An investigation into teaching english idiom through metaphors for first year students at au lac vocatinoal training college

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LE THI QUYNH TRANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHING ENGLISH IDIOMS THROUGH METAPHORS FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT AU LAC VOCATIONAL TRAINING COLLEGE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: TRUONG BACH LE, D.Ed HUE, 2015 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ LÊ THỊ QUỲNH TRANG ĐIỀU TRA VIỆC DẠY THÀNH NGỮ TIẾNG ANH THÔNG QUA THỦ PHÁP ẨN DỤ CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP DẠY NGHỀ ÂU LẠC LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC : TS TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ HUẾ, 2015 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: …./ …./ 20… Signature Le Thi Quynh Trang i ABSTRACT This thesis reports on the application of using metaphors in teaching English idioms for first year student in Au Lac Vocational Training College Being considered as one of the most complicated part in language learning, idioms has not been taught regularly in class However the fact remains that native speakers use idioms in a high frequency in not only spoken but also written form Aiming to investigate the awareness of first year students in Au Lac Vocational Training College on learning English idioms through metaphors as well as how they learn English idioms and find out the solutions for teaching and learning, the researcher carried out this study in a class consisting of 40 students Data were collected from 40 students who were concurrently learning English in Au Lac Vocational Training College Data collection was also derived from the interview of teachers and some learners in the trial class to discover further behind the information collected from the questionnaires Besides, the researcher also conducted classroom note-taking to witness the real reaction of learners to the present trial class Standing firmly on these reliable bases, the researcher drew out the conclusion of learners’ awareness on learning English idioms through metaphors and solutions for better learning in the future as well In general, first year students in Au Lac Vocational Training College have profound cognizance of learning English idioms through metaphors The application of conceptual metaphors has exerted significant effects on both teaching and learning English idioms in Au Lac Vocational Training College ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The special thank goes to my whole-hearted supervisor for all his dedication, patience and thorough guidance even though he is extremely busy with his work The supervision and support that he gave truly help the progression and smoothness of the research My grateful thanks also go to my colleagues - ESP teachers in Au Lac vocational school, who were willing to help me with the interview and experience sharing that gives me a great deal of valuable information A big contribution from them is very great indeed All research would be nothing without the enthusiasm and cooperation from the trial ESP class with forty learners coming from Au Lac vocational school They attended the trial class no matter how difficult the lessons were I highly appreciate their class attendance as well as participation in my study Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family, my friends who were always by my side to raise my spirit up whenever I have difficulties while carrying out the research Their great companion will be always in my heart iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Contents SUB COVER PAGE STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .i ABSTRACT ii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES v CONTENTS OF THESIS vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Objectives of the research .2 3, Brief outline of the thesis Research questions CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of key terms 2.1 Idioms 2.2 Identifying Idioms 2.2.1 Pairs of Words 2.2.2 Similes 2.2.3 Sayings .7 2.2.4 Metaphorical Actions 2.2.5 Variable Idioms 2.3 Metaphors 2.4 Teaching English idioms through metaphors 10 2.5 Reviewing the previous studies 12 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15 iv 3.1 Participants 15 3.2 Data collection 16 3.2.1 Pretests and post tests 16 3.2.2 Questionnaire 16 3.2.3 Trial class teaching 17 3.2.4 Interview 17 3.3 Data analysis .18 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19 4.1 The attitudes of first-year students of Au Lac Vocational College towards learning English idioms through metaphors .19 4.1.1 Idioms-an indispensable part in learning English 19 4.1.2 Metaphors-an important factor in learning English idioms 21 4.2 Factors affecting teaching and learning English idioms through metaphors in Au Lac Vocational College .23 4.2.1 How first year students in Au Lac Vocational Training College learn English idioms through metaphors 24 4.2.2 Challenges students have when learning English idioms through metaphors 33 4.3 The