A Study On The Application Of Conceptual Blending Theory To Teach English Phrasal Verbs In Xuchang University

English phrasal verbs are idiomatic combinations of a verb and adverb, or a verb and preposition (orverb with both adverb and preposition). Phrasal verbs function as a verb and express an integrated meaning.The complex features of phrasal verbs themselves lead to the difficulties of learning them. Also theteaching method is one of the reasons resulting in the difficulties of learning. So, it is a very difficult taskfor English learners to have a good command of phrasal verbs. Therefore, how to help students master thephrasal verbs effectively becomes the main focus of the present study.From the cognitive perspective, the research applied conceptual blending theory, prototype theory andmetaphor theory into phrasal verbs teaching practice. The researcher combines the new achievements ofcognitive linguistics with the teaching practice to solve the practical problem. Based on the theoreticalfoundation and empirical studies discussed in the previous study, the following questions are raised:(1)Will students provided with the new instruction of English phrasal verbs based on the conceptual blendingtheory perform better in the retention than those without?(2) Will the new method of teaching phrasalverbs yield different effect in the retention for semantical transparent and opaque phrasal verbs?The new method were conducted through three steps: The first step essential to phrasal verbs learningappears to get a clear mental image of the particle. The second step is to explain the verb and the formationof semantic networks of phrasal verbs. The emphasis is focused on the formation of semantic networks ofphrasal verbs. The third step is to teach the similar phrasal verbs which are made up of the same particle.The present research was conducted both quantitatively and qualitatively. The self-report task andexperiment are adopted as the main instruments to collect the data to analyze and describe the wholeresearch. SPSS(17.0) is used to analyze the results of pre-test, instant post-test and delayed post-test. Theresearcher draw a conclusion that students of EG performed obviously better than students of CG. Theresults of paired samples test for semantical transparent and opaque phrasal verbs in two post-tests showedthat the new method yielded different effect in the retention of phrasal verbs, i.e. the effect for semanticaltransparent is better than that of opaque phrasal verbs.The thesis consisted of five parts. It began with a general introduction about the background, purposeand significance of the research. And the second part reviewed the main literature of phrasal verbs researchboth abroad and home. Then the third part introduced the theoretical foundations of the research, includingconceptual blending theory, prototype theory and metaphor theory which are achievements in the field of cognitive linguistics research. The research methodology and results of the experiment constructed thefourth part. The fifth part introduced the major findings, implication in practical teaching and limitation ofthis research, and put forward some suggestions for future research.