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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES BÙI PHÚ HƯNG SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS TEACHING ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROACH DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 14 01 11 HUE, 2019 This study was completed at: University of Foreign Languages, Hue University Supervisor 1: Assoc Prof Trương Viên, PhD Supervisor 2: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ, PhD Reviewer 1: Prof Nguyễn Hòa, PhD Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Tôn Nữ Mỹ Nhật, PhD Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Lê Phạm Hoài Hương, PhD This doctoral dissertation will be defended in the Thesis Examination Council of Hue University at 03 Le Loi Street, Hue City at…………am/pm on …………… /………… /………… This dissertation can be found in the National Library and library of University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, at 57 Nguyen Khoa Chiem Street, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify my authorship of the PhD thesis submitted today entitled: “TEACHING ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROACH” for the degree of Doctor of Education, is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree at any other institution To the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by other people except where the reference is made in the thesis itself Hue, May 29, 2019 ABSTRACT The present study aimed to investigate the effects of applying cognitive linguistics (CL) to teaching the spatial and metaphorical senses of English prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between, in, in front of, on and under It made attempts to apply the basic concepts in cognitive linguistics, including embodiment theory, image schema theory, conceptual metaphor theory and domain mapping theory Also, the integrated text and picture comprehension (ITPC) model was applied to frame the input and practice tasks A pretest-posttest between-group research design was adopted The results of the pretest and pre-questionnaire were used to select student participants who were then divided into two different groups: cognitive group and traditional group The findings revealed that the cognitive group (M=27.00) significantly outperformed the traditional group (M=22.36) in the posttest in terms of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings I The cognitive group participants also responded that they appreciated the CL-based teaching of the prepositions more than the pedagogical applications which their former teachers had previously applied in terms of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings Six out of 25 cognitive members responded that the teacher should have added something fun to make the lesson more interesting Most of the participants believed that CL-based teaching was appropriate and admitted that CL-based teaching had more positive effects on their knowledge of the spatial meanings than that of the metaphorical meanings The findings suggest that future studies and practices in ELT which would like to apply cognitive linguistics in EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom could include songs or games in the post-teaching stage Further research can also apply cognitive linguistics to teaching other prepositions in other contexts and employ a delayed posttest to measure the students’ long-term memory of the target items II CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English prepositions expose some difficulties to EFL students (Fang, 2000) owing to their inherent characteristics and regular practice of teaching this word class (Alonso, Cadierno & Jarvis, 2016) It has been argued in contemporary literature that the frequently applied options for teaching prepositions cannot help integrate new input with learners’ existing knowledge in order to form a related cognitive structure (Cho, 2010) The emergence of cognitive linguistics (CL) gives implications for English language teaching and learning as its foundation is based on how humans acquire and learn language Regarding prepositions, CL proposes the use of image schema theory and domain mapping theory in explaining the semantics of prepositions as it can help learners form a cognitive structure of prepositional senses, which is considered to facilitate learning and memory of the target items (Evans & Green, 2006) This study would like to include other prepositions, and investigate learners’ opinions as reflections on the CL-based teaching 1.2 Research Aims The primary purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to explore the effects of applying cognitive linguistics to teaching the spatial and metaphorical meanings of English prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between, in, in front of, on, and under Also, it aims to explore Vietnamese students’ opinions of preposition teaching based on cognitive linguistics (CL) or how they appreciate the treatment based on cognitive linguistic concepts 1.3 Research Questions What are the effects of CL-based teaching on Vietnamese EFL college students’ knowledge of the spatial and metaphorical meanings of English prepositions? How Vietnamese EFL college students evaluate the effects of CLbased teaching of English prepositions? 