Abstract:

Metaphors are not only widely spread in languages, but can also be recognized as a tool for language teaching / learning. Metaphoric competence can be considered as a key competence in a high level communication. Moreover, it contributes to all the areas of communicative competence: grammatical, textual, illocutionary, sociolinguistic, as well as strategic one (Littlemore and Low, 2006). However, it is important to recognize the distinction between linguistic and conceptual metaphors: in the case of conceptual metaphors, the core element is the relation between two or more concepts (i.e. time, emotions, feelings are perceived as concrete objects); meanwhile, linguistic metaphors are considered to be as an element of language not thought. The ability to comprehend as well as produce metaphors in foreign language communication involves understanding of one domain in terms of another.

The paper aims to emphasize the idea that the usage of conceptual metaphors could be used as a successful instrument for foreign language teaching / learning. The paper presents the results of a questionnaire on the motivation of foreign language teachers as well as learners to recognize and use conceptual metaphors as a successful language learning tool.

Keywords:

Conceptual metaphor, language teaching, language learning, metaphoric competence.