effectiveness of the conceptual metaphor technique in...

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




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




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.




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




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




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




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.




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




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




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




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




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


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


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.




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


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.




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




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.




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