1.4 Research Scope This study did not attempt to teach all English prepositions, but it took a CL approach to the teaching of the ten prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between, in, in front of, on, and under in the spatial domain and abstract domain to Vietnamese EFL college students These ten prepositions were chosen as a result of their high level of frequency and difficulty (Lindstromberg, 2010) 1.5 Significance of the Study The present study hopes to contribute to the literature in ELT, particularly pedagogical techniques for English prepositions to EFL students Also, curriculum designing and textbook writing will be facilitated in terms of providing appropriate lessons and tasks to assist students in mastering English prepositions 1.6 Organization of the Thesis This dissertation consists of five main chapters Following this introduction, Chapter Two reviews extant literature on CL and its applications in ELT Chapter Three sketches research methods and design employed Chapter Four presents the results and discussion of this study Finally, Chapter Five summarizes the key findings and gives implications and the contributions of the present study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The Place of CL in ELT CL is grounded on the interconnections between language, human mind, and human experiences of society and interactions with the external world (Kardela, 2011; Langacker, 2008) Accordingly, it has three main characteristics: cognitive, social and communicative (Arnett & Jernigan, 2014) 2.2 Theoretical Framework 2.2.1 Spatial Configurations of English Prepositions Cognitive linguists also propose that the meanings of prepositions can be explained by the reference entity called landmark and the mentioned object called trajector Herskovits (1986) provides examples to illustrate the spatial meanings of the preposition in In the example the cat in the house, the cat is totally contained in the house The cat is the trajector (TR) and the house is the landmark (LM) In this situation, the meaning of the preposition in is prototypical as TR is totally contained in LM In the example the bird in the tree, however, it is essential to include all the branches of the tree as LM In this case, a three-dimensional space should be construed, and the meaning of the preposition in is non-prototypical 2.2.2 The Domain Mapping Theory A domain, an inventory of conventional linguistic units, is the cognitive structure providing background context and helping us to understand the meaning of any word The spatial relationships of prepositions are first accumulated in the spatial domain and then prepositions transfer to the abstract domain, where they are used with the metaphorical meanings (Fillmore, 2006) Spatial domain Abstract domain in the box in my opinion on the desk on the telephone at school at rest Figure 2.2 Prepositions across domains (Adapted from Geeraerts & Cuyckens, 2007 & Evans, 2007) 2.2.3 Conceptual Metaphor of English Prepositions Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that conceptual metaphor theory is grounded in everyday experience For example, “be at a crossroads” as in We are at a crossroads is projected into human cognition and may refer to a context in which the two lovers are at a point of making a decision Regarding the semantics of prepositions, TIME IS SPACE metaphor (Boroditsky, 2000); however, the term “metaphorical meanings” in this study refers to the metaphorical use of the prepositions in the abstract domain 2.2.4 Image Schema Theory 2.2.4.1 Definition An image schema is a cognitive structure which is used to interpret humans’ physical experiences and connections of concepts in the human mind (Clausner & Croft, 1999) Humans make sense of the surrounding, such as LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN After image schemas of prepositions representing their spatial senses are constructed in the human mind, they may enable people to use them with the metaphorical meanings (Mandler & Cánovas, 2014) 2.2.4.2 Demonstrating the Senses of Prepositions with Image Schemas Ming (2011) suggest four principles for constructing image schemas First, an image schema should be mainly relevant to the semantic characteristics of the entity illustrated Also, the LM is a reference point in a stationary position Third, the target object or TR can be moving unmoving Finally, image schemas illustrating prepositions should describe where TR is in comparison TR TR LM 2-D image schema 3-D image schema Figure 2.5 Image schema of preposition in (meaning: CONTAINMENT) (Adapted from Herskovits, 1986) Herskovits (1986) proposes that LM can be two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D), but a 3-D LM usually describes a clearer relation between TR and LM (Figure 2.2) Although a preposition may be illustrated by several image schemas according to what meaning it has in context, the construction of an image schema has to primarily satisfy requirements: (1) relationship between TR and LM, (2) their distance, (3) the existence of contact between TR and LM, (4) shape and size of TR and LM and (5) direction of TR in comparison with LM (Taylor, 1989) The constructions of the image schemas applied in this study were based on these principles and proposals of image schemas by cognitive linguists CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Approach and Design This study combined qualitative and quantitative approaches To answer