for the reader. From students‟ perspectives, teachers hopefully will know and
understand what the students‟ interests in learning idiomatic expression are and consider
those perspectives to improve their techniques in teaching, especially teaching idioms, to become more creative, interesting, and challenging for the students.
Idioms in Second/ Foreign Language Learning
Since this study is about students‟ of English Department students‟ perspectives, it is
necessary to know how idioms in forein language learning are. The use of idioms and
idiomatic expressions are characteristics of competency in a language. Cakir (2011) described that the failure of using them refers to the lack of pragmatic competence. If the students cannot understand or produce idiomatic expressions it means they have not reached
a high level of second-language proficiency. Because of that, the ESL/EFL learners should know how to use idioms in the right way and in appropriate context or collocation. By
learning idioms, learners are provided with a good opportunity to acquire information about a
language‟s culture (Agar, 1991; Glucksberg, 2001), which should not be underestimated
during the learning process.
What the Teachers Have To Do
Cakir (2011) stated that Idioms are usually used in a numerous of daily situations, and
practice using idioms as the product. Because of that, teachers have to help students become communicatively competent in target language. Teachers also should attempt to teach the
students in a communicative and meaningful way.
In delivering the lesson, teachers must consider students‟ levels in learning idiomatic
expressions. Tarcaoanu (2012) mentioned some levels in learning idiomatic expressions. One of them is the historical level, where the idiomatic competence refers to traditional language knowledge of a community which can draw a history of the idioms, and this is important
when a teacher teaches idioms because knowing the background or history of idioms they teach is good to strengthen them in mastering the language itself.
The writer uses this theory as consideration and base of what the teachers should do. Since what teachers have to do are not only limited above, the writer will explain more techniques in the next parts. In addition, to grab what students think about how their teacher
should help them to learn idiomatic expressions, the writer asks the students about it in an open-ended question in the writer‟s interview.
Teaching Idioms
The first thing teachers can do to teach idioms is by explaining the idioms. In a classroom activity where a teacher teaches some language skills in a meeting, practicing
idioms sometimes may not be feasible or time cost-effective. In this situation, a teacher uses idioms to speak or to give instructions then gives a brief explanation, and simplifying them.
This explanation helps students to notice them. Liu (2008) stated that when students listen to a story, brief explanation about vocabulary items increases students‟ lexical learning. To
needed for language learning to take place (Liu, 2008). The following are techniques teachers
can use in teaching idioms to raise students‟ awareness and interests in idioms. The courses students learn idioms.
Liu (2008 p. 124) remind us the reasons not to incorporate idiom learning into the
entire curriculum. These are because idioms are best learned naturally in normal language use and because of the amount of time allocation for exclusive idioms. But, the writer thinks that it is important to know in what courses students learn idioms to give a description of
idiomatic expressions teaching and learning in The English Department.
How the teacher teach idioms.
Liu‟s (2000a) study proved that teachers who provides assistance to their students when practice using idioms are very limited. Mostly, they used three principal explanations strategies, which are definition, elaboration, and paraphrasing to help students grasp the new
idioms.
Tarcoanu (2012) provided different steps in teaching idioms and their meaning. The
first step is choose 5-8 idioms that may be easily to be grouped. Then introduce idioms in context, not in the isolation. Third, students create the conversations using the idioms. After that, students act their conversations. Students also can practice those using games and
activities. And they use them in their real life as authentic material.
The materials related to idioms given.
An example of material related to idioms is teachers can use reading passage or listening passages (depends on the focus of language skills) that contain idioms as the material in classroom activity, then ask the students to identify and discuss it (Liu, 2008 p.
Learning idioms in daily use.
Liu (2008) shared what Irujo (1986b) said that exploring idioms by reading and
discussing idioms in cartoon, comics strips, TV, and other media are fun and very helpful for college students, especially intermediate and higher level students. Teacher can encourage
them by asking them to write down the idioms they encounter and then grab the meaning of them.
From those media, students learn idioms as the contents of media they find, and
connect those contents to students‟ real life. This kind of activity is included in Contextual
Teaching and Learning (CTL). Based on Berns and Erickson (2001) theory, CTL help
students to connect the contents they are learning in classroom with the real life and this learning process will build their understanding of meaning, which in this context is an idiom.
Discussing idioms.
Students read and highlight all the idioms in a reading passage or other natural language data (Liu, 2008). Then, teacher asks the students to discuss with their partners about
the meaning and uniqueness of highlighted idioms. But, the writer also asks the students about how discussion helps them to learn idioms.
Knowing culture of idioms.
Liu (2008) said that idioms are conceptually motivated figurative expressions, and conceptual motivation of idioms sometime may vary from culture to culture. Some idioms
that exist in L2 may be absent in L1, which makes students face difficulty. Considering it, teachers have to help the students to develop their understanding of cultural knowledge. Cakir
(2011) also said that establishing students‟ mutual understanding of culture and cultural value
How native language affect idioms learning process.
Liu (2008) gives an example of identifying and comparing idioms in L1 and L2.
Students have to examine, compare, and contrast the idioms, so that students become more conscious not only of the ubiquitous existence of idioms but also of the similarities and
differences between idioms and different languages. And the writer asks the students about how their native language idioms affect idioms learning process, either by contrasting it or by finding the similarity.
Learning idioms through corpus research.
Teacher asks the students to repeatedly notice and read idioms in authentic context
(corpus), then determine the context and register, or to decide whether the idioms have negative or positive meaning (Liu, 2008). Conducting corpus research is a very challenging and complex task. The research assignment should be specific and the teacher guides the
students continuously.
Figurative meaning vs literal meaning.
