TESL 600

Spring 2014
Dee Matchett
Presentation of Scholarly Paper

April 24 2014

Scholarly Paper Submitted to:
Dr. Danny Hinson
Dr. Mark Brock
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for
MAT-ESL degree program

Shooting Marbles in the Dark
TESL 600
Spring 2014
Dee Matchett
Comprehending Idiomatic Expressions
through Etymology

Defining Etymology


the study of the origin of
words



The Etymology of idiom

Latin: idioma, "special
property

Greek: idios, "ones
own

An idiom is a combination of
words that has a figurative
meaning unique to the
native speakers of a
language


Using Idioms

There are over 25,000
idiomatic expressions in
American English. Native
speakers use around 7,000 of
these expressions per week
(Jackendoff, 1997).

An understanding of the
more frequently used idioms
is therefore beneficial to
nonnative speakers.



Idioms are multi-word units
that require an understanding
of the whole, rather than a
composite understanding of
individual words.

Living high on the hog




Individual Words vs Unit of
Meaning

better cuts of meat are located on the
upper portion of a pig and the cheaper
cuts on the lower portion.

This idiom dates from the 1600s, when
only the wealthy could afford to eat
meat that was high on the hog.

Having a rich, extravagant lifestyle.



Idioms of figurative speech
finds their roots in the daily
life, history and culture of
the people whose
imaginations create it.

the Conceptual Metaphor
Theory that states that one
idea is linked to another to
increase comprehension of
intended meaning (Lakoff &
Johnsen, 2003)




links
the idea of

endless flow
and
abundance

to
making a purchase.

It makes the understanding
clear that a large sum of
money is being spent


These links to culturally
understood concepts can
differ widely between
people groups.

In China a dragon denotes
kingship, power, wealth
and an omen of good luck,

while in western cultures it
conjures up foreboding and
mental images of a
dangerous evil monster.

Idioms are handed down from generation
to generation.

Most native English speakers are not aware
of their origin.

Their meaning is acquired from repeatedly
hearing them used in context.

Without that cultural background meaning
is obscure to 2
nd
language learners.

Knowing the origin supplies the cultural
background needed to sense when the use
of a certain idiom is appropriate.
This is useful for social
integration into the target
language community.

An idiomatic vocabulary
serves both an integrative and
an expressive function.

Got swag
Socially acceptable

Pop some tags
Shop at thrift store

Acculturation is associated
with success in language
acquisition because it reduces
the psychological factor of
social distance (John
Schumann, 1990).

Etymology opens up many teaching
opportunities for language learners to discover
the history and culture of the target language.

blowing off steam

In the 1800s when steam locomotives became
a primary method of transporting commodities.

Steam engines create a great deal of pressure.
It was necessary to periodically open a safety
valve and release steam in order to prevent the
boiler from exploding.

Today the term blowing off steam means
getting rid of ones frustrated emotions verbally
or to release pent up energy through activity
(Pride-Unlimited, 2001).


Emotion Creates a Memory
Pathway.

Long term memory storage is a
function of the limbic system of the
brain.

The limbic system is stimulated by
emotion and accounts for the
reason we remember certain
events long after their occurrence.

The body responds to emotional
events by releasing hormones that
signal the brain to strengthen
memory.


Emotions, both negative and
positive, can influence the
retention of information.
Novelty, humor, and strong
sensation also increase
retention. (Sousa, 2011).

Connecting emotion with
learning could be
advantageous when teaching
idioms since many idiomatic
expressions are novel, evoke
humor , may create strong
sensation and either positive
or negative emotions.

Humorous

Refers to someone who appears to be
aware and alert, but their thinking is
very, very slow. Not smart.


Strong
Sensation

Eating sour grapes

Describes
someone with a
bad attitude.

Etymology:
Aesops Fable, The
Fox and The
Grapes.


Novel

Creates vivid memory.

Every generation
creates new idioms.

Most fade away in
time,
but some remain
and are passed
to the next generation.



Emotional Impact of
Etymology


He botched it!

to fail



The Tay Bridge, built in
1879, spanned almost two
miles.

The designer, Sir Thomas
Bouch, was knighted for
his accomplishment.

6 months later, strong
winds collapsed some of
the support structure.

