ABSTRACT
Given the enormous number of idioms in a language and the great difficulty involved in L2 idiom learning, teachers have to be selective in including idioms for students to learn. They will often need to decide not only which idioms to include but also in what order the idioms will be introduced, because selecting the right idioms is crucial for effective instruction. Idioms chosen for instruction should be those that students need the most in terms of their learning goals—that is, those that students have to grasp immediately in order to successfully perform the communicative tasks they are engaged in. The usefulness of an idiom should also be an important selection factor because it is a waste of valuable instructional time to teach idioms that students may never use. Whether an idiom is appropriate for students to use for their age, their language register, etc. is one more important determining factor.
