Ways to learn and to practice English idioms

In my view the best way to learn English idioms is by topics with explanations of meaning, examples of usage and subsequent exercises. Practising idioms can be done through exercises in listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. I suggest the following sequence of learning English idioms (5-10 idioms per lesson):

1. Read clear precise meanings of idioms with usage examples in several realistic sentences in a good thematic dictionary of English idioms.

2. Do ready-made exercises from textbooks in idioms practice. Exercises in idioms practice can include dialogues, narrations (telling stories), thematic texts, questions and answers with idioms in various situations, discussions, talking points and expressing opinions and views on real life topics and issues.
A good textbook for English idiom practice is: English Idioms in Use (by McCarthy, Michael and O’Dell, Felicity). Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN: 0-521-78957-5.

3. Make up your own sentences for using idioms in real life situations.

4. Learners can further practice English idioms in the following ways:

a) when listening to audio and video recordings containing thematic texts with idioms and with subsequent speaking on the texts they heard;
b) when speaking English using idiomatic expressions on various topics;
c) when reading and retelling texts in English with idioms on a multitude of topics.
The English language is rich in idioms, and although it is possible to converse correctly in non-idiomatic English, a student with only a superficial knowledge of English idioms will find himself (or herself) at a serious disadvantage in his (her) reading, and even more so when he (she) takes part in discussions and debates. Ready-made copious usage sentences of English idioms taken from real life offer guidance on the most effective way to use them. The English Idiom Dictionaries listed by me below provide clear idiom usage explanations and several realistic idiom usage sentences. Many native English speakers, especially when they converse among themselves use idioms, informal colloquial expressions and slang.
There are a lot of textbooks, websites, audio and video aids for learning and practicing English idioms.