A passenger train with 75
people aboard fell into the
River Tay. There were no
survivors (Martin, 2004).


Questioning

Is it helpful to 2
nd

language learners of
English to know the
etymology of an
idiom?



Exploring

It is only in recent years that
this topic has been explored.

The most comprehensive studies
have been done by Frank Boers
and his colleagues at the
University of Antwerp in Belgium
and Victoria University of
Wellington in New Zealand from
2001 to the present.


Those studies have shown a
clear advantage in
comprehending and
retaining the meaning of
idioms by supplying

etymological elaboration,

a term coined by Boers.


it appears that adding information about the
origins of the idioms can also make a
pronounced contribution.

In 29.5% of the cases where a student failed to
understand an idiom despite the contextual
clues, the etymological information provided the
key to solve the comprehension problem.

(Boers, 2007, p. 52)


These studies have formed a
foundation upon which additional
university level studies have been
conducted. Most of those studies
have collaborated Boers findings.


University of IOWA, Lei Zhang, 2009

Online WebCourseTools program for
idiom instruction.

No difference found between traditional
instruction and etymological elaboration
in the acquisition of idioms.


However, retention significantly
increased when origin of use was
included.



The Role of Imagery
in Dictionaries of Idioms

Applied Linguistics 2011: 32/3: 323347


RENATA SZCZEPANIAK
and ROBERT LEW




















K




Note column 2 & 3: illustrations had
more impact on idiom retention than
etymological elaboration

Note column 3 & 4:
The study concluded that etymological
elaboration was irrelevant, since
imagery produced the same learning
results with or without elaboration.

The best results were achieved when
all the methods were combined.


The study supports the dual coding theory that states that
a concrete mental image is formed through etymological
elaboration and can be retrieved from the brain along with
the verbal form (Piavio, 1986).












If an illustration is already provided, there is
no need for the brain to create an image. The
author concluded:

Apparently, reading a brief etymological
explanation is equally beneficial to retention
(through dual coding) The fact that the
scores for correctly interpreted opaque
idioms were not particularly affected by the
presentation of etymological information was
attributed to the affective factorstudents
who had guessed the meaning successfully
did not feel motivated enough to pay
attention to etymology,(Szczepaniak & Lew,
2009)


The etymological approach seeks
to illuminate the darkness by
providing details and giving
insight into the origin of idioms.


Shooting Marbles is the Dark

refers to having insufficient
details to understand
something or not having the
insight needed to accomplish
a purpose.


Researching

The study conducted for this
research project focused on
the efficacy of etymological
elaboration to facilitate
retention of meaning.


Participants in the study
were CNU graduate
students currently
enrolled in the masters
program for Teaching
English as a Second
Language


Methodology

Method I: Etymological
Elaboration

Method 2: Definition
& Rephrasal



Etymological Elaboration

Participants were taught 10
American idioms using
etymological elaboration.
Contextual examples were
given. The meaning of the
idiom was open to question
and discussion.

An example follows:


Contextual Examples and Rephrasing

Participants were taught
10 American idioms using
definition. Contextual
examples were given. The
meaning of the idiom was
open to question and
discussion.

An example follows:



Evaluating

For each method,
participants were
assessed with a multiple
choice test one week
following instruction.

Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SCORE
1 0
2 x x x x x x 60
3 x x x x 40
4 0
5 x x x x x x x x 80
6 x x 20
7 x x x x x x x x 80
8 x x x 30
9 x x x x 40
10 x x x x x x x x x 90
11 x x x 30
Total: 5 7 4 6 7 7 1 3 2 5 470
Method 1: Etymological Elaboration
Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SCORE
1 0
2 x x x x x x 60
3 x x x x 40
4 0
5 x x x x x x x x 80
6 x x 20
7 x x x x x x x x 80
8 x x x 30
9 x x x x 40
10 x x x x x x x x x 90
11 x x x 30
Total: 5 7 4 6 7 7 1 3 2 5 470

Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom Idiom
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SCORE
1 x x 20
2 x 10
3 x 10
4 x x x 30
5 x x x x 40
6 x x 20
7 0
8 x x x x x x 60
9 x x 20
10 x x x x x x x 70
11 x x x x 40
Total: 3 3 4 1 3 5 0 6 4 3 320
Method 2: Definition

Analyzing
Most participants did best with Method 1












M
e
t
h
o
d

1
M
e
t
h
o
d

2
Participant
1 0 20
2 60 10
3 40 10
4 0 30
5 80 40
6 20 20
7 80 0
8 30 60
9 40 20
10 90 70
11 30 40
Participant

Some participants may have had learning
styles more conducive to either the first or
second method of instruction.

