Investigating The Correlation Between Metaphoric Competence And English Proficiency Of Chinese Tertiary-level EFL Learners

The present dissertation reports an empirical study of the correlation between metaphoric competence and the English proficiency of the third-year Chinese EFL learners.There are 60 English majors involved in this study. The metaphoric competence test adapted from Littlemore (2001) was employed to assess the level of the Chinese EFL learners'metaphoric competence. The scores of metaphoric competence test and those of TEM-4,which were calculated both holistically and analytically,were processed by SPSS 12.0 to measure the correlation between these variables. The data analysis yielded the following findings:Firstly, the scores of participants in the metaphoric competence test (MCT for short) display a normal distribution but at the relatively lower level, indicating that L2 learners'metaphoric competence is yet to be developed.Secondly, Chinese EFL learners'metaphoric competence, as their scores indicated in the test, is holistically highly positively correlated to their English proficiency level, which suggests the learners'level of metaphoric competence may presumably vary along with English proficiency.Thirdly, the learners'level of metaphoric competence analytically displays a varying degree of correlation to the learners'performance in the different sections in TEM-4.(1) The learners'level of metaphoric competence displays remarkably positive correlation to their performance in Dictation and Writing in TEM-4, suggesting that the learners'metaphoric competence is more related to their written production, which confirms Danesi's presumption (1988) that the learner'language proficiency is the true sign of the ability to metaphorize in the target language. Furthermore, metaphoric competence in a large measure may ensure a greater natural degree of the learners''literalness', i.e. authentic quality of target language indicated in their written production.(2) Data analysis also displays a highly positive correlation between the learners' metaphoric competence and their performance in the knowledge of grammar & vocabulary, which validates the significant role that metaphors play in EFL learners'acquisition of syntactic structures and vocabulary. The learners'performance in the MC test and their scores in TEM-4 Reading and Cloze is also found to be correlated, though not significantly, which may suggest that the test-takers processed the information through more or less of their metaphorized knowledge.(3) Interestingly, the subjects'performance in TEM-4 Listening is found not to be correlated to their metaphoric competence. This may be due to the online information processing required in listening tasks, and consequently the learners may fail to make the best of their limited metaphoric knowledge.Theoretically, metaphoric competence is an integral part of human communication and cognition and is considered an ability to decode and encode metaphoric language or the ability to recognize and create novel metaphors in reading and writing.Pedagogically, the development of metaphoric competence may help L2 learners with the mastery of native-like fluency, specifically through the appropriate use of metaphors. Since the conceptual metaphors in different languages are realized through different linguistic expressions, L2 classroom instructors may explicitly and implicitly employ metaphoric competence as a facilitator of L2 learning and assist L2 learners in overcoming their difficulty of dealing with the differences between the two languages.