What is the best way to learn American idioms?

What is the best way to learn American idioms?

The best way to learn American idioms… is to grow up in the U.S.!

Ok, that was a trick question. If you did not grow up here what is the best way? Please let me know your suggestions! Since everybody learns differently, one solution does not fit all. Some people like to study American idioms from books or websites. These resources explain the meaning of the idiom and provide an example. Often idioms are presented in groups of related expressions. Learning this way is very systematic. However, learning the knowledge outside of a greater context can leave doubt about appropriate usage, leaving you less likely to actually use the expression yourself.

Another way to learn American idioms is to encounter them in general usage. Popular national magazines, like Time and Newsweek, have writing geared to 8^th grade level reading skills. In other words, if you grow up in the U.S., you completely understand all the articles, including the idioms. These publications, as well as local daily newspapers, do not use sophisticated vocabulary or grammar. But they do use the unofficial language of slang or idiom a great deal. My unscientific survey suggests that idiomatic expressions occur in almost every paragraph.

The current issue of Time magazine starts an article about the transition in North Korea with the sentence, “What happens in Pyongyang doesn’t stay in Pyongyang.” Though the meaning may be clear enough, this sentence paraphrases and negates the very successful advertising campaign that Las Vegas conducted years ago. Their motto was, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The attitude was that naughty behavior would be tolerated, if not encouraged. Afterwards, the formula “what happens in xyz stays/does not stay in xyz” became a staple of comedy and is now used in an ironic manner. By using this expression, the author gives a wink and nod to the ubiquitous phrase.

Idioms and expressions go in and out of fashion. The trendy slang of our parents sounds quaint and dated to us. New expressions sometimes become quickly dated, while others stand the test of time. The article about North Korea suggested other governments had “tried carrot-and-stick policies.” What kind of policy is that? The author could have used different words, such as “policies combining incentives and sanctions.” Does your native language have an expression like this? In the old days, when the donkey did would not pull the wagon, the driver used a stick to dangle a carrot (donkey treat) in front of the animal’s face and it would move forward. A darker inference is the threat of the stick as a weapon of violence to assert the driver’s will.

Though we share the same formal language as our cousins in the U.K, Australia, and elsewhere, each nation has its own expressions. Many expressions are common to all, but each nation has its own homegrown expressions not understandable by outsiders.

The biggest challenge in learning idioms is to stop skipping over them when you read or hear them. Instead, write them down and research their meaning from a native speaker. Sometimes even an Internet search does not adequately explain expressions or their origins. Idioms are rarely included in academic study of English because such expressions are so deeply embedded in popular culture. Maybe some easy way of learning American idioms can work magic, but more likely a gradual, sustainable, long-term study will yield the best results.

Is Christmas a religious holiday in the U.S.? Not anymore.

Creche depicting the birth of Christ, or shortly afterward actually.

Is Christmas a religious holiday in the U.S.? Not anymore.
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As the name suggests, the holiday is named after Christ. The ending “-mas” meant a religious ceremony that Catholics today still call the Mass. In English, the Catholic Mass (or celebration) on December 25 was and is to honor the birth of Jesus Christ. This date almost definitely was not the actual birthday but was selected for other reasons. This is how the name was born. Many followers protested against the Catholic Church, so are called Protestants. These churches rejected the rule of the Pope and associated beliefs. The founders of our country were devout Christians, but they were not Catholic.

The vast majority of Americans identify themselves as Protestant Christians. Catholic Christians number less than 25% of non-Catholic Christians. So, Catholics have always been a minority in the U.S. (Please note that I was raised in the Catholic Church but have not followed it for a long time.) Every President of the U.S. has been Protestant, except Catholic John F. Kennedy. Jewish, Moslem, and all other religions comprise only a few percent in the U.S. The U.S. is a Protestant nation.

Children acting in a living creche. They are not Arabs.

