A study of metaphors in specialzed texts and the effects of metaphor awareness on vocabulary enhancement and reading comprehension of second languange learness

Abstract

Metaphorical expressions are a part of everyday language and can also be found in academic texts, particularly in specialized disciplines. Their usage has become so common that learners and teachers may not even be aware of some phrases they encounter in specialized texts, are actually metaphorical. Considerable number of research has shown that metaphorical expressions are abundant in specialized readings and enhancing metaphor awareness can help students understand metaphorical words in them. This study explores the density of metaphorical words in specialized texts and examines the effects of metaphor awareness on vocabulary enhancement and reading comprehension. The first part of the study involves an investigation on eight selected specialized texts in order to gain the preliminary insight of metaphorical words in different genres. The second part of the study involves a quasi-experimental design and was carried out involving an Experimental and a Control group. The participants of both groups (n= 61) were international students enrolled in the English preparatory class at the Centre for Languages and Pre University Academic Development (CELPAD) at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The experimental group received instructional treatment in the form of metaphor awareness raising activities while the control group went through conventional classes. The pre-test was administered during the first week of the semester while the post-test was administered at the end of it. Findings in this study establish two major facts concerning metaphors, namely: 1) metaphorical words occur pervasively in the selected specialized texts especially in History and Sociology texts. In relation to that, the functions of metaphor are not exclusively found in literary texts but vary considerably depending on the genres. 2) The results of this experiment indicate that awareness of metaphors may improve the process of vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. t-test and ANCOVA results suggest that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of vocabulary enhancement and reading comprehension measures between the experimental and control group where the experimental group outperformed the control group.