FACING A CURVEBALL

Learning a new language isn’t easy.  Some people have a greater facility with languages, which makes learning a second or third language a joy rather than a burden.  These people are blessed with what Howard Gardner (originator of the multiple intelligences theory) calls a strength in the linguistic area of intelligence.

For people needing to learn English, I think one of the most difficult parts of our language is the understanding of idioms. This can be difficult for English speakers, as well.  Young children have a hard time grasping the concept of idioms, as they take everything literally.  Just because we might say, “you are walking on thin ice”, doesn’t mean one is literally walking on thin ice.  It means that one is in a precarious or dangerous situation.  Here are a few other common idioms: don’t “beat around the bush”; “go back to the drawing board”; you are really “on the ball”; or “she is on cloud nine”.  One idiom that I have been reflecting on is “got thrown a curve ball.”

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