Пословицы и поговорки на уроках английского языка

Пословицы и поговорки являются продуктом народного творчества. Они широко употребляются в разговорном языке и, литературе, занимая значительное место в словарном составе английского языка. Пословицы и поговорки обогащают словарный запас учащихся, помогают им усваивать лексический и грамматический материал. Выучив пословицы, учащиеся с удовольствием употребляют их в своей речи. Пословицы и поговорки используются при работе над фонетикой для совершенствования слухо-произносительных и ритмико-интонационных навыков. Вниманию учителей предлагаются следующие упражнения:

e.g.

• Утопающий хватается за соломинку. – A drowning man catches at a straw.
• Всякoму овощу свое время. – Everything is good in its season.
• Где хотенье, там уменье. – Where there is a will, there is a way.
• Краткость - сестра таланта. – Brevity is the soul of wit.
• Лучше поздно, чем никогда. – Better late than never.
• Что посеешь, то и пожнешь. – As you sow you shall mow.
• Кто рано встает, того удача ждет. – The early bird catches the worm.
• Кто много говорит, тот мало делает. – Great talkers are little doers.
• He откладывай на завтра то, что можешь сделать сегодня. – Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
• Слово пуще стрелы разит. – Words cut more than swords.
• Когда ждешь, время тянется медленно. – A watched pot never boils.
• Один стежок, сделанный вовремя, стoит девяти. – A stitch in time saves nine.
• Перо сильнее меча. – The pen is mightier than the sword.
• Лучше умереть стоя, чем жить на коленях. – Better die standing than live kneeling.
• Ум хорошо, а два лучше. – Two heads are better than one.
• В гостях хорошо, а дома лучше. – East or West, home is best.
• Честность - лучшая политика. – Honesty is the best policy.
• О вкусах не спорят. –Tastes differ.
• Одна ласточка весны не делает. – One swallow does not make a summer.
• Время творит чудеса. – Time works wonders.
• Легок на помине. – Speak of the devil and he will appear.
• Поживем - увидим. – We shall see what we shall see.
• Москва не сразу строилась. – Rome was not built in a day.
• Как аукнется, так и откликнется. – Не, that does not respect, is not respected.
• Сделанного не воротишь. – What is done, cannot be undone.
• На вкус и цвет товарища нет. – There is no accounting for tastes.
• Снявши голову, по волосам не плачут. – It's no use crying over spilt milk.
• Хорошее начало, полдела откачало. – A good beginning is half the battle.
• На воре шапка горит. – Не that has a great nose thinks that everybody is speaking of it.
• Что с возу упало, то пропало. – Lost time is never found again.
• Волков бояться – в лес не ходить. – He that is afraid of wounds must not come near a battle.
• Риск - благородное дело. – Не that does not venture must not complain of ill luck.
• Нельзя быть мастером на все руки. – No living man all things can.
• Горбатого могила исправит. – Can the leopard change his spots?
• Курам на смех. – It is enough to make a cat laugh.
• Цыплят по осени считают. – Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.
• Терпенье и труд все перетрут. – A constant dropping wears away a stone.
• Любишь кататься - люби и саночки возить. – After dinner comes the reckoning.
• Все проверяется на практике. – The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

e.g.

e.g.

• He is a person who works at many trades and never becomes a real specialist in any of them. (Jack of all trades and master of none.)
• It is very important to start well when you begin to do something new. The other part of work will not take much time. (Well begun is half done.)
• It doesn’t mean that we can make a lot of mistakes, but there may be mistakes in our work. (He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.)
• It is difficult to find a good friend. You may lose your friend quickly if you do something wrong. (A friend is easier lost than found.)
• Real friends are always ready to help each other. (A friend in need is a friend indeed.)
• If people know your friends, they can say what you are like because friends like to do the same things. (A man is known by his friends.)
• It is said to children to teach them not to speak till they are asked. (Speak when you are spoken to.)
• Speak little but listen well to what others say. (Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.)
• You ought not to think that your task is too difficult before you begin doing it. (Do not cross the bridge before you come to it.)
• Schoolchildren must have some time for playing after work because games are useful for health. (All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.)

Read the text and choose the title.

• Two heads are better than one.
• Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.
• Аll is well that ends well.

