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Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 1
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Effectiveness of the Conceptual Metaphor Technique in
Teaching Phrasal Verbs to Grade 12 Students
Wae-arina Waehayi1 and Waraporn Sripetpun
2
1. M.A. in Teaching English as an International Language, Department of Languages and Linguistics,
Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University.
2. Ph. D. (Applied Linguistics), Assistant Professor, Department of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of
Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Abstract
Phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult types of vocabulary to learn a language for
ESL/EFL learners whose L1 is a non-Germanic language due to its multiple meaning and
word construction. Traditionally, students were taught to learn meanings of phrasal verbs by
heart and these would be kept in short term memory and difficult to remember in a longer
period. Conceptual metaphor is a method emphasizing on cognitive performance to stimulate
students to guess the meaning of phrasal verbs and this will also help to have them kept in the
learners’ long term memory.
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness the conceptual metaphor
technique in teaching phrasal verbs to a class of 31 twelfth graders studying at a secondary
school under the Secondary Educational Area Office 15 in Southern Thailand. These students
were purposively selected as the research subject. They had a generally low English
proficiency according to the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) results. The
research is a one-group pre and post-test design. Two hundred and ten phrasal verbs were
intensively taught to students within 8 weeks to examine the influences of the technique on
students’ knowledge and retention of these phrasal verbs. Results showed that students
learned more phrasal verbs and they could retain the knowledge of phrasal verbs under
investigation at a significant level of 0.01. Results from questionnaires on students’
awareness of the conceptual metaphor technique and learning attitudes revealed that the
students found that the conceptual metaphor generally helped them learn phrasal verbs.
Key word: conceptual metaphor technique, acquisition and retention of phrasal verbs
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 2
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
1. Background
Vocabulary is a component of language that maintains all of information about
meaning and use of words in a language. Vocabulary takes a more important role in learning
a foreign language than often components of the language. As Wilkins (1972, cited in
Thornbury, 2002) stated “Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed”. Learners need to have a sufficient amount of vocabulary
knowledge in learning and using the language (Nation, 2001). One kind of vocabulary which
is problematic for ESL/EFL learners is phrasal verbs. These verbs comprised of a base verb
and particle. Celce-Muricia and Larsen-Freeman (1999) pointed out that learning phrasal
verbs is one of the most difficult tasks for learners of English as a second language on
account of their semantic and syntactic properties. Phrasal verbs are generally polysemous.
They have a number of difference meanings. Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Dictionary
(Rundell, 2005) gives “put off” which is a relatively common phrasal verb six different
meaning of: 1) make sb not want/like sth; 2) delay sth you do not want to do; 3) make sth
happen later; 4) arrange to see sb later; 5) prevent sb from concentrating ; and 6) let a
passenger get off. Its polysemic meaning and word construction can be problematic in
acquiring phrasal verbs.
Besides the above mentioned semantic complexities of phrasal verbs, (Kocacs, 2009),
their syntax is also governed by complex and unpredictable rules. Consider the following
examples (Rundell, 2005)
(1) You can’t put the decision off any longer.
(2) You can’t put off the decision any longer.
(3) Lack of parking space was putting potential customers off.
As a rule, the NP object either follows or precedes the particle, such as “off” in “put
off” in sentences (1) and (2), respectively. In sentence (3), where “put off” means making
somebody not want/like something, the only possible order is V+N/Pron+ Adv. In contrast,
when the object is realised by an -ing clause, “off” cannot be separated from the verb.
According to Larsen-Freeman (2001), to be able to acquire and use phrasal verbs
effectively, learners need to know the form of a phrasal verb includes knowing whether it is
followed by a particle or by a preposition, whether it is transitive or intransitive, whether it is
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 3
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
separable or not, and what stress and juncture patterns are used facilitate students acquire
phrasal verbs effectively.
Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999) argued that non-Germanic languages
(French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Asian etc.) rarely have the phrasal verbs. Hence, this result in
unfamiliarity with such a lexical category and most EFL/ESL learners find it difficult to
learn. This case causes the unfamiliarity and avoidance of phrasal verbs in Thai EFL learners
because of the difference between first and second languages. Liao and Fukuya (2004)
investigated avoidance of English phrasal verbs among Chinese ESL learners. They
concluded that the differences between first and second languages and the semantic difficulty
of phrasal verbs may be reason for the learners’ avoidance.
A study by Cornell (1985) concludes that the unsuccessful teaching and learning of
English phrasal verbs at schools and universities arise from a limited contact with them. This
is the case for Thai EFL learners as they have very little exposure to the natural and extensive
use of phrasal verbs in both speech and written English in a classroom setting, let alone
outside the classroom. Hence, there is not enough input for the learners to master phrasal
verbs.
Therefore, it is a crucial issue for language teachers to look for the effective method to
teach phrasal verbs to their students successfully. Nhu & Huyen (2009) conducted an
experimental study on conceptual metaphor and its application in teaching phrasal verbs with
senior high school students. Results showed that the students of the experimental groups
surpassed the control groups in guessing the meaning of unfamiliar phrasal verbs. The
conceptual metaphor can be used as an effective tool in teaching phrasal verbs. Besides, Yang
& Hsih (2010) conducted a study related to conceptual metaphor awareness on English
phrasal verbs teaching and learning. The results, on the whole, confirmed positive effect og
conceptual metaphor awareness to aid participants on learning phrasal verbs. However,
another study conducted by Khumbangly (2005) showed the different outcome. The study
was on achievement in learning English phrasal verbs through the instruction of adverb
particle meanings: a case of off, out, and up. The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of
the two different method of instruction: the teaching and learning of adverb particle meaning
versus the traditional approach. The result revealed that the improvement ratio of learning
phrasal verbs by mean of learning adverb particles was slightly higher than that of the
traditional approach. Hence, this modestly higher result did not lead to the conclusion that the
instruction of adverb particle meanings was significantly superior to traditional approach.
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 4
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Nonetheless, results also revealed that the learning adverb particles in phrasal verbs promoted
less confusion among the students; it was viewed as a more systematic teaching and learning
of English phrasal verbs.
According to the conclusive results of the previous studies on the conceptual
metaphor, this study was designed to teach phrasal verbs with a group of twelfth grade
students via conceptual metaphor technique. The present study also examined retention and
the factors that affect students’ acquisition on phrasal verbs.
2. Literature review
2.1 Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is the combination of a base verb and a particle with both literal and
idiomatic meanings such as ‘come in’, ‘join in’ for literal meaning and ‘try on’, ‘hang out’ for
idiomatic meanings. A phrasal verb often has a meaning which is different from the original
verb. For example, ‘fill out’, ‘look up’ and ‘make up’ mean ‘complete a form’, ‘search in a
list or reference’ and ‘invent a story or lie’ respectively. As other words in English one
phrasal verb can have a number of difference meanings. Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Dictionary
gives 7 meanings of ‘put up’: 1) to build something such as a wall, fence, or house; 2) to fix
a picture or notice onto an upright structure such as a wall; 3) to fix a shelf or cupboard onto a
wall; 4) to increase the value or price of something ; 5) to provide a large amount of money
for something ; 6) to raise something, especially so that it is ready to use ; and 7) to let
someone stay in your house.
Due to the difficulty in learning phrasal verbs among EFL learners, a number of
research studies were conducted to investigate effective methods to teach phrasal verbs.
Yasuda (2010) examined whether enhancing awareness of orientation metaphors of
particles helps the acquisition of phrasal verbs. In the control group students learned a
number of phrasal verbs using a traditional instruction, while those in the experimental group
received the same input through a cognitive linguistic approach. Results showed that the
students in the experimental group performed significantly better than those in the
control group, implying that learners who are aware of conceptual metaphors may rely on
metaphorical thought to produce an appropriate adverbial particle.
