Rita Anita Forssten: I am thankful for my supervisors

How did you come up with this topic during your studies?

A research problem is above all something that needs to be solved or fixed. During my Master’s studies, I began to wonder why I still did not know English idioms very well. In reflecting on my own educational background, I realised how idioms are neglected in foreign language teaching and how they can be difficult to understand as a foreign language speaker. So I wanted to draw attention to idioms and the factors that facilitate their acquisition.

Writing a doctoral thesis is a huge undertaking and definitely needs constant self-motivation. What’s your trick? How were you able to consistently work on it to achieve a successful final result?

I believe the supervisor has an important role to play in this. I am grateful to my supervisors (Associate Professor Liljana Skopinskaja and Professor Suliko Liiv of Tallinn University) for guiding me on my next step once the first one was taken.

Please describe a memorable or funny event that happened while you were writing your thesis.

In fact, there were quite a few funny moments. For example, someone suggested that the well known Estonian expression “hit the nail on the head” is “hit the head on the nail” instead. The pronunciation of the foreign language also led to funny situations. Instead of the correct sentence, “my sister is a doctor, and my brother is a lawyer”, one of the participants once read “my sister is a doctor, and my brother is a lover”, then stopped and shouted “No!”.

How is your research going to change the world?

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. It is my hope that my work will attract the attention of foreign language teachers and textbook writers to idioms and help them select the most appropriate phrases for each target audience. Thus, future foreign language speakers will be better equipped to deal with idioms.

How well are the voices of scientists and young researchers heard in our society?

Sharing scientifically proven information and combating misinformation is a particularly relevant subject. There is a lot of work to be done on this front. I have had the privilege of working in a primary school where science popularisation was very thoroughly integrated into many subjects.

What are the most important values and beliefs that you live by?

I am fascinated by logic.

Please tell us about a book that you recently read and would recommend to others. Why would you recommend it?

Sofi Oksanen’s Dog Park (2019). Dog Park is a thriller that tackles painful subjects and expands knowledge.