According to Grant (2007), a person needs to first understand the literal meaning and
recognize its untruth in the context, and then “pragmatically” reinterpret it to find the
intended truth or meaning, in working out the meaning of a figurative idiom. The teacher has
to make sure that the students understand all the words in the idiom and the literal meaning of the idiom. Liu (2008) added that is because students generally need to understand the literal
meaning to work out the meaning of a figurative idiom. It facilitates in-depth comprehension and memorization of the idioms.
Students’ own way of learning.
The other useful activities are picture drawing and the dramatization of idioms, but this is preferable for young learners and students with low English proficiency. This is a kind
efficient to develop students‟ understanding of idioms and other figurative language
elements. Here, the writer does not only limit the students‟ ways of learning in that way, but also open for their answers.
Students’ expectation.
Expectation is something that perhaps does not need any theory. However, here the writer provides some interesting activities that are used as the example that students might expect their teachers to conduct it in their learning process. This is aimed to give the
participants what the writer means when asks them about their expectations. Those activities are not limited in the classroom meeting, because Liu (2008) said that classes are not the
most effective instructional setting for idiom learning. Here, the activities are such as by using idiom corner, which is a space on a wall in a classroom or inside the faculty building used to post idioms that students have encountered or that the teacher would like students to
learn (Liu, 2008). Besides useful for the writers of the idioms, it is also useful for the readers, because they can read the idioms and learn the idioms unconsciously. Guessing idiom
meanings by using contextual information is very useful and effective. In this activity, firstly look at the idiom very closely to see what grammatical function it plays. Next, examine the immediate context, and then move on to the larger context. Liu (2008) proposed the type of
The Study
Context of the Study
This research was a qualitative study, which was meant to find some useful and helpful ways to learn idiomatic expressions, based on students‟ perspectives, compared to the literature review and their own opinions. The writer also wanted to reveal what teachers can do to help their students learning idiomatic expressions.
The setting of the study took place in Satya Wacana Christian University, a private
University located in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. Considering that idiomatic expressions are not included in The English Department‟s courses, the subjects of this small study are not limited by the course they have taken. The reason of choosing The English Department of The Faculty of Language and Literature was that the writer saw and experienced that the students rarely use idiomatic expressions in their speech, whether in
written or spoken language. And it has made the writer curious to explore what the students like or want to make them interested in learning idiomatic expressions and using them
actively.
Participants
The subjects of this research are 5 students who are in the third or fourth year study at The English Department of Satya Wacana Christian University. The writer chose five
students instead of hundreds of students of ED because some students gave similar answers in some questions. Thus, it would be more efficient for the writer to use only five students of
English Department who are in the third or fourth year students. The researcher chose the participants randomly, provided that the participants know what an idiom is. Considering that the use of idiomatic expression is a kind of skill, the researcher selected the students who
The reason is that in those levels of study, the students have learned the language skill courses. Since the gender was not a variable in this study, the subjects were not grouped in
terms of gender, so that the numbers of students from both genders were freely selected.
Instruments
In this study, the interview was used as the main instrument to collect the main data. The interviews were semi-structured interviews, which included 13 open-ended questions and some unstructured questions to gather additional information from the students.
Data Collection Procedure
The data were gathered through a semi-structured interview with 13 questions, but the researcher followed up some points if the writer needed more information. The interviews were recorded. The time given was approximately 15-20 minutes for each participant.
Finally, the recordings were transcribed and analyzed by grouping the data based on the category derived from the data that the researcher has made.
Data Analysis
In the data analysis procedure, in order to answer the research question, the categories
were derived from the data and analyzed. The students‟ responses to the open-ended questions, which were not stated in the literature review, were accepted as their own ideas.
The data were analyzed according to the theory that the writer stated in the literature review by comparing the theory with the data. Finally, after finishing the categorization and
Discussion
Students’ Understanding of Idiomatic Expressions
According to Rachmadys Sabrony (1986:15), an idiomatic expression is an
expression, which cannot be understood from the literal meanings of the words of which they
are composed. And according to Cambridge Advance Learner‟s Dictionary (2003), an idiom
is group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning, which are different from the
meanings of each word understood on their own.
From the five ED students that the writer interviewed, all of them said that they quite
know about idioms, but some of them said that they just know a little bit. The Student A said that she does not know theoretically about what an idiom is. She thinks an idiom is kind of
words that express something in an indirectly way. She gave the example of “running nose” and explained that it does not mean that the nose runs and leaves the face, but it means someone who gets influenza. Student B said that an idiom is a kind of sentence that has a
meaning behind it, or in other words, the meaning is not explicit, but implicit. Student C said that an idiom or idiomatic expression is kind of expression whose meaning is different from
the real meaning. Student D said that an idiom is kind of special expression. He added that every language has its own different expression that delivers the special meaning and it is kind of part of culture. And Student E said that firstly she taught that an idiom or idiomatic
expression is the same as a proverb. But, then she knew that an idiom is a special expression that is used in special situations.
To make sure that they really know about what an idiom or idiomatic expression is,
From the data above, the writer finds that the participants quite know what an idiom or idiomatic expression is and they can identify which are included as idioms. Even though
they did not understand it theoretically, but they can grasp the concept of how idioms are. It is shown by their ability to choose the idiomatic expressions from examples given. And,
comparing the definitions of idioms and idiomatic expressions above with their answers, it seems that they need more explanation about idiomatic expressions until they can describe what an idiom is, based on the theory. It is important to understand the theory of idioms
because there are also words or phrases, which are formed in special or fixed form but they are not idioms. It may cause confusion if the students do not understand idioms well. The
example of confusion can be found from what students E said that previously she thinks idioms are just the same as proverb, but then she thinks that they are different. She also faces difficulties when she chose the idioms from examples given. She only chose the third one
instead of first and third.