Ganji (2011) conducted a study comparing effectiveness of three different methods in
learning phrasal verbs: translation, sentential contextualization and metaphorical
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 5
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
conceptualization among Iranian university students. Although difference between the
groups’ performances was not found statistically significant, efficiency of metaphorical
conceptualization, and sentential contextualization was considerable. All three techniques
helped students predict the meaning of untaught phrasal verbs. The contextualization and
translation were helpful in predicting the meaning of unfamiliar phrasal verbs while
conceptual metaphor technique helped students retain the meaning of phrasal verbs.
2.2 Conceptual metaphor
Conceptual metaphor brings two domains of knowledge, source and target domain
into correspondence. The logic of the source domain is mapped onto the target domain, that
is, the source domain is typically applied to provide understanding about the target domain
(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). The source domain is a concept that is more basic and easily
accessible by physical experience. For example, if someone utters the sentence ‘There are too
many facts in this report for me to “digest”, the use of “digest” is metaphorical, the target
domain is “idea” and the source domain is “food.” In this example, one is conceptualizing
‘facts’ in terms of “food”. Besides, the meaning of phrasal verbs with particle “up” could be
originated from the experience of “pouring more fluid into a container and seeing the level go
up, or adding more things to a pile and seeing the pile get higher” (Lakoff, 1993). Moreover,
the particle “up” means at a higher position or level. Thus, the base verbs corresponding with
“up” possibly means in an upwards direction, increasing, growing, and improving such as
“blow up” (increasing), “bring up” (growing), “cheer up” (growing) and business is “looking
up” (improving).
2.3 Related Research Studies
Skoufaki (2003) examined second language learners used conceptual metaphors to
guess the meaning of idiomatic phrasal verbs. Greek adult intermediate learners of
English wrote their guesses of the meaning of unknown idiomatic phrasal verbs in the
context of a sentence and described the type of conceptual metaphor that led them to verb
interpretation. Results indicated the unlimited use of conceptual metaphors as a
strategy for guessing of an idiomatic meaning.
Khumbangly (2005) conducted a study to compare the achievement rate in learning
phrasal verbs through the instruction of the meaning of adverb particle and the traditional
approach. Results revealed that the improvement ratio of learning phrasal verbs by means of
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 6
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
learning adverbs particles was slightly higher than that of the traditional approach.
Nonetheless, results also revealed that the learning of adverb particle in phrasal verbs brought
about less confusion among students.
Nhu & Huyen (2009) conducted a study on the theory of cognitive linguistics and
conceptual metaphor to organize phrasal verbs according to the four particles “in”, “out”,
“up”, and “down”. The study attempted to test the practicality of the cognitive approach in
teaching phrasal verbs. The findings suggest that conceptual metaphor can be used as an
effective tool in teaching phrasal verbs for high school students.
3. The research Questions
3.1 To what extent does the conceptual metaphor technique help enhance learners to
acquire meanings of phrasal verbs?
3.2 To what extent does the conceptual metaphor technique enhance retention of the
knowledge of phrasal verbs in longer period of time?
3.3 What factors affect phrasal verbs acquisition and retention? And how?
4. Technical terms
4.1 A phrasal verb is the combination of a base verb and a particle with both literal and
idiomatic meanings. For example, ‘stay in’, ‘go out’ are phrasal verbs with literal
meaning of the base verbs ‘stay’ and ‘go’ while ‘put on’ consisted of an idiomatic
meaning of the base verb ‘put’ with the particle when occurs with the particle ‘on’.
The particles used in the present study are in, out, off, up down, and away.
4.2 Conceptual metaphor is relationship between source and target domain mapping
onto the exact meaning. In this study students were taught to link the source domain
of phrasal verb in relation to its target domain to reach the exact meaning.
4.3 Retention refers to an ability to maintain the meaning of a phrasal verb in longer
period. In the present study, the retention test was conducted to the students two
weeks after the post test.
