Factors Influencing Comprehension of Metaphors in Academic Reading Texts among Iraqi EFL Learners

Abstract

Metaphor is recognized as a valuable tool for analysis and as a means to effectively convey meaning. Although metaphor is supposed to be used to effectively convey meaning, learners of English, particularly those in the foreign language context, often have difficulty comprehending metaphors in academic text. The current study aims to contribute to understand deeply of the influencing factors on metaphor comprehension among Iraqi EFL learners when they read academic texts. The study draws on Steen’s (2010) MIPVU model and Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory to identify and analyze the metaphorical expressions. The data for the study were collected from two academic reading comprehension texts. Five Iraqi EFL university learners participated in determining the metaphors contained in the texts. The findings revealed that authors of academic texts often incorporate a wide range of metaphorical expressions. These expressions can vary in their familiarity, ranging from very familiar to less familiar and even unfamiliar, to engage readers’ cognitive processes and facilitate the conceptualization of the metaphor. The findings revealed that the factors influencing metaphor comprehension are varied and that they are of two broad types: external factors related to cultural and social considerations, and internal factors related to linguistic and educational settings. The findings could enable practitioners to devise more effective approaches for teaching metaphor comprehension to EFL learners.