Courses That Teach Idioms or Idiomatic Expressions
Cakir (2011) said that idioms are usually used in numerous daily situations in the target language, and consequently it should be included in the syllabus and should be taught. Actually, The English Department syllabus does not include any idiom or idiomatic
expression chapter in any course. When asked in what course the students learn idiomatic expression, Student A said that she knew idioms from grammar class, but she forgot about
what kind of grammar that taught her about idioms. Students B said that she learned idiomatic expressions from Introduction to Linguistics, Semantics, and English to Indonesian Translation. Students C said that she learned idioms from Cross Cultural Understanding class
and Semantics. Students D said that he learned idiomatic expressions from Basic Grammar, Semantics, Cross Cultural Understanding, and a class that he forgot what class it was, but he
she got idioms from Semantics Class and American Literature, which was taught by a native speaker of English.
The data show that the participants mentioned different courses that taught them about idiomatic expressions. It is obvious that the fact that students learned idiomatic expression in
English Department do not depend on what courses they have taken, but it depends on the teachers that taught them. Compare those answers to what Liu (2008) said that idioms are best learned naturally in normal language use, additionaly it needs more time allocation for
exclusive idioms. From data above, the writer finds that most of the participants learn
idioms fromSemantics course. One student who did not say the same was a student who did not take Semantic course yet. It means that they learn idioms in Semantics, a course which teaches the students about the meaning of words. But, relating their answers in number one, the writer thinks that the material of idioms which are taught in Semantics are very limited
because the focus of Semantic course is not idiomatic expressions, thus there are only a few exaple of idioms in the materials. And the rests of courses that they mentioned are various,
two of them are CCU, and one for Grammar, Introduction to Linguistics, English-Indonesian Translation, Basic Grammar, and American Literature. It shows different courses and it means that idioms are not included as part of the syllabus. Also considering the answers of
two students, about the teacher who are native speakers of English, the writer thinks that besides idioms that included in the materials or passages, students learned idiomatic
expression does not depend on what courses they have taken, but it depends on the teachers
that taught them. If the teachers have many idiomatic expressions, they can share it to their students, as the native speaker of English teachers did for these students.
How the teachers teach idioms.
To know more about the ways their teachers teach them idiomatic expressions, the
students. Student A, B, C, and D answered that their teachers explain about idiomatic
expressions and give the example of idiomatic expressions, but especially for Student C‟s
teacher, he/ she started by asking the students to write an essay about a metaphor and told the similarities and differences. Student D‟s teacher also shared idioms he/ she has, similar to what Student E‟s teacher who inserted the idioms spontaneously when they were teaching in classroom.
Comparing Liu‟s (2000a) finding that mostly, teachers used three principal explanations strategies, which are definition, elaboration, and paraphrasing to help students grasp the new idiom, data above reveal that English Department teachers mostly share the
idiomatic expressions they have as the way they teach idioms. It can be seen from answers given by Student A, Student D, and Student E. Because of that, the more teachers know
about idioms, the more they can share them to their students. For example native speakers of English who have many idioms, they can share more to their students. Different ways
come from answers that Student B and Student C given. Student B‟s teachers teach it by explaining first, then giving the example. Student C‟s teachers teach idioms by comparing
idioms to metaphor. Both of them are also different from Tarcoanu (2012) provides, which are by preparing 5-8 idioms, introduce them in context, then asks the students to create
dialogue as products using those idioms.
Students’ Opinions Toward Idiomatic Expressions They Have Got
Responding what the participants said about their teachers, the writer wanted to know further if what the teachers taught are enough or not. Student A, D, and E said that it was not enough. Student B and C said that it was enough if only to learn the basic knowledge of
B and Student C said, but they are not enough for students to learn and to make the students awareness toward idioms. Most of them said that it was not enough to learn idioms
significantly. The reasons are because language is rich of idioms and what are brought to the classroom is very limited, so that students feel that are not enough. Moreover, Student C said
that because of its importance, it would be better if material about idiom were taught from the beginning year in English Department.
The materials related to idioms given.
The following discussion is about the students‟ opinion about the material of
idiomatic expressions. Student A said that it was exciting for her. Similarly, Student B, C,
and E said that idiomatic expressions are interesting, but sometimes they are diffecult or confusing for them. Student D said that it was good, interesting, and exciting because he wanted to be proficient in English, so that he needed to know more about idiomatic
expressions to make his speech more natural.
Liu (2008 p. 141) gave example that teachers can use reading passage or listening
passages (depends on the focus of language skills) that contain idioms as the material in classroom activity, then ask the students to identify and discuss it. Considering it and what
English Department teachers gave, as showed in participants‟ answers for question about the
way teacher introduce idioms, the writer catches their opinions about the materials, it could be said that students are interested and excited with the material of idioms. Although
sometimes the materials could be confusing, but they kept in minds that idioms are important. The writer assumes that their answers are not about how the materials are, instead of what they think about the idioms included in the materials they got. The statement of Student E,
who said that it is confusing for her but she is interested in it, demonstrated it. Students’ Ways of Learning Idiomatic Expressions
Even though idioms are not part of English Department‟s syllabus, students learn
idioms and they have their perspectives of the best ways of learning idioms. Following in his
book: Liu, Idiom Pedagogy: Macro Strategies (2007) who suggested that students can grab idioms individually when they read newspaper, listen to the radio, wacth TV, etc, the writer
asked the participants whether they encountered idioms from films, cartoons, articles, radio brodcasting, etc or not.