One afternoon some friends of Susan and Derek’s invited them for a walk in the evening. Susan had bought tickets for the theatre for that evening, but she and Derek agreed to meet their friends before the theatre. They all met early in the evening, went to the park, sat down on a bench, and talked for an hour. When Susan got up, she couldn’t find her handbag. She was very sorry because the theatre tickets had been in the handbag. As Susan and Derek couldn’t go to the theatre, the friends decided to go to a cafe to have supper. Later Susan and Derek went to the nearest police station. They hoped they would know something about the handbag. To their surprise, Susan’s bag was there with everything in it. A child had picked it up in the park and the child’s parents had taken it to the police station.

Proverb: Аll is well that ends well.

For homework, write a situation that illustrates one of the proverbs in this lesson. Write the proverb after the situation.

e.g.

Situation: Yesterday I met my friend Nick. He had a nice bouquet of flowers in his hand. I asked him where he was going. He said that he was going to his girl friend. It was her birthday the day before yesterday. He said, “I understand that I am late with my birthday wishes, but I was very busy yesterday.”

Proverb: Better late than never.

Work in groups. Take turns reading your situation aloud (or telling your situation if you can remember all the details). After a person has told the situation, the others should try to guess what the proverb is.

e.g.

Situation: It is correct that everybody should always try to increase his knowledge. We get knowledge at school, from books, magazines, radio and TV programs, the Internet. Knowledge of history helps us to understand the past, the present, and the future. Knowledge of other subjects will help us in our future. We need knowledge for our future profession.

Proverb: Knowledge is power.

Work in groups and try to guess what the meaning of each proverb is. Write a situation that illustrates one of the proverbs.

Group 1:

Look before you leap.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Group 2:

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

The early bird gets the worm.

Group 3:

Where there's a will, there's a way.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Group 4:

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Haste makes waste.

e.g.

"Look before you leap."

This proverb means that you should look at something or check it out carefully before you begin to deal with it or work with it. For example, because Victor is going to take all his money out of the bank to buy a new car, his wife Maria may say," Look before you leap! That's all of your savings!"

e.g.

I think you know the proverb “Don’t count chickens before they are hatched.”

1. What does this proverb mean?
2. Is this good advice? Why?
3. Is there a saying similar to this in Russian?
4. Do you know any other English proverb that has similar advice?
5. Have you ever “counted your chickens before they were hatched”?

What were the circumstances and the results?

Here are other activities for language practice:

• match the proverbs and the pictures;
• reorder the jumbled proverbs;
• paraphrase the proverbs and sayings, using more familiar words or constructions;
• play a game by dividing several proverbs and sayings into two parts and having the other students match the parts correctly (this can provide the basis for a team game).

Practise linking at word boundaries [r, w, j].

1. There is no smoke without a fire.
2. There is no rose without a thorn.
3. There is a skeleton in every house.
4. There is no rule without an exception.
5. While there is life, there is hope.
6. Four eyes see more than two.
7. Mind your own business!
8. All the future exists in the past.
9. Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.
10. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
11. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
12. Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin.
13. The die is cast.
14. Virtue is its own reward.
15. A hungry belly has no ears.
16. The first blow is half the battle.
17. Don't cry out before you are hurt.
18. Good can never grow out of evil.
19. By doing nothing we learn to do ill.
20. If you want a thing done, do it yourself.

Practise consonant clusters with [ w ].

1. All is well that ends well.
2. No sweet without some bitter.
3. No sweet without some sweat.
4. Measure twice and cut once.
5. He gives twice who gives quickly.
6. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
7. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
8. If we can't as we would, we must do as we can.
9. A bad workman always blames his tools.
10. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

Practise consonant clusters with [r].

1. No cross, no crown.
2. Once a priest, always a priest.
3. Strike while the iron is hot.
4. Truth is stranger than fiction.
5. A tree is known by its fruit.
6. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
7. Jack of all trades is master of none.
8. Cross the stream where it is shallowest.
9. Don't swap horses when crossing a stream.
10. The drowning man will catch at a straw.
11. Drop by drop the sea is drained.
12. The last drop makes the cup run over.
13. Company in distress makes trouble less.
14. Dry bread at home is better than roast meat abroad.
15. Criminals often return to the scene of the crime.

Список литературы

1. Dobson J. Effective Techniques for English Conversational Groups. – Washington D.C., 1992.
2. Михальчук В. Ф., Лисенко М.В. Практическая фонетика английского языка. – Санкт-Петербург: Издательский дом “Книжный мир”, 2001.
3. Мюллер В.К. и др. Новый англо-русский словарь. – М., 1994.