The Application Of Conceptual Metaphor Theory To English Vocabulary Teaching

Under the influence of structuralism with Saussure as the leading person, vocabulary and vocabulary learning had been marginalized for a long time in foreign language teaching and learning. It was not until the 1970s that it gradually gained its recognition in the field of linguistic research. However, in China most EFL teachers focus more on the introduction of word pronunciation, formation and acceptations rather than comprehension of the underlying relationship between various meanings of the words from a cognitive perspective. As a result, the time and energy of learners have mostly been invested in learning vocabulary, but the achievement has been far from satisfactory. How to tackle this problem? Some scholars at home and abroad think that metaphor is an important process of expanding word meanings and English vocabulary evolves from the basic ones.What is metaphor on earth? Traditionally, metaphor has long been regarded as a rhetorical device and a matter of words, with the characteristic of language alone. But cognitive linguistics holds that metaphor is not only just a linguistic phenomenon, but is of thought and reason. It is the main mechanism through which we comprehend abstract concepts and abstract reason. The publication of the epoch-making classic Metaphor We Live By, written by Lakoff and Johnson, marked the real cognitive- paradigmatic shift of metaphor research. The Conceptual Metaphor Theory they proposed is a systematic and influential theory. They claim that conceptual metaphor, using experiences of one conceptual domain to express experiences of another domain, is a universal phenomenon in human language, in terms of which we both think and act. Most of our human concepts are metaphorical themselves, and our metaphorical concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around the world and how we relate to things and other people. Language, as its reflection, naturally follows suit. Lakoff and Johnson, therefore, argue that language is metaphorical in nature and metaphor is prevalent in everyday language. The close relationship of cognition, metaphor and language provides foreign language teaching and learning (including vocabulary teaching and learning) with a new perspective.The thesis, to begin with, reviews the studies on English vocabulary teaching and learning at home and abroad esp. the metaphor research in language teaching and learning, and meanwhile points out their importance and major defects. Next, a historical account of metaphor theories is given, especially that of Conceptual Metaphor Theory regarding its definition, philosophical basis and working mechanism as well as its links to linguistic expressions. To testify whether or not the application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in college English teaching and learning can facilitate vocabulary learning, an relevant experiment is designed and carried out for 13 weeks in two classes from Nantong University. The result indicates that college English teaching and learning combined with knowledge of conceptual metaphor can facilitate the development of learners' metaphorical competence and the improvement of their vocabulary level. Meanwhile, there exists a positively significant correlation between learners' metaphorical competence and vocabulary level. In the end, some implications are proposed for English teaching and learning: EFL teachers should attach importance to applying conceptual metaphors in EFL teaching and use metaphor as a cognitive tool instead of only as a rhetoric device, and at the same time highlighting the cultivation of the students' metaphorical competence and encouraging them to utilize a metaphorical approach to English vocabulary learning.