Student A said that sometimes she did but sometimes she did not. She could
undertand the idioms from the film that she had already ever learned. Even though she did not really understand some new idioms, she knew they were idioms because when the words
were translated literally, the meaning would be weird. Student B said that she can understand the well-known idioms, but she faced difficulty if she had to translate the meaning of new idioms. In this case, she only knew that those words were idioms. Student C said that she
could not recognize idioms in film, cartoon, and radio if there was no meaning stated there. She preferred to learn idioms from articles or reading passages with the meaning of those
idioms, or by using the picture that show the situation of that idiom. Student D said that he could recognize idioms from films or mini series. He noticed that there were idioms, moreover if those appeared repeteadly. Unfortunately, he then forgot them because he did not
use those idioms. Student E said that sometime she encountered new idiom in term of knowing that it is an idiom, but about knowing the meaning, sometimes she cannot and
sometime she try to guess the meaning. And she added that those kinds of activities can help students to learn idiomatic expression.
Comparing the answers with what Liu (2008) stated above, it can be said that students
could identify idioms individually when they read newspaper, listen to the radio, wacth TV,
that students have to use the idioms they encountered, because they would forget or lose the idiom if they do not use them. In the other words, the writer says that learning idioms using
media is a helpful way of learning idiomatic expressions for The English Department
students. But, if students find idioms without understand or cannot use the idioms, students can ask about it or discuss it to their teachers.
2. By discussing idioms with friends.
After students found idioms, they can share it by discussing with their friends to talk
about what the expressions mean, how they are unique, and things related to idioms, so that students do not only notice the idioms, but also understand the idioms (Liu, 2007). The writer
asked the five students about discussing idioms inside or outside the classroom. Student A said that she discussed idioms not only when she and her friends met, but also through social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Besides discussing the idioms, she also used them when
she chatted with her friend. Student B said that she discussed the idioms in classroom, outside the classroom, and she discussed them with her sister. Mostly, she discussed the meaning of
idioms she found. She added that discussing idioms helped her to learn idiomatic expressions. Student C said that she discussed idioms with her friends outside the classroom. Especially they talked about the material before the following week meeting. Student D said that he
discussed idioms but not too often. He added that if he did not share with his friends about idioms, he would not be able use them. Student E said that she only discussed about the
meaning of idioms, not about the background of why it is an idiom or something like that. From those answers, the writer concluded that students did not often discuss about
idioms, just sometimes. As Liu (2008) proposed students to discuss with their friends about the meaning and uniqueness, most students discussed were the meaning of the idioms. Some of the students said that they did not only discuss idioms, but also tried to practice using
expressions, the more they learn the idiomatic expressions. For those reasons, the writer concludes that discussing and practicing idioms are helpful ways of learning idioms for
The English Department students.
3. By knowing the cultures behind the idioms.
Idioms are usually used in numerous daily situations; consequently, the teachers have to teach idioms to their students in communicative and meaningful ways, with regard to the culture behind the idioms of the target language (Cakir, 2011).
When asked about this, student A said that students needed to know culture of the idioms because when students learn a language they also learn about the culture, moreover
language itself is part of culture. Student B said that it is necessary because every language has different idioms, so that students need to understand. Students C said that it is necessary because before we say something we have to understand the meaning of those idioms well.
She also shared an experience in her class. She has a friend that told about “black people” in
her class where the teacher was American. The teacher laughed because the meaning of
“black people” that her friend referred was different from the meaning in America. Because
of that, she said that we have to understand the culture of an idiom before we say it. Student D said that if students only want to learn about idioms, they just need to know the meaning of
the idioms, and the culture is not necessary. But if students are interested in it, it needs a special class. Student E said that it is necessary because there are many English-speaking
countries. Those countries have different idioms, and idioms that exist in one country do not always exist in other countries, too.
By comparing the theory delivered above with the data collected, it can be said that
mostly participants agree that knowing cultures behind the idioms help students to learn
students do not know the cultures of the idioms they use, it is possible for them to use idiomatic expressions in the different context from what the idioms actualy mean, such as
what happened to Student C‟s friend that Student C told. Nevertheless, this is a bit contrary to
Student D‟s answer, because he said that knowing the meaning only is enough to learn idioms. Then the writer assumes that learning idioms is not only how we memorize the
idioms and the meanings, but also how to use idioms appropriately in the right
circumstances. Because of that, establishing students‟ mutual understanding of culture and cultural value of the language is an important thing that teachers should put in their teaching agenda (Cakir, 2011).
4. By understanding idioms in mother tongue.
In the content of this study, student A said that it does not help because she does not really understand the idioms in Bahasa Indonesia, so that she said that it does not affect her
learning of idiomatic expressions in English. Student B said that it can be helpful in English to Indonesian Translation class, but generally, it is not helpful because the idioms are
different, except the idioms are translated. Student C said that it is helpful, because if students know the concept of idioms in Bahasa Indonesia, there are also some phrases in Bahasa Indonesia that are similar to the ones in English. Student D said that it is not helpful, because
when he is learning English, he sets his mind in English way of thinking. And when he is learning Bahasa Indonesia, he sets his minds in Indonesian way of thinking. Student E said
that it is not helpful because they are different and the meanings are different, so that it cannot help students to learn idiomatic expressions.
Liu (2008) said if students understand idioms in their mother tongue, they can
examine, compare, and contrast them with idioms in the target language (English), so that students become more conscious about the similarity and difference between idioms in moter
that it is different because most students think comparing idioms in the mother tongue with
idioms in the target language is not helpful to learn idioms. But, Student C said that it is helpful because some idioms in Bahasa Indonesia are similar to idioms in English (target language). In addition, Student B said that it is helpful only in Translation class. From those
answers, the writer concludes that some students still think about language, especially
idioms in the context of translation instead of as communication tools, because of that, the problem they face in the meaning make them think that concept of idioms in L1 cannot help
them to learn idioms in L2 or target language. Also, it can be said that because students do
not understand well the idioms in their mother tongue, they cannot examine, compare, and
contrast them with idioms in the target language to help them learn idioms. 5. By conducting corpus researches.
