Conceptual Metaphor Theory And Its Application In The Learning And Teaching Of English Vocabulary

In contrast with the traditional view, which considers metaphor as a matter of language, that is, as a rhetoric or poetic device employed to achieve the effect of comparison in literary works, the contemporary theory of metaphor regards it as a matter of thought. Since the publication of Lakoff and Johnson's works Metaphors We Live By in 1980, metaphor study has been catching language researchers'eye both at home and abroad, mainly from a cognitive point of view. Lakoff and Johnson hold the view that metaphor is a cognitive process and it is pervasive in people's everyday life, not just in language, but also in thought and action. In this sense, most of our ordinary conceptual system is metaphorical in nature. Therefore, metaphor can be used as a cognitive tool to do the research in the field of English language learning, especially the English vocabulary learning and teaching.With the purpose of introducing metaphor as a cognitive approach to English vocabulary learning and teaching, this thesis firstly offers a systematic overview of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Secondly, on the basis of the theory, according to the problems facing Chinese students and teachers, the research sets out to make an exploratory study of the effects of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory in English vocabulary learning and teaching. As we know, conceptual metaphorical thinking enables us to understand abstract, unfamiliar things in terms of concrete, familiar things through the cross-domain mapping based on the experiential similarities. The cognitive mechanism of cross-domain mapping is of great efficiency and effectiveness for Chinese students to apply to the vocabulary learning, especially the learning of English polysemy terms, idiomatic expressions and cultural implications involved in words. Apart from that, it also provides Chinese teachers of English as a second language with a cognitive way of thinking by using conceptual metaphors in their teaching practice of the vocabulary. The satisfactory results brought about by applying this theory also play an important role in encouraging both students and teachers to cultivate metaphorical awareness and improve metaphorical competence.On the whole, learning and teaching English vocabulary through conceptual metaphors is a feasible and valuable method, which can also be applied to learning other aspects of the English language. In short, both Chinese students and teachers should devote their enough attention to this area.