Abstract:
Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance and the ubiquity of metaphors in language. Their effect has been instrumental in making significant headway into the pedagogical practice and design of teaching materials. The current study was carried out to explore the efficacy of focus-on-form (FonF) and focus-on-forms (FonFs) instructions on learning metaphorical language by Iranian intermediate learners of English. First, 60 participants who were homogeneous in terms of language proficiency and metaphorical competence were assigned to 3 groups, 2 being the experimental groups and 1 the control group. One of the experimental groups was exposed to the explicit teaching of metaphors (i.e. FonFs) included in 20 reading passages. The second group was taught the target metaphorical expressions through implicit instruction (i.e. FonF). And, the control group went through the usual classroom instruction; they took the same pretest and posttest as the 2 experimental groups did. To analyze the data, a three-way ANOVA and analysis of covariance were utilized. The findings revealed that the FonFs- taught group gained better results on the posttest. The results seem to indicate a positive correlation between the FonFs and metaphorical competence. It could be claimed that it is possible to enhance L2 learners’ metaphorical competence through the FonFs instruction of metaphors.
Machine summary:
The current study was carried out to explore the efficacy of focus-on-form (FonF) and focus-on-forms (FonFs) instructions on learning metaphorical language by Iranian intermediate learners of English.
In FonF instructional approach, L2 learners’ attention is directed to linguistic data, which are normally ignored in focus-on-meaning language teaching methodsIperhaps as a result of an over emphasis on the role of communication.
Therefore, metaphorical use of language is indispensable indications of L2 learners’ fluency that help them integrate into the social communication and the cultural aspects of an L2 because metaphorical expressions can save efforts in processing and act as discoursal time-buyers (Lennon,1998).
Moreover, recent research (A’lipour Ketabi, 2010; Kavka Zybert, 2004; Vahid Dastjerdi, 2010) has explored the effect of formal instruction on the acquisition of idioms, but not on metaphorical language.
g. Roberts Kreuz, 1994; van Pattern, 1996; Williams, 1999) have been carried out to explore the efficacy of FonF(s) instruction in presenting L2 structures, little has been documented, to the best my knowledge, regarding the efficacy of FonF(s) in the development of metaphorical competence in L2 learners.
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the (possible) effects that the two approaches applied in teaching metaphorical expressions— FonF(s)—exert on the development of metaphorical competence in L2 learners.
g. Doughty Williams, 1998; Jalilifar Charoosaee, 2002; Long, 1991; Norris Ortega, 2000) on the effective form of grammar instruction, one will quickly spot some areas of neglect in examining the effects of the so-called concepts on L2 learners’ metaphorical competence.