Journal | EL.LE
Journal issue | 6 | 1 | 2017
Research Article | Conceptual Metaphors and the Communicative Approach to FL Teaching

Conceptual Metaphors and the Communicative Approach to FL Teaching

Abstract

Metaphors are figures of the speech where a word or phrase denoting a thing or a concept is used in place of another thing or concept. They have been used for millennia in literature and rhetorical speech. In 1980 the Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson approaches metaphors from a different point of view, i.e. metaphors were seen as a system related to human thoughts and actions. Metaphors are pervasive in everyday life, not only in literature and rhetoric. Everyday language is filled with metaphors that often go unnoticed, and most of our conceptual system is metaphorical in nature. In this paper we will focus on the importance of conceptual metaphors in teaching and learning a second or a foreign language according to a communicative approach, focusing the intercultural communication perspective.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Jan. 2, 2017 | Accepted: March 21, 2017 | Published March 1, 2017 | Language: it

Keywords Conceptual metaphorSecond/foreign language acquisitionIntercultural communicationLanguage learning and teaching


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