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In a reading‐aloud experiment, we investigated the on‐line processing of English idioms from a production perspective. The stimuli were ambiguous idioms used figuratively and literally, and matched novel control phrases. The analysis of the articulatory durations showed a processing advantage for idioms over controls. Further, we found that figurative meanings were articulated somewhat faster than their literal counterparts. The results suggest that the processing advantage for idioms over control phrases, previously reported in comprehension studies, is also present during their production. Unlike the comprehension idiom literature, however, the two idiom meanings might be processed differently during reading aloud. The study concludes with directions for future research, and a case is made for why this line of research is important for the field of applied linguistics.

This paper presents IdiomsTube (https://www.idiomstube.com), the first-ever computer-assisted language learning tool for facilitating the learning of English idiomatic expressions from YouTube videos. The web-based tool is designed to automatically (1) assess the speech rate and lexical difficulty level of any learner-chosen English-captioned YouTube video; (2) generate a range of vocabulary-building and revision tasks (e.g. fill-in-the-blanks, the classic spelling game hangman, pronunciation, flashcards); and (3) recommend YouTube videos based on learners’ individual learning progress, class teachers’ instructions, and current trends. This paper describes the app’s current features in conjunction with the challenges endemic in the development of applications that automatically generate English language learning content out of internet video content. At the time of writing, the IdiomsTube app had over 8,000 registered users worldwide.