Soundbites, or context-embedded idiomatic expressions, can be used in the classroom to improve students’ speaking and listening skills. The majority of teachers and textbooks tend to avoid the instruction of idiom use, due to the culturally-specific nature of such expressions. However, it is believed that a three part process (contextualized exposure, decontextualization and recontextualization) can be an effective mechanism for students to further improve their speaking and listening skills. In the context of an EAP listening course, this presentation will outline an attempt to improve comprehension and output within groups of university students. The students at this stage are enrolled in the final part of a three semester academic listening course, which uses sections of authentic videotexts from a BBC documentary on the ethics of modern food production. From the texts, several idiomatic expressions are extracted (using editing software) and examined in decontextualized vocabulary exercises. Learners practice pronouncing and expressing the soundbites orally, before meanings are elicited. Once the meanings are known, the soundbites are recontextualized and examined within the original videotexts. Students gain a chance to understand these idiomatic expressions in an authentic and therefore meaningful sense . Quantitative and qualitative research, in questionnaire form, was done to assess student response to soundbite focus. Positive teacher feedback from the use of these exercises was also recorded.
