| Traditional views commonly think that metaphor is only a linguistic phenomenon, and a rhetorical device employed to achieve the effect of comparison in literary works. Not only the comparison theory and substitution theory, but also Richards and Black' interaction theory all claim that metaphors, as a kind of linguistic deviation, are used mainly for rhetorical or ornamental purposes. In 1980s Lakoff and Johnson put forward their conceptual metaphor theory in their book named Metaphors We Live By. As Lakoff and Johnson assert, metaphor is a way of human thinking or cognitive process and it is pervasive in everyday language, structuring not only how we talk, but also how we think and act. The core of conceptual metaphor is that it is a cognitive activity mapping one specific and physical domain onto the abstract and non-physical domain. Therefore, conceptual metaphor is a tool of human cognition. From the perspective of cognition, it is of great importance and necessity to study the role of conceptual metaphor in foreign language vocabulary teaching and learning. Until now, there are quite a few discussions and relevant surveys about conceptual metaphor and college English vocabulary teaching, while, little about the teaching practice.This thesis is intended to offer some implications of conceptual metaphor theory for college English language teaching and learning, especially vocabulary teaching and learning. Firstly, based on an experiment and one semester's teaching practice, we find that conceptual metaphorical way of vocabulary teaching is an effective way. Secondly, it puts forward the necessity and flexibility of conceptual metaphorical vocabulary teaching. It further reveals the specific significance of conceptual metaphor in improving the learning of polysemy, idiomatic expressions and cultural implications based on conceptual metaphor theory and vivid linguistic evidences.Finally, the suggestion is also made to make more researches about conceptual metaphor theory.
|
PDF Full Text Request