Learnability of conceptual metaphor 1st year LMD students : as a case study

الملخص EN

The possibility of learning conceptual metaphor and the feasibility of acquainting an EFL learner with metaphor interpretation have been a controversial issue.

In the current study, 50 Algerian students were tested twice.

In the pre-test, they were given four idiomatic phrases and four conventional metaphors to interpret and the results were compared.

At the end of twelve-month familiarising them with non-literal language, the post-test was administered.

It encompassed four conventional metaphors, as they were asked to improvise metaphors on their own.

The tests revealed that an EFL learner can progressively develop the ability to interpret English metaphors, that he or she can generate only simple metaphors not intricate ones, and that EFL metaphorically organised conceptual system can be learnable.