5. Framework of the study
The study was aimed at investigating effectiveness of teaching phrasal verbs via the
conceptual metaphor technique. The research examined the students’ phrasal verbs
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 7
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
acquisition in recognition of phrasal verb meaning and production of these verbs in a
sentence context. The subjects in this study were a class of twelfth grade students at
Thakhamwittayakarn School in Pattani Province. Phrasal verbs with particles: in, out, off, up
down, and away, were collected from course books used in high school.
6. Research Samples
A class of 31 twelfth graders studying at a secondary school under the Secondary
Educational Area Office 15 in Southern Thailand was purposively selected as the research
subject. They had generally low English proficiency according to Ordinary National
Educational Test (O-NET) results.
7. Research instruments
The following research instruments were used in the data collecting procedure.
7.1 Pretest and Post-test
The same test was used as a pre-test, post-test and retention test. The test contains 40
items divided into 4 parts: multiple choices, definition matching, gaps filling, and sentence
making to evaluate recognition of meaning and production of phrasal verbs. The purpose of
the pre-test was to test students’ background knowledge of phrasal verbs while the post-test
and retention test were conducted to evaluate the learning outcomes and retention of the
knowledge of phrasal verbs learned in the study. The pre- and post-test was administered to
determine the acquisition of phrasal verbs before and after the treatment while the retention
test was done 2 weeks after the post-test session. The reliability of the test was 0.81.
The lessons
The researcher developed 30 lessons with the supplement exercises. Each lesson
contains 10 phrasal verbs and subsequent exercises of gap filling, verbs and meanings
matching and sentence making. The main focus of the lessons is to encourage students to
guess the meaning of phrasal verbs by applying the conceptual metaphor technique. They
were guided to guess the phrasal verb meaning by linking the source domains of thought and
target domain to reach the exact meaning.
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 8
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
7.2 Target phrasal verbs
The target phrasal verbs with the particles in, out, down, off, and away were selected
from the course books. The researcher also took the phrasal verbs frequently occur in the
university examination papers. The three hundred and ten appeared phrasal verbs were
collected. Students with the same ability were asked to do the test in pilot study. After revised
the test, the researcher selected two hundred and seventy according to the particles since
some particles were not enough to be categorized into a group.
7.3 Questionnaire
The questionnaire was designed to investigate factors affecting phrasal verbs
acquisition and to ask for students’ attitude toward using conceptual metaphor technique. The
questionnaire consisted of three main parts: students’ personal information, factors affecting
teaching phrasal verbs, and recommendation. The part of factors affecting teaching phrasal
verbs was divided into three areas: students’ attitudes toward their use of the conceptual
metaphor method, teacher’s teaching method, and learning behaviors
8. Data Collection
The study was conducted over a period of 28 hours in 7 weeks. The pre-test aiming at
testing the students’ background knowledge of phrasal verbs and the orientation of the study
including purposes of the study, difference in meanings and difficulty in learning phrasal
verbs and the conceptual metaphor technique were conducted in the first week of the
treatment procedure. In the subsequent 7 weeks, the researcher taught two hundred and
eighty words to the students. Ten phrasal verbs were taught in a one-hour lesson. In the
eighth week, the post-test and questionnaire were conducted. In the tenth week (two weeks
after the post-test) the retention test to measure retention of knowledge of the learned phrasal
verbs were administered.
8.1 Data analysis
The descriptive statistic was employed to calculate the results of the study. A pair
sample t-test was used to test whether there were any significant outcome sin teaching phrasal
verbs through conceptual metaphor technique. Five-point rating scales were analyzed to find
the mean scores of students’ attitude form the questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 9
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
was computed to investigate the relationship between post and post- test and retention scores
and questionnaire scores which effect students’ acquisition on phrasal verbs.
9. Findings
The information shown in Table 1 illustrates the overall mean scores of the students’
acquisition of phrasal verbs in the pre-test and post-test scores to answer the first research
question asking for the extent in which the conceptual metaphor technique helps learners to
acquire meanings of phrasal verbs.