But Christmas in the U.S. is not very religious these days, if it ever was. This could be because though Catholics are required to attend Mass on December 25, attending religious services is optional for Protestants. Some church congregations erect tableau that re-enact Christ’s birth in the manger with the farm animals. (see photo)  Sometimes, people use statues of various sizes for the people and animals. At other times, volunteer actors dress up like shepherds and put on a show for the audience. These re-enactments are known as “crèches,” which is actually a French word meaning nursery I think. I once saw a “living crèche” with live animals, including a real camel, sheep, cows, etc.

Crèches are only allowed on church grounds or private property. Government buildings and plazas are not allowed to have the displays, because they are so obviously Christian. Some people put crèches in their front yard, along with a lot of other lights. When I was growing up, we had Christmas lights but nothing like today. Everyone can now have a Disney Christmas in the yard, complete with animated reindeer, capering elves, and inflatable snowmen. The inflatable Santas look so sad by light of day when not operating. Without the cheerful lighting and air pressure in the belly, the sagging, deflated plastic looks like a hung over derelict.

Some neighborhoods urge residents to join annual cooperative lighting schemes. Just before Christmas, after dark, hundreds of people line up in their cars to slowly cruise past the light show. Many towns and cities have their own “Christmas Tree Lane” that is completely lit up with all sorts of lights and displays. As with most things, people can be competitive in a friendly sort of way. Each year the competitors try to exceed each other with novel additions and revisions to their Christmas display.

Christmas in the U.S. means all of this and so much more. Naturally there is shopping for bargains, buying and exchanging gifts, Christmas trees, lots of food and drink, plenty of parties, and usually a family reunion or two. Christmas is the culmination of the year’s holidays, probably the most important one to Americans. Government and businesses are closed on Christmas and everyone stays home or visits family and friends.

From time to time, various religious groups launch campaigns “to put Christ back in Christmas” but with little success. Santa Claus and the Christmas tree favor no special religion or belief, except perhaps, in Christmas spirit. Lots of immigrants set up Christmas trees even if they are not Christians. Some people re-use artificial trees every year, but millions of small trees are raised and cut every year to supply the disposable trees used by most households. Again, this has no religious connection.

Maybe I am wrong, but religion seems to play only a tiny part in the American celebration of the holiday, even though other religions and cultures also celebrate holidays in the last two weeks of the year. These days, I can always feel safe with “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” This expression does not assume the other person actually celebrates Christmas on December 25, yet still communicates good will and friendliness. “Holidays” includes both December 25 and January 1, so it is not religious. But then, I will have really “taken the Christ out of Christmas” and will be left with merely Happy Holidays. At least I will be politically correct.

American idioms for financial and social transactions

The word behind the copyright notice in this cartoon is "Belated," which means "late."

American idioms for social and financial transactions
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When I was growing up, my friend owed me five dollars. He offered to pay me the following Tuesday. However, he did not actually pay me until Wednesday—a day late. To make matters worse, he only paid back four dollars, so he was a dollar short. Naturally I felt angry towards my friend and resented that he had taken advantage of me. Even though he made some effort to pay me back, the effort was overdue and fell short of the goal as well. In the U.S. (and maybe elsewhere), “a day late and a dollar short” is a common expression that expresses our disappointment and frustration with the actions of others.

In the workplace, some people do not get favorable reviews or get passed over for promotions and raises. Often after complaining about their stagnant career, they receive a small raise. Company morale probably suffers when employees feel they are receiving recognition a day late (after having to complain) and a dollar short (only a small raise, not a substantial one). Whenever someone’s reward is delayed for a long time and at last turns out to be smaller than hoped or expected, they know the feeling of “a day late and a dollar short.” Almost everyone experiences this growing up. Maybe you had to wait a long time for something that turned out less than what you expected.

Too often we are not rewarded for our positive efforts at all. In many cases, people’s greatness is recognized only after they die. Some of the greatest artists and composers died in poverty and obscurity. Only after their death did recognition and reward come for them. In those sad cases, we can say these creative geniuses got their reward a day late and a dollar short.