outcomes of teaching and learning English idioms through metaphors in Au Lac Vocational College 39 4.3.1 For learning 39 4.3.2 For teaching 41 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 44 5.1 Conclusion 44 5.1.1 The attitudes of first year students in Au Lac Vocational Training College towards learning English idioms through metaphors 44 5.1.2 How first year students in Au Lac vocational training college learn English idioms through metaphors 45 5.1.3 Challenges first year students face when learning English idioms using metaphors 46 v 5.1.4 The outcomes of teaching and learning English idioms through metaphors for students at Au Lac Vocational Training College 47 5.2 Implications 48 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 48 REFERENCES 51 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRES 53 QUESTIONNAIRE 53 APPENDIX 2: PRE TEST AND POST TEST APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEWING TEACHERS APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEWING STUDENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: The frequency of meeting idioms in learning English .19 Figure 4.2: The frequency of using English idioms when learning English 20 Figure 4.3: The frequency of meeting metaphors when learning English 21 Figure 4.4: The importance of metaphors in learning English idioms 22 Figure 4.5: How helpful metaphors is in supporting learning English idioms 23 vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter refers to (1) rationale of the research, (2) objectives of the research, (3) brief outline of the research and (4) research questions Rationale of the study Idioms play an integral part of any languages all over the world They are a fertile soil where people can make full use of their vivid imagination to beautify their major means of communication Thus, it is said that idioms are widely used in formal and informal, spoken and written discourse A large numbers of idioms can be easily found on television, on newspaper and daily life conversations as well With the ubiquitous appearance of idioms in life, students need to self-equip with some basic knowledge about idioms and how to understand them in the context, leading to the final outcome is that they can apply some popular idioms in their own conversation or writing However, that the meaning of idioms is often not transparent and the word choice is unsystematic has caused a lot of difficulties for learners, especially for non-English major students in Au Lac vocational training school Liu (2003: 671) stated that “idioms have rather rigid structures, quite unpredictable meanings and fairly extensive uses” Besides, idioms in English often take advantages of metaphor as a crucial tool to deeply express their meaning Furthermore, idioms are “a notoriously difficult” but at the same time a very useful aspect of English for language learners” Moons (1998: 3) maintained that “idiom is an ambiguous term, used in conflicting ways.” This leads to another outcome that students will have troubles in partly how to realize the metaphor and partly how to understand the metaphor used in the idiom to pull out the hidden meaning behind Consequently, understanding metaphor and applying it in learning vocabulary and idioms will help students develop their language systematically and effectively Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a research on using metaphors in teaching English idioms for non- English major students at Au Lac Vocational Training College In fact, choosing what idioms to teach is also a great challenge for the researcher In conformity with the students’ English competence, the learning of a Last but not least, students don’t spend much time for self-studying at home, which means further practice hasn’t put into practice out of classroom setting This may result from the fact that they were not interested in English because of their low English level 5.1.4 The outcomes of teaching and learning English idioms through metaphors for students at Au Lac Vocational Training College Teaching English idioms through conceptual metaphors has brought about advantages for both teaching and learning First of all, students have chances to explore one of the challenging fields in English learning process After some lesson plans carried out in the studies, more idioms have been taught and learnt through the use of metaphors Secondly, that students understand the hidden meaning of idioms will help them confidently use idioms both in academic learning and in daily life, which can boost their passion for English learning Obviously, the result of this study will somehow shorten the distance between theory and practice in the students’ learning process, which means they can use what they learn, not to store in their mind Thirdly, students’ critical thinking skill is also reinforced owing to the use of metaphors in learning Similarly, teaching English idioms through metaphors is also beneficial for teacher and teaching The integration of metaphor into the lesson has enhanced the atmosphere of the class Students find it motivating to