Table 1: Mean Score of the Pre and Post-tests
Test Total
score ( X ) SD
Mean
Differences t Sig. (2-tailed)
Pre-test 40 6.26 2.21 7.03 7.70 .000*
Post-test 40 13.29 5.29
*Significant at 0.01 level
Table 1 shows that the mean score of post-test (13.29) was significantly higher than that of
the pre-test (6.26) at a significant 0.01 level (t=7.70, p=.000). This result shows that the
students could acquire phrasal verbs through the conceptual metaphor technique.
Table 2: Mean Scores of Pre and Post-tests by Types of Acquisition
Parts/Score(40)
Pre-test Post- test
x SD. x SD. t Sig.(2-tailed)
Multiple choice (15)
(recognition of meaning)
4.16 1.75 5.41 1.65 3.50 .001**
Matching Meaning (10)
(recognition of meaning)
1.51 1.39 3.77 2.62 4.32 .000**
Gap Filling (10)
(use of phrasal verbs)
0.52 0.63 1.16 0.97 3.78 .001**
Creating Sentences (5)
(production of phrasal
verbs)
0.06 0.25 2.93 1.77 9.26 .000**
Total 6.22 2.21 13.29 5.29 7.70 .000**
**Significant at 0.01 level
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 10
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Table 2 displays the mean scores of pre and post-test by types of students’ acquisition of
phrasal verb meaning (recognition of meaning, use of phrasal verbs and production of phrasal
verbs). When looking into each category of mean score of pre-and post-test, results showed
the improvement of students’ acquisition phrasal verbs. The score of pre and post-test in
productive of phrasal verbs type were most improved (2.87).
To answer the second research question asking to what extent the conceptual metaphor
technique enhances the student’s retention of the knowledge of phrasal verbs in a longer
period of time Table 3 compares mean scores of the post and retention tests.
Table 3: Mean Scores of Post and Retention Tests
The overall mean scores of post and retention scores were 13.29 and 14.48
respectively. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between mean score
of post and retention score (t= -1.532, p=.136). This might suggest that there was no
difference between post and retention scores, meaning the learners could maintain the
knowledge of phrasal verbs meaning two weeks after the post-test as well as they did in the
post-test.
To answer the third research question asking what factors affect the students’
acquisition of phrasal verbs, Table 4 displays overall mean scores of factors affecting the
students’ acquisition of phrasal verbs using conceptual metaphor from the questionnaire. The
questionnaire was designed to investigate factors affecting phrasal verbs acquisition and to
ask for students’ attitude toward using conceptual metaphor technique. The questionnaire
consisted of three main parts: students’ personal information, factors affecting teaching
phrasal verbs, and recommendation. The part of factors affecting teaching phrasal verbs was
Parts/Score(40)
Post- test Retention
x SD. x SD. t Sig.(2-tailed)
Multiple choices (15) (recognition of meaning) 5.42 1.65 6.19 1.80 -2.00 .055
Matching Meaning (10) (recognition of meaning) 3.78 2.62 3.58 2.68 0.49 .627
Gap Filling (10) (use of phrasal verbs) 1.16 .97 1.35 1.11 -0.83 .414
Creating Sentences (5) (production
of phrasal verbs)
2.93 1.77 3.32 1.70 -1.98 .056
Total 13.29 5.29 14.45 5.16 -1.53 .136
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 11
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
divided into three areas students’ attitudes toward their use of the conceptual metaphor
method, teacher’s teaching method, and learning behaviors
Table 4: Attitudes on Factors Affecting Acquisition of Phrasal Verbs
Factors Mean scores S.D. Level of Agreement
1. The conceptual metaphor method 3.69 .779 agree
2. Learning behaviors 3.44 .914 agree
3. Teacher’s Teaching 4.12 .590 agree
total 3.75 .761 agree
Table 4 displays mean score of level of agreement on factors affecting learning
phrasal verbs. According to the data gained from this questionnaire, results show that
students responded to all the factors influencing their acquisition of phrasal words at an agree
level ( x =3.75). They all agreed that the factors: conceptual metaphor method, learning
behaviors, and teacher’s teaching method, affects their phrasal verbs’ acquisition.
