A Metaphorical Approach To College English Vocabulary Teaching

Vocabulary plays an essential role in foreign language learning. As a core part of language learning, vocabulary acquisition should be stuck to all the way through the process of English learning. However, traditional methodologies of vocabulary teaching focus more on the introduction of word pronunciation, formation, part of speech,acceptation and the strategies of memorization as well. The cognitive factors in vocabulary teaching are neglected, not to mention the application of conceptual metaphor theory into teaching practice.According to traditional studies, metaphor is a linguistic phenomenon and is merely a rhetorical device in literary works. In fact, metaphor, discussed in the framework of Cognitive Linguistics, is regarded as a mapping across different domains and as one of the most basic and important methods in extending the meanings of words. Metaphor is more of a matter of thought and action than of language. Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. Language is the product of human cognition while metaphor is a tool of it. So it is of great importance to study the role of conceptual metaphor in foreign language teaching and learning.Nowadays, many non-English majors complain that a lot of time has been spent on English vocabulary, but little has been gained. How to tackle this problem? Scholars at home and abroad think that metaphor is an important process of expanding word meanings. Therefore, after learners have mastered some basic vocabulary, they can learn about some knowledge of conceptual metaphor and are able to infer word meanings in a metaphorical way. In the process of metaphor, English thinking can be developed and the efficiency in vocabulary acquisition can be improved as well. This could be a promising exploration.In this thesis, the author firstly reviews the studies on English vocabulary teaching at home and abroad, focusing on their importance and major defects, and the situation of research on foreign language teaching related to Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Next, the author gives a historical account of Conceptual Metaphor Theory on its definition, philosophical basis, working mechanism, characteristics and categories. Then by analyzing plenty of vivid language expressions, the author reveals the significance of conceptual metaphor in analyzing English polysemy, culture-specific idioms and word connection. Finally, to test the actual effect of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in vocabulary teaching, an experiment is designed and conducted among some college students. The result of the experiment proves that EFL learners'metaphorical competence and conceptual fluency could be promoted through introducing metaphor theories and training activities in the classroom and the promoted metaphorical competence and conceptual fluency can facilitate EFL vocabulary acquisition.Based on this study, the thesis explores some implications for English teachers and learners. It is obvious that employing Conceptual Metaphor Theory in the classroom can produce good results. All in all, the present study may shed light on English teaching.