learn English idioms with the application of conceptual metaphors in the class The more diverse activities are used, the more involving the students will be in the lessons Besides, that defining the indispensable role of the teacher during the teaching time is of great finding as no matter how active students are, they need the thorough instruction from the teacher to automatic access to conceptual metaphors and understand the metaphoric meaning in idioms processing 47 5.2 Implications The key findings have pointed out the pedagogical implications for learners, teachers and for the researcher In the first place, once the learners are familiar with the concept of metaphor as well as its application in the process of learning English idioms, it is highly recommended that they should keep the flow of learning on their own to maintain the progress With the active role of learners in the new method of teaching, learners should no longer rely too much on teachers to have everything prepared and explained for them Instead, they had better choose for themselves creative way of learning English idioms with the metaphor means By doing so, learners’ autonomy will be boosted to a new level For the researcher, when the lesson plans on metaphors are being taken shape and they bring about some positive effects on learners, it is thought that teaching and learning should be conducted in a more professional way, which involves the retention time for learners to reinforce their understanding about English idioms and conceptual metaphors Last but not least, pedagogical implications have been pulled out so far for teachers in general First of all, when seeing how students respond to the lesson plan after each session, they may cater special attention to the ones who have troubles in taking in the lesson then mingle them with the better ones Secondly, it would be better for students to have a self-report so that they can reflect their daily response to each lesson Thirdly, a closer teacher-learner rapport should be established for a positive learning situation By doing this, the teacher might not able to change the learners, but the teacher can be the reason why the learners should change in response to the teacher’s enthusiasm for the sake of better learning results for students themselves 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies Dealing with the scope of this study, the researcher just delivered the questionnaires for 40 first year students in Au Lac Vocational Training College 48 Besides, the trial class often takes place without the full attendance of all students Further research should be conducted involving a larger number of participants to provide firm evidence that can validate the data collected for this study Moreover, class attendance from colleagues should be added so that the researcher might have other objective feedbacks from the fellow teachers The researcher, together with her fellows, would give the researcher subjective feedback for the lesson plans Moreover, time for each lesson plan which accounted for hours was limited The lesson plan should be designed in a longer period to help students understand thoroughly about metaphor and idioms The researcher has difficulties in arranging more time for teaching as according to the curriculum, there are only 15 periods for further practice at school Therefore, besides conducting the study, teacher had to divide time evenly to review other language units for students to sit the final exam If possible, spending more time with each lesson plan will help the researcher pull out more useful data, which can contribute to the reliability of the final conclusion for this topic Besides the pre-test and post-test, a retention one should be inserted into the process of learning to help students review what they have learnt before A retention test might be another means to evaluate the progress of learners during the study From the retention test results, the researcher would in time adjust or adapt some lesson plans so as to suit the learners’ English level The retention test should be integrated after each lesson plan so that the researcher would be able to see the progress of the learners as well as the effect of applying metaphors into teaching step by step Owing to this, the researcher might adapt the teaching methods to meet the needs of the students Finally, class should have been recorded during the teaching and learning time The researcher carefully took notes what happened in the class; however, capturing the reaction of students at every single stage might give the researcher the general picture as well as a closer look of what was going on Sometimes, that so many troubles arose in class without the immediate reaction from teacher may lead to losing practical data For instance, in every lesson plan, the researcher required 49 students to translate the idioms into Vietnamese individually or in pairs What she should have done was to save all the students’ translations for data analysis While carrying out this activity, she had to help so many students at the same time that