Flash Cards: English Idioms

Recognise and recall the wording of common English idioms and figurative expressions

Infer or explain the non-literal meaning of an idiom from context or discussion, since no definition is printed on the card

Use idioms appropriately in speech or writing after repeated exposure through the flash cards

Introduce a small batch of cards at a time rather than the whole set at once, since no definitions are printed on the cards themselves

Have students guess the meaning from the card's illustration before it's explained, then discuss as a class

Especially useful for students learning English as an additional language, who need repeated, visual exposure to figurative expressions that don't translate literally

Figurative-language recognition — students learn to identify idioms such as 'to be a lame duck' or 'to walk on eggshells' as non-literal expressions.

Vocabulary acquisition through repetition — dozens of distinct idioms give repeated exposure across many rounds of card use.

Contextual meaning-making — since no definition is printed on the card, students infer meaning from the accompanying illustration or teacher explanation.