For intermediate and advance students, conducting research by using corpus as the
authentic data, makes students repeatedly and read those idiom (Liu, 2008). However, Liu (2008) also stated that conducting corpus searches is very challenging and complex, so that
the search assignment has to be as specific as possible. Moreover, it needs continuous
guidance from the teacher. Considering those things, the writer tried to ask students‟ view of
learning idiom by conducting corpus search. Before asking them, the writer showed the
participants how to search in corpus, to anticipate if there were some participants perhaps who were not familiar with corpus.
And as the result, Student A said that it can help students to learn idiomatic expressions, but it will be more helpful if there are the meaning too. If there is no meaning stated, and students still do not know the meaning, it is not helpful. Student B said that it
seems interesting and may be helpful to learn. But, because there are too many sentences there, it is tiring to see and confusing. She added that it would be helpful for students who are
get confused. Student D said that it could help students to learn idioms because corpus is compilation of words usage frequency. Student E said that actually it helps students to learn
idioms, but if the students do not understand whether the word is idiom or not, it will be confusing for them.
From the data above, the writer finds that most participants are not quite familiar with corpus, and the writer assumes that the participants are guessing in their answer this question. By matching up those answers to the theory above, the writer grabs students‟ answers that conducting corpus searching is helpful for students to learn idiom only if the students
know how to use the corpus and know what the idioms are. Whereas for the students who do not know, it is confusing and do not help students to learn idioms. And as Liu (2008) also
said that it needs teachers‟ guidance to conduct a corpus research in learning idioms, because this is a way of learning idioms from their context, not the meaning, with the intention that it
is a bit complex activity.
6. By remembering the meaning in figurative or literal meaning.
Teacher should make sure that the students understand all the words in idioms and the literal meaning of the idioms because students generally need to understand the literal meaning first to work out the meaning of a figurative idiom (Liu, 2008). Considering that, the
writer asked the students about their experience in remembering idioms, whether they prefer to use the figurative meaning or by using the literal meaning first.
The results are, Student A, B, and C said that they prefer to remember the meaning of figurative meaning rather than the literal first. Whether Student D and E said that they prefer to use both of them. It depends on the idiom itself, if the words can be remembered by using
the literal meaning, they use it. But if it cannot, they just remember the figurative meaning. From the data above, it is a bit different to what Liu (2008) said as the students
generally need to understand the literal meaning first to work out the meaning. The writer discovers that some students prefer to remember the meaning by using figurative meaning
because sometimes it is difficult for them to remember the meaning in literal meaning first, since the meaning are different. But, some students who use both of the way of remember
said that the literary meanings build the imagery of the idioms, and they help the students to memorize the idioms. However, as what Student D and Student E said that not all idioms can
be interpreted as how their literal meanings are. Because of that, in some idioms they prefer to remember the figurative meanings. As of the data above, the writer concludes that
memorizing idioms using literal meanings are sometimes helpful for some idioms, but sometimes memorizing the figurative meanings are more helpful when the idioms using words which are totally different from the meaning.
7. Students’ way of learning idiomatic expressions.
To answer the writer‟s research question, it is also important to know what
technique(s) students use when they learn idiomatic expressions. The writer asked them to
share their own way of learning. As the result, Student A, C, and E said that they prefer to write down the idioms and memorize those idioms. Additionally, Student C also try to apply the idioms in a song. Student B said that there is no special way of learning. She only reads
then memorizes the idioms. And she prefers to grouping the idioms by the words, such as
“down”, all idioms that use “down” are grouped and she memorizes them. Student D said that he prefers to memorize the idiomatic expressions and apply or use it to communicate.
From the data above, the writer tries to compare it with what Liu (2008) stated that student-centered activity is very efficient to develop students‟ understanding of idioms and other figurative language elements. And the data show a bit different result, which are students memorize the idiom they encountered by writing down the idioms they encountered
repeatedly, which are also teacher centered. But, in using songs and practicing it, students use kinds of activity which are student centered, as what Liu (2008) gave above. However,
those activities are not their regular activity. They only do those when they found new idioms and memorize them. Therefore, the writer concludes that most participants do not
have special way of learning to learn idioms, except the one who practice it.
Techniques That Teachers Should Do
Teachers should try to use varieties of activities to help students learn idioms successfully (Liu, Idiom Pedagogies : Micro-Strategies and Techniques, 2008). By looking at
students‟ answers for several questions above, the writer thinks that the teaching of idiomatic expressions in The English Department is very limited. It needs kind of improvement. And here the writer questioned the participants about their expectations of their teacher to teach
idiomatic expressions. The writer gave some examples of techniques that the writer stated in the literature review. The first one is by using idioms corner where students can have a
competition in writing down as many idiomatic expressions on the board (Liu, 2008). The second one is by exploring idioms in cartoons, comic strips, TV, and other media (Liu, 2008; Berns & Erickson, 2001). The third one is by reading and discussing idioms highlighted (Liu,
2008). The fourth one is by encouraging the students to guess the meaning of idioms from context (Liu, 2008). Besides, the writer asked the students if they have their own
expectations.
As the result, Student A said that the faculty can open a new class that specifically learning about idioms, just like at her friend‟s university. She added that the teachers have to teach idioms in a fun way, where the students not only listen and read the book, but they have to be included in the activity, especially speaking activities such as a role play. This
efficient to develop students‟ understanding of idioms and other figurative language
elements.
Student B said that the portion of idioms teaching at the English Department should be added. And the teacher should make classroom activity more interesting, for example by
using comics, cartoons, or films, and by producting roleplays that contain idioms. This is similar to what Liu shared from Berns and Erickson which are by exploring idioms in cartoons, comic strips, TV, and other media (Liu, 2008; Berns & Erickson, 2001).