Visual learners may have formed mental
pictures from the elaboration method and
therefore obtained higher recall.

Those who scored higher with Method 2 may
have been oral and kinetic learners and
rephrasing wrong sentences was more helpful
to them and facilitated recall.


Idioms with Highest Rates of Retention












Method 1 had more expressions recalled, and at higher percentages.
Idiomatic expressions #2, 5, and 6 scoring at 70%.

Three Best Remembered

Dont touch with a ten-foot pole

Thought to originate with burial practices in New
Orleans, which is below sea level and has a high
water table. Therefore above ground burial in
tombs became customary.

The tomb is opened and the casket is placed inside
for a year and a day. Then it is removed, the body
is wrapped in a sheet and a ten foot pole pushes
the body into the bottom of the tomb where it
decomposes. Each tomb can hold 100 bodies.







The phrase is from the early 1900s when most men in
America shot guns and smoked cigars. Target shooting
was a popular game at carnivals and
fairs. Cigars were often given as a
prize to a player with good aim who
could hit the red center of the target.
This was hard to do. The bullet might
come close, but only with a direct hit
could the player win a cigar.



Mad as a Hatter











In the 1800's hats were made out of
wool soaked in mercury to create felt.
Hat makers often acquired mercury
poisoning which causes loss of memory,
slow thinking and slurred speech. This
loss of cognitive functioning made them
act crazy and appear to go mad,
meaning they were insane.


These three idioms carry negative connotations:

Something abhorrent that
you dont want to touch

Losing a sought after reward

Losing your sanity


Remember that emotional impact creates
memory pathways.


Limitations

The small number of
participants only allows
for speculative analysis,
not conclusive evidence.

Unaccounted for
variables

Assessment method
may have been
inadequate for accurate
testing


Recommendation

The best instructional approach
may be to combine the two
methods when possible so as to
accommodate the various learning
styles of students.

Under normal classroom
conditions, students would be
required to study for testing. If
both methods of instruction had
been used, students would be able
to study using the method that
best suited to them.



Conclusion

Etymological elaboration
may be the light for some
students that prevents
them from shooting
marbles in the dark.


TESL 600
Spring 2014
Dee Matchett

RESOURCES

Boers, F. (2000). Metaphor awareness and vocabulary retention.
Applied Linguistics, 21(4), 553571. doi:10.1093/applin/21.4.553

Boers, F., Eyckmans, J., & Stengers, H. (2007). Presenting figurative
idioms with a touch of etymology: more than mere mnemonics?
Language Teaching Research, 11(1), 4362.
doi:10.1177/1362168806072460

Jackendoff. (1997). The Architecture of the Language Faculty.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lakoff, George, Johnsen, M. (2003). Metaphors We Live By.

Martin T. J., M. I. A. (2004). The Tay rail bridge disaster revisited.
Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs. Retrieved from
http://taybridgedisaster.co.uk/index/index


Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach.
Oxford Pschology Series No 9 (Vol. 9, p. 336). doi:10.1093/acprof

Pride-Unlimited. (2001). Idioms and Axioms currently used in
America, (Meanins and Origins). info@pride-unlimited.com. Retrieved
from http://www.pride-unlimited.com/probono/idioms1.html#top

Schumann, J. H. (1990). Extending the Scope of the
Acculturation/Pidginization Model to Include Cognition. TESOL
Quarterly, 24(4), 667684. doi:10.2307/3587114

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns (4th ed., p. 366). Corwin
Press.

Szczepaniak, R., & Lew, R. (2011). The Role of Imagery in
Dictionaries of Idioms. Applied Linguistics, 32(3), 323347.
doi:10.1093/applin/amr00










Shooting Marbles in the Dark
Comprehending Idiomatic Expressions
through Etymology