research question 1, the pretest-posttest between-group quasi-experimental design was adopted To answer research question 2, the participants’ evaluative opinions of the treatment was collected through questionnaires and interviews 3.2 Participants 3.2.1 Description of Teachers Two female Vietnamese EFL teachers currently teaching at a university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, voluntarily participated in this study They had similar teacher characteristics: around one year teaching at the research site, an experience of approximately three years as EFL teachers, a master in ELT, and an IELTS certificate of 7.0 band score awarded one year prior to the implementation of the first study 3.2.2 Student Participants Fifty first-year students volunteered to get involved in this study The selection of the participants in this study was mainly based on their answers to the pre-questionnaire and pretest, and their academic records of English learning in high school 3.3 Data Collection Instrumentation 3.3.1 Pretest and Posttest The pretest and posttest in this study had the same format, with three sections each: forced-choice sentence completion, multiple choice questions and text completion The combination of discrete-point direct test (forcedchoice sentence completion and multiple choice questions) and text completion formats was assumed to measure the participants’ knowledge of individual target language items and their use in the context of text (Bassili, Smith, & MacLeod, 1989; Harmer, 2015) 3.4.2 CL-based Treatment The cognitive group (CG) received a CL-based treatment The instructions were meaning-focused, explicit and inductive Both traditional and cognitive treatments employed the same practices and illustrating pictures The teaching of spatial meanings was comprised of five main activities The teacher mainly used image schemas to illustrate the meanings of the prepositions In sessions of the metaphorical meanings, the teacher applied domain mapping theory to relate the metaphorical and spatial meanings of prepositions to form a cognitive structure in the students’ minds by using the same image schemas in illustrating these different types of meanings Data Analysis The analysis was done with results from the tests and part of the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire first, then the interview, and finally part of the post-questionnaire and video-recordings The data collected from the testing instruments was input into SPSS version 22 for statistical computation Also, the data from part of the pre- and post-questionnaires was processed with SPSS to compare CG members’ responses to the treatment which they had previously received and the CL-based treatment The data collected from part of the pre- and post-questionnaires and interview was classified, themeanalyzed, and coded 3.6 Research Reliability and Validity Many measures were applied to increase the research reliability and validity In this study, Cronbach’s Alpha values of the experimental results and each questionnaire cluster was greater than Also, the experimental results show that the difference in the mean scores of the two groups was significant (p < 05) The involvement of the two teachers and two research assistants was to increase the subjectivity in this study The instruments employed were also tested and amended to minimize the intervention of other variables in the empirical results (McMillan & Schumacher, 2001) 3.7 Research Ethics Regarding research ethics, all of the participation, including the student and teacher participants and was voluntary They responded to the researcher’s call for participation They were informed of the purposes of the present study and their rights to be helped from any harm arising from or related to this study Their identities were kept confidential The participant selection was not influenced by discrimination All the participants were treated with respect and dignity throughout the study CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Effects of CL-Based Teaching on Vietnamese EFL College Students’ Knowledge of Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings 4.1.1 Experimental Results of the Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings of the Prepositions Overall, although both groups gained a relatively comparable score in the pretest, CG significantly outperformed TG in the posttest In particular, in the pretest, CG and TG achieved a score of 20.04 and 20.28 respectively However, CG’s score developed by 6.96, but TG gained a mean score of only 2.08 from the pretest to the posttest Also, the standard deviations show that individualls in both groups had their data points equally close to the mean prior to the treatments, but these values dispersed after the treatments More specifically, the standard deviations for CG and TG were 4.243 and 3.796 repsectively The statistical analysis also shows that CG’s scores for both the spatial and metaphorical meanings, with 4.36 and 2.60, improved more significantly than those of TG, with 24 and 1.84 respectively in the posttest 4.1.2 Measures of the Test Scores across the Two Treatments In general, CG’s mean scores for the whole tests, spatial and metaphorical meanings were significant in the paired samples t-test Their score differences between the two groups were significant (p < 05) Regarding the score change in each