Even if someone pays on time, they might try to pay less than they owe. They might try to “short-change” you. When this happens in the store it is usually a mistake. Most clerks very carefully count out the money for your inspection and welcome you to count it for yourself. Likewise, bank tellers have special training for handling the large amounts of cash that pass through their hands daily. Honest people naturally do not try to deceive others, so getting short-changed is not common with cash.

Just as with the previous expression, “short-change” has literal and symbolic meanings. In social groups, anyone who does not share and participate equally with others is getting “short-changed.” In the U.S., many people feel like the richest 1% is getting richer, while the other 99% is getting short-changed. While everyone in the U.S. is supposed to be equal, the fact is that lower and middle class people, the majority of the population, are getting short-changed. Our political leaders keep debating what to do. If any help actually comes from our leaders, most likely it will be a day late and a dollar short.

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The best model for spoken English: audio books

The best model for spoken English: audio books.
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Listening to audio books can be a lot of fun, as well as a great way to learn. These days, I listen to spoken word recordings on my smart phone. While I clean up the kitchen after dinner, I like to listen to someone reading to me. For English language learners, listening to a good speaker reading is one of the best ways to ingrain the natural sound of the language, to recognize the flow of sounds. Many people watch movies and TV in English to improve their fluency, but most media do not offer good models for learners to imitate. Media does not try to use correct English at all. On the contrary, a lot of dialogue is intentionally incorrect for dramatic effect. Unless you always want a dramatic effect, better not to speak like people in the movies or on TV.

A much better method is listening to recorded books (formerly, books on tape/DVD and now mp3). Often, the person reading the book is a professional actor who has received years of special training in proper speaking techniques. Even when books are read by volunteers, almost all the readers provide good-to-excellent models for pronunciation, speed, rhythm, tone, and clarity. In every case, the book’s publisher has checked the grammar and vocabulary very carefully so you can be sure that all the phrasing and word order is correct, standard English, whether American or UK style.

The first sound recording, by inventor Thomas Edison, was the popular nursery rhyme (child's poem), “Mary had a little lamb.” Music immediately dominated the recording industry, but the spoken word survived as well. The original audio books were produced by Recording for the Blind. Now called Learning Ally, the organization continues its mission to spread knowledge through the spoken word. Years ago, volunteers read books out loud to be recorded on vinyl disks. Speaking all the words in a book takes much longer than reading them silently: some books required many disks. The original vinyl disks could store only a few minutes of speech. Then the disk was turned over to play the other side. Spoken word phonograph records originally rotated at 16-2/3 rpm (revolutions per minute).

In addition to books on records, spoken word recordings include famous speeches, poetry, drama, and language instruction. My mother, a high school French teacher, used records to help students practice their accents. Maybe that is why I have a positive feeling about recorded speech. In the 1950s, the new “long playing” (LP) vinyl records took over. My first albums were LPs that could hold a half hour of high fidelity (hi-fi) music on each side. In many cases, each side could have 6 or 8 songs, or "cuts" (the soft vinyl disk had spiral grooves cut into it), with slight periods of silence between them. Because they were cheaper, I also bought 45s (45 rpm) that held only one song per side. The better of the two sides was called the “A side.” Often, the “B sides” were the artist’s less popular recordings. The 45s had a big hole in the middle for reasons I do not know. All vinyl records melted and warped if you left them in the sun or other warm place. 

Tape recorders were also fairly popular and could hold a lot more material. They were reel-to0reel tape recorders with thin magnetic tape. Tapes were hard to change, store, and copy. Phonograph players were not so complex so they were more popular, I think. Growing up, my father had a nice hi-fi record player and my mother had a tape recorder. She also used this in her teaching. Pretty soon 8 track tapes, then cassette tapes, started to seriously compete with vinyl disks. Both technologies became obsolete immediately after CDs became widely available. Ironically, with the Internet’s mp3 downloads and streaming audio, even the CD is largely obsolete.

