Problems with Figurative Language
As students read increasingly-complex texts they will encounter figures of speech and words with double meanings and figures. Since children tend to think very logically, they will often interpret figures of speech literally.
- It is raining cats and dogs
- I need you to stay on the ball
- Are you under the weather?
Adult English language learners may also be confused by abstract phrases. Figures of speech are rare in many languages and cultures. As a result, many people who speak excellent English are confused by these unusual sayings.
Since students are likely to use their schema to interpret figurative phrases literally, you will need you to explain the cultural references to help them realize the actual meaning. A good way to do this is to compile a list of figurative phrases and have your students try to interpret them.
It is also good to explain how these phrases developed. For instance, you could explain to your students that “at the drop of a hat” originated from horse racing. When the hat was dropped, the race would start. After providing this information explain that the phrase means “right away, as soon as you tell me,” or have the students try to figure this out.
To add to the learner’s confusion, there are words that sound alike and look similar. Even more confusing are heteronyms which are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings, and sometimes different pronunciations.
For example, when reading about zoo animals the students may become confused by the following heteronyms:
- “These lizards live in a desert with high winds.”
- “The diamondback winds in a tight coil to keep warm.”
- “Within a minute the crocodile has swallowed his prey.”
- “This gecko is so minute that it is difficult to see.”
Teaching heteronyms is an excellent way to build comprehension by teaching students to look for context clues within the sentence. As with many parts of reading, comprehension is not taught in isolation, but as a student learns to apply decoding. In the next section we will look at additional strategies that teach comprehension.