test section, both groups’ mean scores underwent improvements in each test section First, CG’s score improved from 10.48 to 12.96, but TG’s score increased from 10.28 to 11.04 Both groups achieved the lowest scores was Text Completion Section In particular, CG’ score developed from 4.16 to 6.04, and TG’s score rose from 4.04 to 4.56 For Sentence Completion Section, CG’s and TG’s scores grew by approximately 2.5 and 80 respectively The Independent Samples t-Tests shows that the improvements in CG’s knowledge of the semantics of the prepositions from the pretest to the posttest were significant (p < 001, 2-tailed) There was a relatively considerable increase in CG’s scores for all the three sections: sentence completion (SC), multiple choice (MC) and text completion (TC) The Independent Samples tTest of CG’s scores shows that its score gains were significant (p < 001) On contrary, the Independent Samples t-test of TG’ scores shows that its score gains were insignificant (p>.05) Cronbach’s Alpha standard for statistical reliability was assured (α = 847 for CG and α = 728 for TG) Repeated measures of ANOVA also indicate that the differences in the posttest results of each section between the two groups were significant, p < 05 10 4.1.3 Discussion of the Effects of the CL-Based Treatment on the Participants’ Knowledge of Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings The foregoing analyses indicate that it may be, at least, moderately effective to apply CL-based teaching The main difference in the two treatments was in the warm-up activity and instruction which reflected the CL-based treatment and traditional treatment In other words, CG’s score improvement was mainly tailored to the pedagogical CL-based application What appears from the analyses is that both kinds of treatment had a pronounced impact on the scores of both groups involved in this study, resulting in their statistical score growth from the pretest to the posttest Also, in contrast to TG, CG developed significantly over time in terms of their knowledge and memory of the semantics of the prepositions, which led to the improvements in their scores In short, TG’s and CG’s score improvements from the pretest to the posttest mainly reflected these differences in the two treatments 4.2 Participants’ Evaluative Opinions of the CL-Based Treatment 4.2.1 Participants’ Responses to the Treatments of the Spatial Meanings of the Prepositions Overall, the participants believed that the treatments they had received from their former teachers and the CL-based treatment were both appropriate and interesting A comparison of the participants’ responses to the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire shows that the CL-based treatment was considered to be better than the teaching of the prepositions which the participants had previously received The mean differences in these two types of treatment of the spatial meanings in terms of the interest and appropriateness was 48 and the corresponding figure for the effects of the treatments was 75 11 The theme-based analysis of the qualitative data obtained from the CG members’ responses in the interview indicates that most participants responded that the teacher’s instructions and use of image schemas were interesting and appropriate However, some of them revealed that the class activities did not really interest them 4.2.2 Participants’ Responses to the Treatments of the Metaphorical Meanings of the Prepositions Concerning the appropriateness and interest of the treatment of the metaphorical meanings, the participants did not highly think of the treatment of the metaphorical meanings of prepositions which they had previously received, with the total mean score of 2.98, but they highly appreciated the CL-based treatment of this type of meaning, with a mean score from 3.49 They also expressed their high appreciation of the effects of the CL-based treatment, with a mean score of 3.45 Overall, the data collected from the interviews was in line with what was obtained from the post-questionnaire Their responses were divided into two sub-themes: interest and appropriateness of the treatment 23 out of 25 participants gave positive comments regarding their interests However, out of 25 (16%) cognitive participants expressed that they did not absolutely like the instructions 4.2.3 Discussion of the Participants’ Evaluattion of the CL-Based Treatment There was a difference in the mean score of each of the items in the postquestionnaire in comparison with that in the pre-questionnaire In general, the 12 students’ evaluation of the treatment of the spatial meanings was better than of the metaphorical meanings Also, they appreciated the effects of the treament on their knowledge of the spatial meanings more highly than the metaphorical meanings In the interviews, the participants expressed their appreciation of the use of image schemas Hampe (2005) and Johnson (2005) explain the importance of images in acquiring and learning certain language items in that they help people make sense of the target language by forming cognitive structure Accordingly, due to human interaction with the external world, perceptions are constructed from embodied experiences Mayer (2005) and Schnotz (2005) also explain that humans receive information via two main channels, namely visual and auditory The participants’ test results and their reponses