Week 6: Reading skill "Helping Metaphors to Take Root in the EFL classroom"

 Helping Metaphors Take Root     
         in the EFL classroom

Reading skill

      Listening is the first thing that most people use to learn new things in the real life. You cannot speak when you are born or you are little baby. However, you can hear what your mother say and what make sound, so the first skill in which you learn is listening. After listening skill, you can learn about speaking short word such as mom or dad as second. The third skill what you learn is reading skill. In this time, you can receive new knowledge or experience at school or house. The last skill is writing skill. It also is the most difficult skill to learn because it is productive skill that related to thinking skill and knowledge about grammar. I would like to say macro skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing skill) are used in learning. In this section, I want to offer teaching students to understand root of English by using Metaphors.

   Metaphor is figurative speech for understanding one concept in term of another concept. We usually know and use various metaphors in real life situation. For example, “John’s eyes are too big for his stomach” means “John puts more food on his plate than he can eat.” If you have knowledge about English language and culture, you can understand figurative speech or idiom like that expression mentioned. In EFL classroom, students often have found it difficult to understand and more difficult to use appropriately. The important reason to understand is knowledge about cultural background and English language. Metaphor or figurative speech usually shows these words in sentences such as “as” or “like.” Teachers should tell students to know and use figurative speech with native speaker and English very well.

   Teachers can enhance students to understand in figurative speech. The teachers should allow students to know about cultural background. In addition, teachers should consider the following recommendation for teaching. First of all, teachers should keep in mind about this equation “i+1=comprehensive input” and always present new material. Secondly, teachers should discuss the cultural background of figurative speech, allowing students to interject likeness and differeness between their native speaker and English. Then, teachers present new expressions in natural context where situation called for using figurative speech, teachers should introduce new expressions and explain meaning of them. Next, teachers encourage using image in EFL classroom to help explaining the meaning of new expression. After that, teachers search for various activities focused on repeating the use of figurative speech. Finally, teachers group expression into common group using the same cultural reference.

    To conclude, all languages usually rely on metaphors because human use them to make sense of abstract idea. Some metaphors are based on common experiences. Other metaphors are based on culture. If the metaphor given expression is based on universal; non-native speakers easily understand. However, the metaphor given is based on cultural metaphors; non- native speakers may be difficult to understand its meaning. When teachers teach EFL students based in metaphor, teachers should keep in mind at least three principles such as using images, presenting various material and taking time to pass information to students about cultural background. Do you agree with this topic? Why? How?

Reference:

Denise Lowery.  Helping Metaphor to Take Root in the EFL classroom. 

             Assessed from: http:// americanenglish.state.gov/resources/english-

             teaching-forum-2013-51-number1 (On July 5, 2013).

Helping Metaphors Take Root in the EFL classroom

Vocabulary	Pronunciation	Meaning
Metaphor (n)	/ˈmetəfə(r)/, /ˈmetəfɔː(r)/	คำอุปมา a word or phrase used to describe somebody/something else, in a way that is different from its normal use Ex: A game of football used as a metaphor for the competitive struggle of life.
Expression (n)	/ɪkˈspreʃn/	การแสดงออกทางความคิด things that people say, write or do in order to show their feelings, opinions and ideas Ex: The riots are the most serious expression of anti-government feeling yet.
Embed (v)	/ɪmˈbed/	ตรึง to fix something firmly into a substance or solid object Ex: An operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg.
Manifestation (n)	/ˌmænɪfeˈsteɪʃn/	การประกาศ an event, action or thing that is a sign that something exists or is happening; the act of appearing as a sign that something exists or is happening Ex: Some manifestation of your concern would have been appreciated.
Encounter (v)	/ɪnˈkaʊntə(r)/	เผชิญหน้า to experience something, especially something unpleasant or difficult, while you are trying to do something else Ex: We encountered a number of difficulties in the first week.