The use of proverbs in teaching English

1. Presented by: Herta Lilia
PhD, University Lecturer,
SPU "Ion Creanga"
The pedagogical
potential of proverbs in
ESL classes

2. This presentation intends to provide answers
to the following questions:
1. Why should proverbs play a part in foreign
language teaching?
2. Which proverbs should be taught
and learnt?
3. How can the teaching of proverbs be best
accomplished?

3. 1. Why should proverbs play a part in foreign language teaching?

4. On the basis of empirical research Mieder,
Litovkina, Haas presents a list of
100 commonly known and used English provberbs.
The 100 expressions fulfil the following
conditions for items in a paremiological minimum:
1. they correspond to the definition of prov-erbs presented
2. they are familiar to and widely used by native speakers
3. they are considered to be relevant to the English language
and culture, according to the research of leading
paremiologists
4. they are used in the media
2. Which proverbs should be taught and learnt?

5. The insight that proverbs and phraseology should be taught and acquired on the basis of
authentic texts is very much in line with the three-step teaching model for phraseology in
general which was introduced by Kühn.

6. Proverbs are useful expressions in the teaching of language components
which are vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Grammar
The use of articles as in A
friend in need is a friend
indeed;
comparison as in Like father
like son;
conditional as in If the cap
fits, wear it;
adverbs as in An apple a day
keeps the doctor away;
prepositions as in When in
Rome, do as the Romans do;
comparative adjectives as in
Actions speak louder than
words.
Pronunciation
the sound /w/
Where there’s a will,
there’s a way.
/ŋ/ Seeing is believing and
Anything worth doing is
worth doing well.
/eı/ No pain, no gain than
in reading such
―monotonous sentences‖
as ―He looks pale today
3. How can the teaching of proverbs be best accomplished?

7. Using Proverbs in Class
Deal with proverbs in their contexts, such as in
reading and listening tasks or when you use one
naturally in class.
 Group the sayings by topic and introduce in
conjunction with other activities around the topic.
 It will be easier for students to remember some of
them if they’re in groups.
 Use visuals and pictures to help learners remember
them.
 Try to use situations when people actually use the
expressions and get students to create dialogues or
role-play and to use a few of the proverbs to
reinforce the meaning.
 Don’t overload students with too many at a time.
 Five is probably a good number for one class.