Abstract:
The paper is aimed at highlighting the problem of teaching idioms the students of non-philological specialties of higher education institutions, namely the specialty “Hotel and restaurant business”. Interest in this topic is due to the motivation of students to study authentic texts of various genres in foreign language classes and within the scientific circle, during which they get acquainted with the theoretical material of this matter.
The aim of the paper is to illustrate and implement in the educational process a set of developed exercises aimed at studying idioms in the texts of English anecdotes and idioms about food, which are an effective means of expanding non-philological students’ vocabulary.
The paper exhibits information about the etymology of the anecdote, its definition, language features and ways to create a comic effect. Idioms are presented as special stylistic devices that have a positive effect on the expressiveness, brightness and originality of speech. It is shown that while teaching English idioms students use a multifaceted range of their competencies, comparing the idioms of two languages, delving into the history, customs and traditions of the country whose language is being studied. It is proved that this opportunity contributes to the work of the scientific group “English in intercultural communication”, as anecdotes and idioms about food are powerful sources of enriching the students’ vocabulary.
Results of the research. The article outlines a set of exercises: translation of the text, creating your own anecdote using idioms, finding matches between idioms and their meanings, processing the text using idioms. Such exercises can be useful for the development of speech competences of higher education students, expanding their cultural and linguistic horizons. It is noted that English anecdotes and idioms about food reflect the national colour of the language and the cultural mentality of the nation.
