An Empirical Study On Chinese EFL Learners’ Development Of Metaphorical Competence Under The Guidance Of Concept-based Instruction

Metaphorical competence(MC)refers to the ability to understand and create metaphors.MC of Chinese EFL learners can promote language learning,enhance communication skills,expand cognitive structures,develop innovative thinking,and help learners understand and produce idiomatic target language expressions.Therefore,developing MC of English learners is particularly significant.However,there is a lack of empirical research on MC,particularly in terms of effective metaphorical teaching methods for improving MC of English learners.This study uses the concept-based instruction(CBI)to explore the impact of metaphor teaching on the development of MC of Chinese EFL learners.Students in this study are 21 first-year English majors from a university in Qingdao.The study conducts a 16-week metaphor teaching experiment to examine the 21 students’ MC in four dimensions: metaphor identification,metaphor comprehension,metaphor interpretation,and metaphor production.The research methods adopted are a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.This paper discusses two research questions:(1)Have participants’ four dimensions of MC(metaphor identification,metaphor comprehension,metaphor interpretation,and metaphor production)been developed after CBI metaphor teaching? If so,what is the specific development?(2)What are the participants’ perceived benefits and challenges from the CBI metaphor teaching and MC development?Through the analysis of MC pre-tests and post-tests,reflective journals,and interviews,the findings are:(1)Through comparative analysis of pre-test and post-test results,it was observed that participants achieved varying degrees of development in the four dimensions of MC.In terms of metaphor identification and comprehension,they could correctly identify more metaphorical expressions and understand their meanings.In terms of metaphor interpretation,participants expanded their knowledge of metaphors from the perspective of attributes,leading to more semantic relevance.In terms of metaphor production,they could generate more metaphors in numbers and diversity.The participants could even produce metaphors that were not explicitly taught in the instruction,which suggests an improvement in the students’ ability to learn and apply metaphors on their own.(2)Through the analysis of the interviews and reflective journals,two points can be found.Firstly,the participants believed that CBI metaphor teaching had promoted their learning of metaphors.SCOBA can be used to establish multiple semantic relevance between the source domain and the target domain.Through visual diagrams or precise language expression,abstract thinking processes can be materialized,which helps to understand and internalize metaphors,thereby assisting in achieving self-learning.Secondly,participants perceived that their MC had improved in all four dimensions.They believe that CBI metaphor teaching helps them to correctly identify metaphors.By establishing semantic relevance from multiple perspectives and constructing SCOBAs,metaphors can be better understood and explained.Additionally,they are able to produce relevant metaphors based on the theme,but found it difficult to make rapid progress in producing metaphors.The results of the study indicate that participants can improve their MC after the CBI metaphor teaching.This study draws the following implications.Firstly,this study provides insights into the effectiveness of using CBI metaphor teaching to enhance learners’ MC.Secondly,the findings suggest that in metaphor teaching,students should be encouraged to engage in divergent thinking and establish semantic relevance between conceptual domains from multiple perspectives.Finally,it is significant to promote self-learning among students and guide them in acquiring untaught concept knowledge based on their internalized knowledge.