Table 5 shows students’ attitudes on factors affecting teaching phrasal verbs in term
of conceptual metaphor method. They all agreed ( x =3.69) that the conceptual metaphor
technique affect their phrasal verb acquisition.
Table 5: Students’ Attitudes toward their Use of the Conceptual Metaphor Method
Items
Conceptual Metaphor
Mean
scores
S.D. Level of
Agreement
1. I usually guess the meaning of a phrasal verb from the
particle which comes along with the base verb.
3.84 .735 agree
2. I usually get the meaning of a phrasal verb by the particle
that comes with it.
3.55 .624 agree
3. I usually try to guess the meaning of a phrasal verb from the
base verb. (order of no. 2 and 4 )
3.55 .675 agree
4. I usually analyze the base verb and its particles to reach the
exact meaning of phrasal verb.
3.42 .807 agree
5. I can retain the meaning of a phrasal verb by establishing a
framework of thought relating to its exact meaning.
3.77 .845 agree
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 12
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
6. I can learn more phrasal verbs through establishing
framework of though on phrasal verbs’ meaning.
3.74 .773 agree
7. I think that learning phrasal verbs which divided into the
categories of particles can retain phrasal verbs’ meaning.
4.00 1.00 agree
total 3.69 .779 agree
Table 6 shows students’ attitudes on factors affecting teaching phrasal verbs in term of
learning behavior. Most of the students agreed ( x =3.69) that their behavior affect phrasal
verb acquisition. However, some of them were uncertain that they could study phrasal verbs
by themselves after class or in outside class. They also thought that whether learning phrasal
verbs was difficult or not.
Table 6: Students’ Attitudes toward their own Learning Behaviors
Items
Learning Behavior
Mean
scores
S.D. Level of
Agreement
8. I always review phrasal verbs’ meaning after class. 3.42 .720 agree
9. I always study phrasal verbs by myself. 3.13 .991 uncertain
10. I study and do exercise on phrasal verbs. 3.71 .864 agree
11. I think that learning phrasal verbs is difficult. 3.23 1.203 uncertain
12. When I have questions on phrasal verbs, I usually ask my
friends and teachers.
3.97 .795 agree
13. I’m eager to learn phrasal verbs’ meaning. 3.65 .877 agree
14. I learn phrasal verbs out of class time. 3.03 .948 uncertain
total 3.44 .914 agree
Table 7 shows students’ attitudes on factors affecting their learning of phrasal verbs in
term of teacher’s teaching method. All students agreed ( x =4.12) that teacher’s teaching
method affected their phrasal verb acquisition. Most of them strongly agreed that the teacher
allowed students to ask questions and comments.
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 13
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Table 7: Students’ Attitudes toward the Teacher’s Teaching Method
Items
Teacher’s Teaching method
Mean
scores
S.D. Level of
Agreement
15. The teacher explained the lesson clearly. 4.19 .654 agree
16. The teacher explained the framework of thought related to
the phrasal verbs’ meaning clearly.
3.97 .657 agree
17. The teacher motivated students to establish the concepts that
help them to relate the phrasal verbs to their meanings.
4.16 .779 agree
18. The teacher presented phrasal verbs in various and simple
ways.
3.84 .735 agree
19. The teacher always allowed students to ask questions and
comments about their learning.
4.39 .615 Strongly
agree
20. The teacher provided helpful exercises to help enhance
acquisition and use of phrasal verbs.
4.16 .688 agree
21. The teacher employed the teaching techniques to establish
some concepts related to the phrasal verbs meaning so
students could acquire and retain the meaning of phrasal
verbs.
4.19 .601 agree
22. The lesson procedure and learning activities were well planed
leading to learning step by step.
