Appendix 3.B Sample Practice Activities for Teaching Idioms

1. A. Matching (given a set of five idioms, try to figure out the meaning of the Spanish expressions and match them to the English equivalents).

   1. ser un arma de doble filo	a. to be a piece of cake
   2. ser el colmo	b. to be nothing special
   3. ser una lata	c. to be a double-edged sword
   4. ser pan comido	d. to be the last straw
   5. no ser nada del otro mundo	e. to be a drag, a bore, bothersome

2. B. Complete the idiom (given the same set of five idioms, complete each idiom with the missing word). No te preocupes, vas a poder terminar la tarea de español en diez minutos. Es pan … (‘Don’t worry, you’ll be able to finish the homework in ten minutes. It’s a piece of …)

3. C. Substitution (given the context, choose one of the idioms from the set to replace the underlined words). Él le dice ‘No te preocupes, yo te lo explico todo. Lo que estamos estudiando ahora es muy fácil’. ‘He tells her, don’t worry, I will explain it to you. What we are studying now is very easy.’

4. D. True/false:

   Cuando decimos que algo es ‘pan comido’ queremos decir que es muy fácil.

   When we say something is ‘a piece of cake’ we are saying it is very easy.

5. E. Decision: Choose the idiom you would use in the following situation:

   Pablo tiene que recaudar fondos para su equipo de fútbol. Tiene dos semanas para recaudar $300. Su entrenador lo tranquiliza diciendo: a. No te preocupes, es pan comido or b. No te preocupes, es una lata.

   Pablo has to raise money for his soccer team. He has two weeks to raise $300. His coach reassures him by saying: a. ‘Don’t worry, it’s a piece of cake or b. Don’t worry, it’s a drag.’