Rural ESL Teachers’ Acumen in Teaching Idioms: Traditional and Modern Methodology

Abstract

Idioms pose countless barriers to natural language processing and linguistic theory. Investigating how teachers teach idioms in schools using various methodologies is important. The therapy of idioms is fundamentally distinct in traditional and modern methods. Thus, this article has outlined the placement of idioms in traditional and modern methodologies and determined the acumen of English as second language (ESL) teachers in teaching idioms. Additionally, this article has uncovered the problems concerning idiom teaching by comparing ways on how idioms are handled in traditional versus modern methods through illustrating teachers’ cognition and views. Data were collected from four rural ESL teachers through qualitative study by using interview protocol. Findings showed that rural ESL teachers prefer to apply traditional method in teaching idioms as they are akin to explicit instructions. The use of traditional and modern methods to teach idioms generally varies depending on teachers and the method’s unique implication on the learners. Thus, this research paper could be a guidance for the rural ESL teachers from all around the world to make instructional decisions in teaching of idioms by taking into account rural pupils’ proficiency level, preferred learning style and their socioeconomic background.