The smart phone app Audiobooks provides more content than I will ever have time to listen to. Many of the books are free because they are in the public domain. In other words, the copyright has expired and no royalties are collected for the author or publisher. A huge number of books in English first published before 1960 are available for free. On the Internet, you can download these audio books for free from Librivox.org. This organization recruits volunteers to read books on all sorts of topics, both fiction and non-fiction. Because of the different readers, the quality varies a little, but most are excellent examples of spoken English. Most of the people reading the books have an American accent, though some have non-native accents that are quite intelligible. Listening to English recorded books, lectures, or other spoken words is a great way to tune your ear. You will be better able to imitate the optimum timing and phrasing of English that you are seeking.

Cognitive-behavioral strategies for speaking English with confidence

Google image search result for fast-talker.

Cognitive-behavioral strategies for speaking English with confidence

My students are almost all adults. Most of them are professionally employed in local high tech companies here in the Silicon Valley. Many are engineers from other countries, working under employment visas. In every case, students are highly motivated and eager to learn self-development strategies. My graduate studies in Adult Learning taught me that adults seek instruction at specific stages of their lives and for specific reasons. Usually they have two specific needs. They want to be able to “get what’s going on” in a conversation, meaning that they understand the context and relevancy of the actual words exchanged, they understand the subtle messages that accompany all human interactions. Without some effort of this kind, non-native speakers must remain satisfied with incomplete comprehension.

The second specific need most students share is how to speak with confidence, which is a kind of behavior. Just as radio transmission towers require more power than a battery operated receiver, transmitting spoken language requires a lot more brain power than simply receiving, or listening to someone else. Likewise, writing takes more thought (cognition) and energy than reading, which is passive absorption. Before students realize and accept this fact, they tell me their English isn’t very good because they don’t feel comfortable speaking. Reading to English is the easiest behavior and listening is second easiest. Writing requires some hard thinking. Most difficult is speaking, so naturally learners find this their greatest challenge. Speaking requires the most cognitive effort and the most complex behavior.

Presented in this way, students become receptive to studying specific cognitive-behavioral strategies that automatically build self confidence. Most basic is inhaling before speaking. Starting with your lungs full gives you a lot more time to speak clearly and accurately. The other great benefit is that the intake of fresh air gives your mind a moment to compose your first sentence. Nervousness and stress make the breath shallower. Slightly extend your breath you will relax and feel more in control. Try it out! I am interested in your experience, so please send me an email, or follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Another cognitive-behavioral strategy is to consciously slow our rate of speed. In the modern world we are constantly immersed in a sea of very fast speech in advertising, TV, and movies. When chatting with our friends, we often speak very fast. But speed is not fluency. Think about it. Do fast-talking people inspire more trust and confidence than those who speak slowly? In the U.S. at least, we hold a stereotype of the “fast-talking used car salesperson” who will say anything to make a sale. This is unfair to salespeople in general, but “fast-talking” is used very often conversationally. In more formal writing, I think “glib” would reflect a higher standard. Glib is a great word, but for some reason not more widely used.

When we consciously put the brakes on our impulsive rate of speech and go just a little slower, then keeping our minds and speech synchronized is easier. Our brains’ structure and the structure of our first language are embedded in each other. Our brains are optimized for our first language, so they can never process additional languages as efficiently. Additional languages are like new computer programs that run on top of basic language software embedded in our brains since childhood. Non-native languages require more mental effort than our original languages. Just as computers slow down when under a big load, so do our brains. English language learners often don’t take this into account, so when they start talking in English, they try to speak as quickly as their native language. However, unless they keep their rate of speech under close control, the mouth will quickly outdistance the brain. Then, people get “tongue-tied,” which means not being able to speak (as if your tongue was tied in a knot, I suppose).

Notice that cognitive-behavioral strategies do not require any additional training in English. Such training is also highly desirable, of course. But this takes a long time and may not pay off right away. Direct control of thoughts and actions delivers results right away. Be sure to take a breath please, and speak slowly!