[Udemy] – English Idioms For Wannabe Native English Speakers

English idioms are the common everyday usage of English words and phrases. Textbook English is often cut and dry, and it is not the actual way native speakers of English talk. Every language has two parts, that which is written and that which is spoken.

The written form, often referred to as textbook English, contains proper grammar, word usage, and punctuation. It adheres strictly to language rules and often sounds strange when reading aloud. It is crucial to learn this type of English as it follows all the rules and is grammatically correct. Anytime a student will need to read from a textbook or write English on paper, and they will need to know this proper form of English.

The natural form of English, often referred to as spoken English, is full of color, humor, idioms, slang, jargon, and a usually relaxed kind of grammar and word usage. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, little use of grammar, and inflection often makes spoken English entertaining and more comfortable on the ears. ESL students will also need to learn English so that they can talk to the native speakers of English with confidence and ease.
Spoken English is naturally expressed in informal settings.

The idioms, jargon, and other differentiations give it flow, movement, and a conversational tone. When native speakers use natural spoken English, they can feel freely creative to use improper forms of word usage and grammar. Those who wish to sound more like native speakers need to make an essential habit of learning the local spoken language of the English culture they want to to move into or interact with.

Before you attempt to learn English idioms through regular lesson plans, and it is crucial to remember one important thing, it does not sound right on paper. For instance:
“If ya’ really wanna” learn spoken English, you’ve “got no other go” than idioms. When it comes to natural spoken English resources. This website makes learning English “a piece of cake” when compared to other “not so snazzy” websites. When your there, you’ll “get a hand up” and learn English at “a fast clip.”

The phrases above which contain the quotation marks were idioms as a native speaker would hear them. When written on paper and read, they really wouldn’t make much sense. They would look more like a riddle or prose. But when spoken, they take on different meanings and create a sense of color and magic between those who converse. The use of idioms in natural spoken English makes it informal, easy, and exciting.

What are Idioms?

Idioms are word clusters and phrases that only have meaning to their particular language and the local culture that speaks it. One prime example is the phrase “piece of cake.” On paper and quite literally, it is something we would eat. But when spoken in the right context and the right locality, it takes on the meaning “easy.” However, idioms are only understood by certain cultures who talk about that language. If, for instance, one would go to a tropical island or South America and visit and English literature, that idiom may not be readily understood and might even be offensive.

Idioms are simply expressions used when spoken that convey a different meaning than their original one depending on the context they are used in. They may be entirely against the rules of informal English, but they are indispensable in spoken English. They are what create local language culture. Some idioms have been used so long by their particular culture that their original meanings have sometimes been lost, and their contextual meanings are now engraved in the current user’s dialogues.

Over decades and even centuries grow, change, mutate, and take on new meanings. They become deeply rooted in cultures and also become part of advertising and film dialogues.

If you want to know English “Like the back of your hand” and you want to sound “like common folk,” you need to learn the idioms of the local native speakers. You can “breathe easy” now that you have such lessons at your fingertips. The website mentioned above provides a comprehensive list of resources that will prove invaluable to you and convincing to your ability to absorb the spoken form of English.