Teaching figurative language to adults

Many people like Scrivener and Henry introduce ways of teaching figurative language or idioms on the internet. On the other hand, I find many academics suggest language teachers not to encourage students to use figurative language as simply it is difficult to use. Even a small mistake in the phrase or choosing unappropriate context to use figurative language can make students look stupid. BuI personally value the lessons on figurative language because they are simply useful things to know about. I don't think students should be forced to practice using them by creating a fake context. It will be too unnatural. But knowing their meaning will help to understand what others are trying to get through to them. Comments welcome.