Let LOI Be Your One-Stop Shop For English Idioms

Let LOI Be Your One-Stop Shop For English Idioms For learners of the English  language,  understanding and using English idioms is a never-ending process.  It might feel like your progress moves at a snails pace.  Maybe you have spent  time  learning  dozens of common English idioms and youve been using them successfully.  Thats great!  But what about when you encounter an English idiom for the first time?  This can be tricky because idioms are expressions without a literal meaning.  One of our talented instructors at LOI, Peter, created this interesting and helpful  post that shines a light on a new way to understand  English idioms:https://www.skypeenglishclasses.com/idiomatic-expressions/About English Idioms:Today well be putting some of Peters helpful advice into practice.  If you are reading this post, you obviously have a strong appetite for learning, so, lets get started!Fill in the blanks with  the idiomatic expressions used in this video.  Then, match the expression to a definition listed.  As Peter states in his post, its important to listen for the context, paying attention to facial expression.  Its also helpful to listen for expressions people say commonly, and try to use those more often.  Todays lesson will help you do just that.  We are always  over the moon when we see your responses and get to help by correcting and giving explanations.  So, write your responses in the comments section.  Or, if youd like to spend quality time practicing with a native speaker, schedule a class!Listening Section and Exercise:To see how lithium is pulled from the earth, I went to visit the operations of the ______ ______, SQM.Hes a cheerful engineer who has _____ _____  working in The Great Void.Over millions of years, minerals from the mountains _____ into  the ground.From there, its __ __ ___ ___  to __ ___ _____  and evaporate away the water, _______  the minerals and salt ______.  This is __________ _____.You guys must be excited that Teslas are selling well and that everybodys _______ ____  e lectric cars now.Chile may have the largest lithium deposits in the world, but its starting to ____ ______  countries like Australia and China when it comes to production.In China its a ___-____ ____  with the mining and battery production happening together.This is a ____  Chilean companies have been unwilling to  ____.The feds have put strict quotas on lithium production, and theyve also been trying to act tough and ____ ____  after some politicos were accused of taking bribes from the mines.Environmentalists arent  ____ ____ of the mines either.But there are some  __ ___ ___ _____.Alejandro  ___ _ _____.These odd marvels ____  the modern world  __.Matching and Gap Fill:Next, use the context to match your answers to the following meanings:a.  disappear/go awayb.  batteryc.  starting to liked.  make things in our lives work welle.  people  who really like somethingf.  dominating the respective fieldg.  done something for yearsh. sucki.  has a correct ideaj.  positive aspects of a j obk.  do something risky with hope of successl. prevent embarrassment, shame or judgement of othersm. do its jobn.  place to buy everything at onceo.  become less successfulp.  the suns responsibilityHopefully by this point in the lesson, your relationship with idioms is getting warmer.  Several of these expressions  can also be categorized according to Peters grouping method:Expressions about life: roadExpressions about time:  moneyExpressions about knowledge: foodExpressions about relationships: temperatureExpressions about economics: gardeningExpressions about opinions: buildingExpressions about truth: archaeologyExpressions about intelligence: lightExpressions about opinions: geographyGrouping idioms in this way makes them easier to understand and put into context.  So now the next part of the lesson is to look at each of the following idiomatic expressions and place them into one of the categories above.example: spent years: time/moneygetting into:  _______/________fall behin d: _______/________leave behind: _______/________take a leap (of faith):  _______/________has a point (of view): _______/________make the world run: _______/________Find the English Idioms:Finally, you might have noticed that there are 7  idioms written throughout this post.  Find each idiom and place it in the correct category.  Then, for an extra challenge, write what you think the meaning is according to the category and context of the sentence!  Dont forget to write your responses in the comments section.If you still dont feel like these idioms are crystal clear, were happy to answer your questions in the comments section below, but were even happier to speak with you in a one-on-one lesson, so schedule a class today!