she couldn’t copy down all students’ translations Even though some translation versions of the learners were copied down, it would be better for further researcher to record the class Had the class been recorded, she would not have lost such a valuable source of information 50 REFERENCES Adams Smith, D (1983) ESP Teaching-Training Needs in the Middle East ESP Journal Vol.21, p 38 Black, M, (1979) More about metaphor In A Ortony (Ed.) Metaphor and thought New York: Cambridge University Press Boers, F (2000) Metaphor awareness and vocabulary retention Applied Linguistics, 21(4), 553-571 Retrieved July, 12, 2014 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/21.4.553 Charteris-Black, J (2002) Second language figurative proficiency: A comparative study of Malay and English Applied Linguistics, 23(1), 104– 133 Cooper, T C (1999) Processing of idioms by L2 learners of English TESOL Quarterly, 33(2), 233-262 Retrieved July, 12, 2014 from http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587719 Deignan, A., Gabrys, D., & Solska, A (1997) Teaching English metaphors using cross-linguisticawareness-raising activities ELT Journal, 51(4), 35260 Retrieved July, 12, 2014 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/51.4.352 Dudley-Evans, T & St John, M J (1998) Developments in ESP: A multidisciplinary approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Fernando, C (1996) Idioms and idiomaticity Oxford: Oxford University Press Gibbs, R W., Bogdanovich, J M., Skyes, J R., & Barr, D J (1997) Metaphor in idiom comprehension Journal of Memory and Language, 37(2), 141-154 Retrieved July, 20, 2014 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1996.2506 Hutchinson, T & and A Waters (1987), English for Specific Purposes Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Kövecses, Z (2003) Language, figurative thought, and cross-cultural comparison Metaphor and Symbol, 18 (4), 311-320 Kưvecses, Z., & Szabó, P (1996) Idioms: A view from cognitive semantics Applied Linguistics, 17(3), 326-355 Retrieved http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/17.3.326 51 July, 21, 2014 from Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M (1980) Metaphors We Live By Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press Lennon, P (1998) Approaches to the teaching of idiomatic language IRAL, 36 (1), 12–30 Lia Litosseliti et al (2010) Research Methods in Linguistics Continuum International Publishing Group Littlemore, J., & Low, G (2006) Metaphoric competence, second Language learning, and communicative language ability Applied Linguistics, 27(2), 268-294 Littlemore, J (2001) Metaphoric intelligence and foreign Language learning HLT Magazine, 3(2) Retrieved July, 12, 2014 from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/mar01/mart1.htm Liu, D (2003) The most frequently used spoken American English idioms: A corpus analysis and its implications TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 671-700 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003.) Longman Pearson Education McDonough, Jo (1997) Research methods for language learner Arnold, a member of the Hodder Headline Group, London Moon, R (1998) Fixed expressions and idioms in English Oxford: Clarendon Press Moon, R., & Knowles, M (2005) Introducing Metaphor London and New York Simpson, R., & Mendis, D (2003) A corpus-based study of idioms in academic Speech TESOL Quarterly, 37(3), 419-441 Whitney, Douglas “Pre and Post Test.s” Online posting 20 Aug 1996 Assess-Assessment in Higher Education < assess@lsv.uky.ed> Wray, A (1999) Formulaic language in learners and native speakers Language Teaching, 32, 213-231 Wray, A (2000) Formulaic sequences in second language teaching: Principles and practice Applied Linguistics, 21(49 463-489 Wray, A (2002) Formulaic language and the lexicon Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 52 Zoltan Dornyei (2007) Research Methods in Applied Linguistics Oxford: Oxford University Press APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRES I am master student in Hue College of Foreign Languages At present, I am conducting the master thesis with the title “An Investigation into Teaching English Idioms through Metaphors for First year students at Au Lac Vocational Trainning College” To complete my thesis, I would like you to help me fulfill the questionnaire below All the information will be used for the thesis only Thank you for your support QUESTIONNAIRE How often you meet idioms when learning English? A Very Frequently B Frequently D Rarely C Occasionally E Never How often you meet metaphor when learning English? A Very B Frequently D Rarely Frequently C Occasionally E Never How often you use English idioms? A Very B Frequently D Rarely Frequently C Occasionally E Never How important is metaphor in learning English idioms? A Very important C Neutral B Important D Not important What you think about learning English idioms in general? A Very difficult B Difficult D Easy C Neutral E Very easy What you think about learning English idioms through metaphor? A Very B Difficult D Easy difficult C Neutral E Very easy How helpful is metaphor in supporting you to learn English idioms? A No affect B Minor affect 53 C Neutral D Major affect 54 What difficulties you face when learning English idioms through metaphor? