One reason students have a difficult time understanding conversational speech is that native speakers often use a variety of idiomatic expressions that students have not been exposed to. Just think of the word, "nose", and you can come up with a whole variety of expressions:
- thumb your nose at
- have your nose in a book
- put your nose to the grindstone
- have a nose for something
For this reason, I created my listening Website, EZslang.com (www.ezslang.com). So, do you have a favorite idiomatic expression? If so, share the expression, its meaning, and a sample sentence.
Randall
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It's indeed really hard to learn idiomatic expressions. I particularly like the one with the word "fish."
ReplyDelete"When I started working for the company, I felt like a fish out of water."
It means that I didn't feel I could fit/blend in. I didn't know anybody and was a little bit out of touch with what I was expected to do.