Metaphors in the EFL Classroom: a comparative between two approaches to deal with vocabulary in the Secondary Education English class

Abstract

According to the general view, metaphors are usually presented as rhetorical devices characteristic of poetry and literary language. However, under the cognitive linguistics perspective, metaphors (more concretely, conceptual metaphors), are present in our daily life as ways of thinking (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It is precisely for that reason that metaphorical language (that is, vocabulary and expressions working at the level of language, as derived from one or various conceptual metaphors working at the level of thought) seems a very useful technique for vocabulary management in SLA. Taking into consideration the emotions of happiness, sadness and anger and their categorization as belonging to coherent sets of conceptual metaphors (Kövecses, 2010), it is possible to create a set of activities that would facilitate acquisition of vocabulary for Secondary School students. The aim of this study is threefold: firstly, it aims to determine which learning approach (traditional vs. innovative) could result more successful for today’s necessities. Secondly, it is also intended to shed some light on how to foster the development of the associative capacity through metaphor (more specifically, the students’ innate capacity of associating mental images and metaphorical expressions). Thirdly, this research also aims to evaluate whether motivation (Boers, 2000; Littlemore, 2009) may influence the language acquisition process. In order to study these three factors, two sets of activities were presented to two different groups: one set focusing on a traditional approach and the second one on an innovative approach. The English language is very rich in metaphors (metaphorical expressions), so to use the conceptual metaphor approach in order to foster the learning of new vocabulary can benefit its acquisition. Results suggest that, the use of metaphorical language related to the three basic emotions is an effective combination for language acquisition. Overall, it may be stated that a successful process of vocabulary acquisition related to the adjectives that characterize each emotion can be accomplished if the right amount of motivational factors are presented to the students.