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… From learners’ perspective, what should you to enhance your own English idiom learning through metaphor? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 In your opinion, what should be done to make learning English idioms through metaphor easier? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! 55 APPENDIX 2: PRE AND POST TEST PRE TEST I am master student in Hue College of Foreign Languages At present, I am conducting the master thesis with the title “An Investigation into Teaching English Idioms through Metaphors for First year students at Au Lac Vocational Trainning College” To complete my thesis, I would like you to help me with the test below All the information will be used for the thesis only, not for marking or assessment Thank you for your support A MULTIPLE CHOICES: Circle the best answers: Steve has passed the driving test He is walking on air now A Steve is very disappointed B Steve is very happy Eric has been feeling blue all week No one can cheer him up A Eric was depressed B Eric was angry Jane tried to work more than she had time for but she couldn’t earn enough money She is in black mood now A Jane is lazy B Jane is unhappy Daniel has lifted his parents’ spirit when winning the first prize in the English Debate contest A Daniel makes his parents sad B Daniel makes his parents happy Brian is feeling down actually because he cannot get high marks as he expected A Brian is relaxing B Brian is sad 56 B MATCHING: Are you out of your mind? You can’t go swimming in this terrible weather! I can’t believe she said that I’m going to give her a piece of my mind! He’s changed his mind and doesn’t want to help us now Yes, I’d love a coffee You read my mind 10 I felt comfortable with them because I could always speak my mind 11 I wanted to invite him, but I was so busy that it slipped my mind 12 Come to the cinema with us, it will take your mind off your exams 13 Are you coming or not? Make up your mind! a To change your opinion about something b To know what someone is thinking c To forget d Crazy e To make a decision f To say exactly what you think or feel g To say what you think especially if you are angry h To make you think of something else C FILL IN THE BLANKS: Take time Time left Run out of time Save time Waste of time Lose time Invest time Lose time 14 Don't worry I know things haven't been easy and that it will a little more for things to pick up, but things will be ok 15 How much have we got to present our report to the manager? 16 We need a decision from the bank We're 57 17 It will us a huge amount of if we inform our partners before the meeting 18 We've had to input all the data again onto the system It's been a such a 19 We've a lot of on cultivating this connection We cannot abandon it now 20 There's no _ to We need to head to the airport now 58 APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEWING TEACHERS PHỎNG VẤN GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH Theo thầy/cô, đánh giá kiến thức sinh viên thành ngữ ản dụ trước khóa học quan trọng nào? Thầy/ Cơ thường đánh giá cách gì? Nội dung? ………………………………………………………………………………… … ……………………………………………………………………………… Thầy/cơ có gặp phải khó khăn định dạy thành ngữ phương pháp ẩn dụ cho sinh viên trường Âu Lạc không? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Trước, kết thúc khóa học, thầy/cơ thường đánh giá sinh viên qua phương tiện gì? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Bài giảng hoạt động sử dụng khóa học thường thầy/cơ đánh giá dựa tiêu chí nào? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Thầy/cơ ưu tiên áp dụng phương pháp giảng dạy toàn khóa học? Ngồi thầy/cơ có sử dụng thêm phương pháp không? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Thầy/cô đánh tính thích hợp lớp học mà thầy/cô trực tiếp giảng dạy? - Về giáo trình: - Về phương pháp giảng dạy: - Về học viên: - Về giáo viên: - Về hoạt động lớp: 59 - Về cách thức kiểm tra đánh giá: Thầy/cơ có đề xuất để nâng cao tính phù hợp khóa học khơng? Cụ thể: - Về giáo trình: - Về phương pháp giảng dạy: - Về học viên: - Về giáo viên: - Về hoạt động lớp: - Về cách thức kiểm tra đánh giá: 60 APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEWING STUDENTS PHỎNG VẤN SINH VIÊN Anh/chị cảm thấy kiểm tra đầu vào nào? Có phù hợp với khả khơng? Trong trình học, anh/chị cảm thấy việc học thành ngữ qua ẩn dụ? Phương pháp ẩn dụ có giúp cho anh/chị việc tiếp thu thành ngữ khơng? Nếu có tác động nào? Trong q trình học, anh/chị cảm thấy hứng thú với hoạt động nào? Có thể liệt lê ba hoạt động anh/chị thích ba hoạt động anh/chị khơng hài lịng? Anh/chị thấy nội dung học có phù hợp với khơng? Có thể nêu vài điểm tích cực học mà anh chị trải qua? Anh/chị có đề nghị để làm cho việc học thành ngữ thủ pháp ẩn dụ hay không? - Về giảng: - Về giáo viên: - Về hoạt động lớp: - Về cách thức đánh giá, kiểm tra: - Khác: 61