Student C said that it will be interesting if the classroom or faculty is decorated with
some idioms like the classroom of students in high school. Even though this is a bit defferent,but the concept is a bit similar to idiom corner provided by Liu (2008) where students can write down the idioms and the other students can learn those idioms uncosciously by reading them everyday. She added that it will be good also if the teacher
apply idioms in songs and pictures when they are teaching, and the portion of teaching
idiomatic expressions have to be added.
Student D said that the example of techniques given by the writer were good, but it is back to the teacher itself. The teachers should have more idioms in their minds so that they
can share it to their students. With regard to the faculty regulation, it would be better if the faculty force the students to speak in English when they are in the faculty building. Or there is one day when everyone must speak in English in the faculty building.
Student E said that those examples given by the writer are good, but it seemed a bit
difficult to be applied at the English Department because there is no special class for idiomatic expressions. She thinks that it would be better if the students learn idiomatic expressions unconciously. For example by reading the idioms sticked on the walls. This is
alsmost similar to Student C‟s answer that referst to concept like idiom corner that is
what Liu (2008) said that tachers deliver idioms in classroom naturally in context. And as the consequence, the teachers should have more idiomatic expressions to be shared with the
students. But, disparitily she thinks that it is good to make a new class that teaches idioms, whereas Liu (2008) said that classes are not the most effective instructional setting for idiom
learning, so here the student‟s perspective is defferent with Liu‟s theory.
And from those answers, the writer concludes that the students are interested in
idioms, and they hope the idiomatic expression teaching to be added. They also hope that their teachers have more idioms to be shared with them, so that they can also learn idioms from their teachers. And, for the techniques, students are interested if the ways of teaching
Conclusion and Suggestions
Conclusion
Since this study is aimed to find some useful and helpful ways to help students learn
idiomatic expressions, the writer digs it up based on students‟ perspectives compared to the
literature review. The writer also wanted to reveal what actually teachers have to do, to help
their students learning idiomatic expressions. From the findings above, the writer would like to conclude the finding of this research about teaching idiomatic expressions at The English
Department of Satya Wacana Christian University: Students‟ Perspectives. Since there are two research questions that the writer have proposed, this chapter consists of two points.
1. Students’ thinking about the best ways of learning idiomatic expressions.
From the conclusions of each part in the previous chapter, the writer concluded that students are interested in learning idiomatic expressions, and they want to learn more.
Mostly, the ways or techniques that students use to learn idiomatic expressions are by learning in classroom from what their teachers shared and the materials in the lessons. They
also learn idioms using medias such as films, cartoons, articles, comic strips, etc. The findings also show that it is helpful to learn idioms by discussing idioms with friends or people around them, either the meaning or the uniqueness. And to memorize idioms, the
finding show that students prefer to memorize the figurative meaning, and using the literal
meaning to memorize some idioms. Along with those proposed way, students‟ own way of
learnings are by writing down the idioms and reading them repeatedly unti they memorize it, but some students shared their way of learning idioms by using songs and by practicing those idioms to communicate.
2. Techniques that teachers have to use in teaching idiomatic expressions.
students‟ perspectives. This section is the implication of what data collected into the techniques that teachers have to use. And the writer concluded that teaching idiomatic
expressions should be in fun ways. The techniques are variety, such as by using idioms corner, by asking the students to explore idioms from medias, by using idioms in reading
passages or materials, and by encouraging the students to guess the meaning of idioms from context. Besides, teachers should have more idiomatic expressions to be shared with their students when they are teaching in classroom. And to make students are able to communicate
using idioms, teachers should give assignments which ask the students to include idiomatic expressions, such as in writing assignments, speaking projects, roleplays or drama, etc.
Suggestions
Responding to the students expectations above, the writer would give some suggections for the teachers and the faculty as the following:
1. The portion of teaching idiomatic expressions can be added. It can be in a special chapter in some of the existing courses in English Department. Or it can be by adding
a new course for teaching idioms, although it is cotrary with what Liu (2008) said that classroom is not the most effective way to learn idioms. The reason is because the students view idioms as important part of communication in English, so that they need
to learn it more.
2. Students need to be a little bit forced to practice using idioms so that idioms that they
encountered will not be lost. For example students have to use idioms in Drama class performances, or perhaps they have to use idioms in their writing projects, or etc. 3. Teachers add their bank of idioms in their minds, so that they have more idioms to
expressions in their minds, they will not know what idioms they can share to the students.
Those result cannot be generalized into all English Departments of universities
because students‟ learning environments and situations in English Department of Satya Wacana Christian University are different with the environments and situations in the other universities. They have different teacher, different materials, and perhaps also different courses. Because of that, this study is only describe students‟ thought in Englsih Department of Satya Wacana Christian University only.
Since those students‟ perspectives are based on their opinion, which means there are
possibility that they are just guessing, the result are good as consideration. Nevertheless, it means that further study is needed to make sure and verify the finding of this study, before the teachers really do what students expect. The further research can be a research that focus
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank to my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, who guides me,
motivates me through His words, and makes everything is possible for me. Moreover, this thesis will not have been completed without much help and support from many people. Then I would like to show my greatest attitude to Ibu Martha Nandari, my thesis supervisor for her
help, guidance, and the precious time she spent to help me in writing my thesis and Pak Brandon D. Sims for his willingness to read my thesis and for his comments to improve this
thesis. I also thank to my beloved family, they are my father Sarjono, my mother Rumianingsih, and my sister Oktavira for their prayers, supports, struggle, love, and everything. In addition, I would like to share this strengthening verse, “My grace is sufficient
Referencess
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Cakir, Ismail. 2011. How Do Learnders Percieve Idioms in EFL Classes? Kayseri: Erciyes
University.
Cambridge Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary. (2003). Cambridge University Press.
Kaschak, Michael P. (2005) Idiomatic Syntactic constructions and language learning. Ebsco
Academic Journal, 46.