4.13 .619 agree
total 4.12 .590 agree
As exhibited in Table 8, results indicated the correlation of post-test and
questionnaire scores to factors affecting phrasal verbs acquisition. Overall, there was no
correlation between post-test scores and questionnaire scores (p< .329). However, when
looking into each aspect affecting acquiring phrasal verbs, the results revealed that there was
significant correlation between the students (use the term in the table caption) conceptual
metaphor aspect (p< .045). It could, therefore, be inferred that students’ perception on the
conceptual metaphor technique tends to affect students in acquiring phrasal verbs’ meaning.
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 14
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
Table 8: The Correlations of Post-Test and Questionnaire Scores to the Factors
** Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Discussion and implication
To answer the research question one, what extent the conceptual metaphor technique
enhance learners to acquire meanings of phrasal verbs, students can improve their English
phrasal verbs performance via conceptual metaphor technique. The overall result of the study
revealed that conceptual metaphor affects students’ learning and retention. Nonetheless, the
design of the present study was one group pre-post. It might cause the positive result of the
study. However, the overall result tend to improve students’ acquisition on phrasal verbs.
These findings are in agreement with the study conducted by Nhu & Nguyen (2009) and
Yang & Hsieh (2010) who mentioned the usefulness and positive effect on applying
conceptual metaphor to facilitate students’ guessing for the meaning of phrasal verbs.
Besides, the researchers claimed that conceptual metaphor technique can be employed as an
effective tool in teaching phrasal verbs. However, Yang & Hsieh (2010) revealed that there
was little evidence that conceptual metaphor awareness will foster participants’ phrasal verbs
on memory retention. The reason for the negative effect on phrasal verbs’ memory retention
is related to participants’ learning experience, which only rely on memorization and are only
taught before by memorization. Some pedagogical suggestions and alternative teaching
material will be reported to help language learners overcome the difficulty that phrasal verbs
accompanied. In contrast, the present study revealed that students can retain phrasal verbs’
meaning because they were contributed retention test within 2 weeks after post-test so the
recognition of phrasal verbs’ meaning still maintained in their mind. In addition, Ganji (2011)
stated in his study on the best way to teach phrasal verbs: translation, sentential
contextualization or metaphorical conceptualization? that metaphorical conceptualization
Factors Pearson correlation Sig(2-tail)
1. The conceptual metaphor method .363(*) .045**
2. Learning behaviors -.072 .698
3. Teacher’s Teaching method .194 .295
total .181 .329
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 15
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
plays a much more active role in the teaching/learning of idiomatic phrasal verbs when
students come across the untaught idioms with the same particles as the taught ones
even though the overall result of the present study show the improvement of phrasal verbs
acquisition, the overall scores were under the criteria. This can be reason that students might
not be accustomed to conceptual metaphor technique. As the researcher noticed, in the
beginning of study students were frustrated when motivated to think of meaning of phrasal
verbs by using conceptual metaphor technique.
With regard to questionnaire results, students agreed that the factors: conceptual
metaphor, students’ behavior, and teacher’s teaching affect their perception even though the
post-test scores did not correlate to questionnaire scores. It could infer that students’ attitude
did not depend on the post-test scores which showed students’ improvement on phrasal verbs
acquisition. This can be reason that students who got higher scores may not satisfy with
conceptual metaphor technique meanwhile students with the lower score may be pleased to
apply the technique.
Recommendation for future studies
1. The present study was one group pre-post test design, it would be beneficial if a
further study were conducted using a control group with an experimental group in
order to obtain strong results.
2. In this study, the lessons were presented in paper-based it would be interesting to
presented the lessons through Web Base Instruction (WBI) to enhance students'
interest.
3. The time allotted to investigate students’ retention should extend more than 2 weeks
so as to confirm students’ memory.
4. The researcher should employ interview method to elicit students’ attitude in order to
investigate directly though of the students’ opinion how they think about the
technique.
Proceedings-Teaching Techniques-004 16
4th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
April 21, 2012 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University
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