show some confirmation Those who made low score gains for the spatial meaningss usually provided negative responses that the CL-based teaching was not really interesting to them Although the differences between CG’s and TG’s scores in both the spatial and metaphorical meanings were significant, p < 05, some participants claimed that they did not see real matches between certain metaphorical meanings and their corresponding image schemas Kemmerer (2005) explains that prepositions not always transfer from domain to domain The participants with the aforementioned negative responses may not have made the transfer This type of transfer depends on learners’ cognitive abilities and exposure to language use (Bielak & Pawlak, 2013; Pawlak, 2006) 13 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 General Conclusion The experimental results generally demonstrate that the cognitive group (M=27.00) outperformed the traditional group (M=22.36) in the posttest of the prepositions although both groups scored comparatively in the pretest (M=20.04 and 20.28 respectively) For the spatial meanings of the prepositions, the scores gained by the cognitive group and traditional group increased by 4.36 and 0.24 respectively For the conceptual metaphors of the prepositions, their scores improved by 2.60 and 1.84 respectively The independent samples t-tests and repeated measures of ANOVA show that the differences in the scores gained by both groups in the pretest were insignificant, but the score differences in the posttest were significant The Cronbach’s alpha (α) was > The experimental results were in line with those of the previous studies The group that received CL-based treatment generally outperformed the group that depended on rote-learning However, although these studies applied CL, they were motivated by different concepts The differences in the treatments, including the model and post-teaching activities, and in the target prepositions, may have been a reason for some differences in the empirical findings The differences in the scores achieved by the cognitive and traditional groups also took place in each test section In the posttest, the cognitive group scored 7.84, but the traditional group scored 6.76 for the Sentence Completion Section Their scores also improved from 10.48 and 10.28 in the pretest to 12.96 and 11.04 in the posttest respectively for the Multiple Choice Section For the Text Completion Section, their scores improved by 2.04 and 52 from the pretest to the posttest respectively These differences proved significant, p 10 points) and medium track (4-10 points), but most of the members of the traditional group made their score gains in the medium track and low track (lower than points) In each pair with generally similar characteristics matched in the participant selection, the cognitive group member illustrated a higher score growth than the traditional group counterpart For instance, the traditional group member with the highest score rise was Mai (T23), with 10 points; however, the score achieved by her counterpart Long (C6) rocketed by 14 points The investigation into major variables with potential effects on the experimental results shows that both groups’ exposure to the variables investigated was inconsiderable according to the participants’ responses The likeliness of intervention of other variables, if any, was considered low The video clips recording the classroom performances showed that the teaching was similar in the both groups, for which the experimental findings generally reflected the treatments The length of each corresponding class activity, use of native language and interaction between the teacher and students were comparable The classroom seating arrangement, materials and resources, and teacher’s role were also similar (Condon, 2008) Research reliability and validity were in general assured One of the greatest contributions of the present study might be the addition of students’ evaluative opinions of the meaning-focused treatment based on CL to contemporary literature While previous studies mainly focused on the effects of CL-based teaching on learners’ language outcome, this study 15 was interested in collecting learners’ evaluation of CL-based pedagogical strategies applied The analyses of the cognitive participants’ responses revealed that the cognitive treatment was generally considered interesting, appropriate and effective Firstly, they preferred the teaching techniques based on cognitive linguistics to the teaching techniques they had previously experienced from their former teachers which were mainly based on the use of vivid pictures, examples and learning by heart, also called simple memorization A comparison between the cognitive members’ responses to the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire shows that the mean score for each cluster of the post-questionnaire was from 40 to 48 higher than that of the prequestionnaire Secondly, the treatment based on cognitive linguistics was thought to be better in teaching the spatial meanings than the metaphorical meanings For the interest and appropriateness of the treatment based on cognitive linguistics, the participants preferred the application on the spatial meanings (M=3.63) to the metaphorical meanings (M=3.44) Similarly, they also believed that the treatment had better effects on the spatial meanings (M=3.83) than the