Liu, Dilin (2007) Idioms: Description, Comprehension, Acquisition, and Pedagogy. SL &
Applied Linguistics Proffesional Series: Routledge.
Rachmadie, Sabrony, Drs, M.A. (1986). Vocabulary: literal meaning, figurative meaning,
idioms. Jakarta: Universitas Terbuka.
Sadeghi, Bahador (2010). Patterns of Persian EFL Learners‟ Comprehension of Idiomatic
Expressions: Reading Strategies and Cross-Cultural Mapings in Focus. Asian Social
Science, 6 (8), 82-99.
Tarcaoanu, Mihaela C. (2012) Teaching Idioms in English. Theoritical and Practical
Appendix 1
Thesis – Questions for interview:
1. In your opinion, what is idiom or idiomatic expression? (giving some list of idioms, asking the students to choose which one(s) is/are idioms).
Menurut pendapatmu, apa yang dimaksud dengan idiom atau idiomatic expression? (sambil memberikan beberapa idiom, kemudian meminta partisipan untuk memilih mana yang merupakan idiom).
2. When (in what course(s)) do you learn idioms?
Kapan (pada mata kuliah apa) Anda belajar tentang idiom?
3. How did you teacher introduce idioms to you?
Bagaimana dosen Anda memperkenalkan idiom kepada Anda?
4. Do you think that what your teacher(s) gave (toward idioms) is enough for you? Apakah menurut Anda, apa yang telah diajarkan dosen Anda tersebut sudah cukup?
5. What is your view toward idioms in materials? (good, bad, confusing, exciting, etc). Apa pandangan Anda mengenai idioms yang terdapat pada materi yang Anda pelajari? (baik, buruk, membingungkan, menyenangkan, dll).
6. Can you encounter idioms from film, cartoon, articles, radio broadcasting, etc? Apakah Anda dapat menyerap idiom dari film, kartun, artikel, radio, dan lain-lain?
7. Have you ever discussed about idioms with your friends inside or outside the classroom?
Pernahkah Anda berdiskusi tentang idiom dengan teman Anda, baik di dalam maupun di luar kelas?
8. Do you think it will be helpful for the learners to know the culture behind idioms they learn?
Menurut Anda, apakah pembelajar (mahasiswa) perlu mengetahui budaya di balik idiom yang mereka pelajari?
Apakah dalam belajar idiom di Bahasa Inggris Anda terbantu dengan pemahaman idiom di Bahasa Ibu (misalnya Bahasa Indonesia)?
10.The researcher shows the participant a corpus and show briefly how to find an idiom.
Do you think this kind of activity is helpful for students to learn idioms?
Peneliti menunjukkan cara pencarian idiom menggunakan corpus kepada partisipan.
Menurut Anda, apakah aktifitas seperti ini membantu mahasiswa untuk mempelajari idiom?
11.If you have to memorize idioms, do you prefer to remember directly using the figurative meaning or by memorize the literal meaning first?
Jika Anda harus menghafal idioms, Anda lebih suka untuk mengingat langsung menggunakan arti idiom itu atau dengan mengingat arti dari kata per kata?
12.Do you have your own way to learn idioms or idiomatic expressions? Explain about it, please.
Apakah Anda mempunyai cara belajar idiom/ idiomatic expressions sendiri? Tolong jelaskan!
13.What do you expect of a teacher to help you (the students) to learn idioms?
Apa yang Anda harapkan dari seorang guru/ dosen untuk menolong Anda (murid) untuk belajar idioms?
For example by giving these activities: Misalnya dengan:
- Using idiom corner / menggunakan pojok idiom (semacam majalah dinding) - Exploring idioms in cartoons, comic strips, TV, and other media/ menggali idioms
dari kartun, komik, TV, dan media lainnya.
- Reading and discussing idioms highlighted/ membaca dan mendiskusikan idiom yang digarisbawahi.
- Guessing meaning from context/ menebak arti idioms berdasarkan konteksnya. - Your own expectations: / ekspektasi Anda:
Appendix 2
Interview IResearcher : Menurut Pendapat Anda, apa yang dimaksud dengan idiom atau idiomatic expression?
Student A : Idiom itu umh… secara teori aku ga ngerti. Tapi kalo idiom itu menurutku adalah semacam kata-kata yang digunakan untuk menggambarkan sesuatu secara tidak langsung. Misalnya untuk flu/ atau pilek itu kan running nose gitu.
Researcher : Ya, aku punya 3 frase di sini, yang pertama “down to earth”, yang kedua “my
name is”, yang ketiga “the floor is yours”. Dari ketiga frase ini, mana yang
merupakan idiom?
Student A : Kalo menurut aku sih yang pertama “down to earth” sama “the floor is
yours”.
Researcher : Oke, sip, thank you. Pertanyaan selanjutnya, kapan atau tepatnya pada mata kuliah apa Anda belajar tentang idiom? Ada ndak?
Student A : Ada sih, tapi aku sudah lupa. Kalo ga salh sih interpersonal listening sama grammar.
Researcher : Oh grammar… what kind of grammar?
Student A : I don‟t remember, yah pokoknya grammar dech.
Researcher : Oh ya, tidak apa-apa. Kemudian bagaimana dosen Anda memperkenalkan idiom itu kepada Anda?
Student A : Eh, kalo dosenku itu langsung memberikan kalimat, misalnya “you are the
apple of my eyes” guruku langsung kasih taunya tuh begini, kalo kamu suka sama
cowok kamu bilang gitu, jadi langsung ke penerapannya.
Researcher :Oh, jadi misalnya dari materi bacaan atau materi di buku ada kalimat seperti itu, dosen memberikan artinya dan dijelaskan bahwa itu adalah idiom, begitu?
Student A : Hm‟mh.
