Abstract:

Idioms are an integral part of our language and culture, enriching the way we communicate and allowing us to express ideas figuratively. Despite using these expressions frequently without much thought, they have fascinating stories behind them, often shrouded in myth and reality, making them all the more intriguing. Therefore, learning idioms provides learners with a significant chance to acquire information about the underlying parameters of a language.

This article aims to analyze the significant impact of using idioms in the process of teaching and learning a foreign language. It is considered to be one of the most effective ways to provide students with better conditions to improve their communicative skills in daily contexts. A team of researchers and students from the Departments of Macedonian, Italian, and German Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, University Goce Delcev in Stip, Republic of North Macedonia, conducted a study on the use and meaning of idioms of mythological origin in foreign language classes. The goal was to compare their meanings and analyze their usage.

The research involved 40 students who worked in groups. The first phase was to identify idioms with mythological origins in given texts, followed by researching the origins of the idioms and their meanings while using available online resources. In the second phase, all students participated in an online workshop using the Microsoft Teams platform where they presented the information they had gathered and compared it with each other in Macedonian. This encouraged students to interact and discuss the differences and similarities regarding the use of idioms across different languages. In the final phase of the research, the students were required to use the idioms correctly in exercises previously prepared by the teachers.

These interactive activities helped the students to become cognizant of the meaning of the idioms that were analyzed explicitly and connected to mythological characters and events while becoming appreciative of their cultural heritage. The study concluded that the use of idioms with mythological origins in foreign language classrooms not only improves students' proficiency but also their cultural awareness.

Keywords:

Idioms, mythology, figurative language, foreign language.