metaphorical meanings (M=3.45) In the interviews, some participants explained that they did not see real matches between the metaphorical meanings instructed and corresponding image schemas Thirdly, in the interviews, most participants highly appreciated the treatment and believed that it should have been applied widely, especially to students at the beginning level Finally, the negative comments from the cognitive members in the interviews were mostly about the interest of the class activities Specifically, they expected the teacher to apply games and music to make the class atmosphere more relaxing and interesting 16 Overall, the participants’ responses to the questionnaire and in the interviews confirmed the experimental results The experimental evidence shows the cognitive group members’ improvements were significant in terms of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings of the studied prepositions What is more, those participants who gave negative comments in the interviews achieved lower scores in the posttest than those who gave positive comments 5.2 Implications It is essential to look back at Langacker’s (2001) recommendation for applications of cognitive linguistics Accordingly, the empirical results from applying cognitive linguistics in experimental studies in English language teaching may provide evidence for cognitive linguistics to pass the test of its theory From his perspective, the effectiveness of language instruction has become larger, which will make cognitive linguistics pass the test ultimately However, applying cognitive linguistics to teaching English prepositions is not the best or unique The study by Kemmerer (2005) suggested the possibility of teaching the spatial and metaphorical meanings of English prepositions independently as learners might score higher in one type of meanings, spatial or metaphorical In other words, the transfer of prepositions from one domain to another was not always direct It is very important to know that Kemmerer (2005) conducted series of experimental studies, but only two participants scored higher for the spatial meanings, and two other participants passed the test of metaphorical meanings but failed the test of the spatial meanings As a conclusion, he did not cast doubt on the effectiveness of the applications of cognitive linguistics in English language teaching, but he made a pedagogical alternative conclusively The results of the present study add empirical evidence 17 of the effects of applying cognitive linguistics and give some implications for teaching and learning English prepositions effectively to students learning English as a foreign language In addition, from these results, some issues related to classroom instruction are raised together with suggestions: For textbook writers and administrators: Textbook writers and administrators should update the current approaches in English language teaching, particularly the positive effects of applying cognitive linguistic concepts to teaching English prepositions in this study regarding the experimental results and students’ opinions in a context where English is used as a foreign language The following are suggestions: - There should be international and national conventions on introducing how to apply cognitive linguistics to teaching language elements, particularly prepositions, in contexts where English is used as a foreign language - It is also possible to include linguistic approaches to instructing language elements, especially integrating pedagogical applications of cognitive linguistics into curricula and syllabi - Applying instruction based on cognitive linguistic concepts and classroom activities can be a pedagogical alternative to teaching prepositions A total or partial procedure may be adapted to make preposition lessons more meaningful and effective For teachers: Teaching prepositions in the light of cognitive linguistics in classrooms of English as a foreign language has proved to be successful in contexts where 18 English is used as a foreign language by many empirical studies, especially from the current research In order for this alternative to teaching prepositions to be successful, - Teachers should grasp theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics, together with its integration into concrete lessons - In designing concrete lessons, making use of image schemas will be a focus since it can help learners accurately understand the semantics of prepositions Image schemas can also facilitate learners’ memory of the semantics of prepositions - Teachers should also make use of image schemas to teach prepositions in terms of conceptual metaphors, but this requires the teachers to apply domain mapping theory help learners to make transfer of prepositions from the spatial domain to the abstract domain - As many pedagogical modifications of cognitive linguistics in the recent studies as well as this study suggest the employment of teacher instruction to provide linguistic input, teachers should apply speaking and writing tasks so that learners have opportunities to use language after the instruction of prepositions - However, due to some negative feedback from the participants in the treatment, teachers should employ games, music and sense of humour in teaching based on cognitive linguistic concepts to engage learners both cognitively and affectively in the class activities 