Researcher : Apakah menurut Anda apa yang telah diajarkan oleh dosen Anda tersebut sudah cukup untuk belajar tentang idiom?
Student A : Umh… menurut aku sih belum, karena terbatas idiomnya, padahal kita pengen tau lebih, idiom yang ada itu apa aja sih, ga cuma yang dipelajari itu. Makanya kalo di kehidupan nyata tuh kadang, dia itu ngomong apa yach, berarti dari pihak guru tersebut harusnya memberikan contoh yang lebih buat studentnya gitu biar lebih luas pengetahuannya gitu.
Researcher : Terus, apa pandangan Anda mengenai idiom yang terdapat pada materi yang Anda pelajari? Apakah itu baik, atau buruk, atau membingungkan, atau membuat Anda excited ?
Student A : Jadi kalo idiom itu ka nada yang baik ada yang buruk. Kalo yang baik yang itu exciting, tapi kalo yang buruk juga jadinya feel bad. So far sih, menurutku kalo idiom itu adalah salah satu cara kita untuk mengungkapkan secara tidak langsung to the point. Jadi kita bisa memakai bahasa lain yang mungkin teman-teman kita atau orang lain belum tentu tahu apa yang kita tuliskan itu, jadinya play safe lah. Apalagi kalau kita nulis status lah, jadinya itu menyenangkan banget kalau kita nulis sesuatu
tetapi orang lain tu nggak tahu. Jadinya… exciting sih…
Researcher : Oke, apakah Anda dapat menyerap idiom dari film, kartun, artikel, radio, dan lain-lain seperti itu?
Student A : Kadang sih, dan kadang juga enggak, tergantung. Kadang-kadang, karena masih belajar sih ya ada yang ingat ada yang tidak. Tapi terkadang sih tau, apalagi dari film. Aku kan suka film-film romantis, jadinya kan mau ga mau kan
paling-paling juga ga yang ngerti saat itu, kalo aku ga tau sih paling-paling aku cari… oh kalo ini
Researcher : Untuk memastikan aja sih, berarti yang Anda serap sebagai idiom tuh sesuai dengan yang pernah Anda terima atau Anda pelajari gitu, atau yang kira-kira Anda tebak gitu?
Student A : Umh, kalo aku sih mungkin yang pernah dipelajari, jadi kita kan tahu, artinya apa.
Researcher : Kalau misalnya idiom itu ada di film, tapi itu kata yang baru, yang Anda belum pernah terima, tapi kalau diartikan secara literal gitu kok artinya wagu, kok ndak yang seharusnya gitu apakah Anda bisa nangkep bahwa itu idiom atau tidak? Student A : Umh, kemungkinan iya, karena kalo yang namanya “bit by bit” itu kan idiom
juga kan, artinya sedikit demi sedikit, masa segigit demi segigit. Memang sih ada, tapi kan ada hal lain yang bisa diartikan itu.
Researcher : Oh, jadi Anda bisa ya nangkep idiom dari apa yang Anda saksikan itu? Student A : Ya.
Researcher : Kemudian, pernahkan Anda berdiskusi tentang idiom dengan teman Anda baik di dalam maupun di luar kelas?
Student A : Yak, pernah sih, jadinya ada beberapa teman, apalagi kalau mereka lagi membuat status di facebook atau twitter itu kayak misalnya dapat idiom satu, terus misalnya kita cerita sama temen gitu juga kadang pakai idiom.
Researcher : Itu memperkaya idiom yang Anda punya?
Student A : Ya. Kadang kita kan secara ga langsung ngomong lewatnya seperti itu, ga langsung ngomong kalo kita suka, jadinya kan tidak terlalu kelihatan.
Researcher : Tidak langsung gitu ya? Student A : Hm‟mh.
Researcher : Kemudian, menurut Anda, apakah mahasiswa perlu mengetahui budaya di balik idiom yang Anda atau murid-murid pelajari?
Student A : Kalau menurutku perlu, karena kalau kita belajar bahasa kan kita mempelajari budayanya juga. Karena bahasa itu adalah budaya juga.
Researcher : Tapi dengan tahu budaya di balik idiom itu, menolong Anda ndak dalam mempelajari idiom atau mengingat idiom yang Anda terima itu?
Student A : Umh, karena sekarang saya belajar bahasa Inggris dan saya mempelajari budayanya juga, jadinya menolong.
Researcher : Kemudian, apakah dalam belajar idiom di Bahasa Inggris, Anda terbantu dengan pemahaman idiom di bahasa Indonesia atau bahasa ibu Anda?
Student A : Apa ya, kalo aku sih ga pernah tahu idiom dalam bahasa Indonesia seperti apa, karena mungkin dari kecil kita menggunakan seperti ini. Tetapi kita secara nggak langsung kita belajar secara dalem, tapi kemungkiinan kalo aku ambil bahasa sastra Indonesia, mungkin aku bisa tahu idiom itu seperti apa. Jadi menurutku sih nggak berpengaruh ya, soalnya sih ya itu, aku pakai bahasa Indonesia tuh ya tau aja. Aku tuh ga tahu mana yang idiom, mana yang bukan.
Researcher : Oh gitu… Nah di sini kan ada corpus, mungkin Anda pernah bermain-main dengan corpus?
Student A : Yak..
Researcher : Nah, idiom itu kan tidak terpatok seperti yang saya tunjukkan tadi. Tetapi bisa juga itu berupa collocation. Nah di corpus ini bisa kita gunakan untuk mencari
kata, misalnya “down to earth” seperti itu tadi, kita cari kata “down”. Di bagian
collocate itu nanti akan terdapat kata-kata yang bisa collocate dengan kata “down”
itu. Misalnya “ down to”, “down the”, “down on”, “down from”, yang collocate dengan kata “down” seperti itu. Nah, menurut Anda, apakah dengan corpus seperti
