Metaphor comprehension in the classroom: An investigation of metaphor comprehension in the EFL classroom based on the textbook Targets for Vg1 students at the general education program

Abstract Metaphor comprehension in the EFL classroom An investigation of metaphor comprehension in the EFL classroom based on the textbook Targets for Vg1 students in the general education program This master s thesis is aimed to answer the following research questions: 1. Are metaphorical expressions more difficult to comprehend than ordinary lexical expressions? 2. To what extent are Norwegian EFL students able to understand metaphorical expressions in texts representative of the expected level of English in LK06 at Vg1? 3. Is there a distinction between majority and minority EFL students in their comprehension of metaphorical expressions? The basis for the study was the textbook Targets, used in the five-hour English course at Vg 1, the general education program. In order to find out to what extent the students were able to understand metaphorical expressions, 40 sentences from the textbook were tested on 57 students in two Vg1 classes. Three categories of expressions were tested; distracters (sentences containing ordinary lexical expressions), core 1 items (metaphorical expressions without a Norwegian equivalent) and core items 2 (metaphorical expressions with a Norwegian equivalent). The findings indicate that metaphorical expressions in English pose a challenge to EFL learners. Metaphorical expressions seem more difficult to comprehend than ordinary lexical expressions. The students scored lower on both the core 1 items and the core 2 items than the distracters. Their overall score on metaphor comprehension of about 80% points to a lack of metaphoric competence. The expressions in the core items 2 group received the lowest score, both from majority and minority students. A distinction in comprehension between the majority students and the minority was also found. The minority students scored lower in all three categories. Most significant was the low score among the minority boys. Based on these findings, metaphoric competence seems to be neglected in the EFL classroom, and does not seem to have the same position in language teaching and learning as other language competences emphasized to reach native-like English. More focus on metaphors teaching is needed. How to implement exciting and relevant teaching methods remains a challenge