19 For learners: Knowledge of language may be essential in contexts where English is used as a foreign language Learners apply meaningful learning by using image schemas to make general sense of some meaning of a preposition In particular, - Relating the prior knowledge and new knowledge proved significant Concerning the semantics of prepositions, learners should relate the metaphorical meanings to the spatial meanings to consolidate their language knowledge and language use - In foreign language learning, both auditory and visual sources of information are crucial Combining both sources can foster the learning process and outcomes - Being attentive to the teacher instruction is essential in contexts where English is used as a foreign language, but it is not sufficient Students learning English as a foreign language should also get exposed to language use Speaking and writing tasks offered by the teacher in the classroom may some help 5.3 Limitations of the Study However, research limitations were certainly inevitable The present study confined itself to only ten prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between, in, in front of, on, and under An extended application will probably bring about more implications for successive studies Also, the aim of the study was to measure its effects on the participants’ knowledge, rather than language competence This was reflected by the constructs of the testing instruments Current pedagogical applications mostly suggest teachers of English as a 20 foreign language to guide students to language use Although the class procedure included speaking and writing tasks in each session, it was applied mainly to foster the participants’ explicit knowledge as the focus of the study Recent studies have showed the relationship between learners’ explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge in English language learning (Pawlak, 2006) Measures of the participants’ implicit knowledge of the target items in speaking and writing would have provided implications for later research in English language teaching in general and applying cognitive linguistics to English language teaching in particular Another limitation of this doctoral thesis might come from the fact that students might have remembered the items used in the pretest and referred to them in the posttest despite the fact that the likeliness of this happening was low Also, as presented in the objectives and scope of the study, the study aimed to explore the two groups’ score improvements in the tests for the spatial and metaphorical meanings of the prepositions; therefore, it did not aim to analyse effects of the treatments on the participants’ improvements in each preposition The final limitation might be about the researcher’s role as the trainer The teachers might have been unintentionally attracted to one type of treatment, which in turn transferred into their teaching performances However, this likeliness was low because the video clips showed there was no significant difference in their teaching styles The observations, and data collection and analysis were double-checked by the researcher assistants 5.4 Suggestions for Future Studies Future studies that are interested in applying cognitive linguistics to teaching prepositions may find some ways to eliminate the weaknesses of the 21 present study emerging from the participants’ comments Besides, if cognitive linguistics can improve learners’ both explicit and implicit knowledge of prepositions can be another topic for future studies What is more, immediate posttest and delayed posttest can be used to measure learners’ retention of the semantics of prepositions Last but not least, it is essential to conduct studies applying cognitive linguistics to teaching other English prepositions in other contexts AUTHOR’S WORKS [1] Bùi Phú Hưng (2016a) How to apply cognitive linguistics to teaching prepositions and noun plurality Hue University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 123(9), 57-72 [2] Bùi Phú Hưng (2016b) Cognitive linguistics and its implications for English language teaching Ha Noi University Journal of Foreign Language Studies, 49, 3-12 [3] Bùi Phú Hưng (2017) Vietnamese students learning the semantics of English prepositions GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 17(4), 146-158 [4] Bùi Phú Hưng, Trương Viên & Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ (2018a) Applying cognitive linguistics to teaching English prepositions: A quasiexperimental study International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 327-346 [5] Bùi Phú Hưng, Trương Viên & Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ (2018b) Students’ responses to CL-based teaching of English prepositions Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 73(3), 41-58 22 ... and under It made attempts to apply the basic concepts in cognitive linguistics, including embodiment theory, image schema theory, conceptual metaphor theory and domain mapping theory Also, the... this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree at any other institution To the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by other people except... acquire and learn language Regarding prepositions, CL proposes the use of image schema theory and domain mapping theory in explaining the semantics of prepositions as it can help learners form a cognitive