USING CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN TEACHING ENGLISH IDIOMS TO EFL STUDENTS IN BAC LIEU PROVINCE

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2025-0127

Abstract

English idioms pose persistent challenges for EFL learners due to their figurative meanings and cultural specificity. Conceptual metaphor theory has been proposed as a pedagogical approach to support students’ idiom comprehension and retention. However, little research has explored the implication of conceptual metaphors in teaching English idioms to high school students in Vietnam. Therefore, this action research aims to investigate the use of conceptual metaphors in teaching English idioms to twenty-six 11th grade students in a high school located in Bac Lieu province. Questionnaires, observations, and semistructured interviews were employed to collect data from twenty-six 11th-grade students. The findings indicate students’ perceived benefits and difficulties of learning English idioms by conceptual metaphors, along with their feelings and reactions towards this approach. They suggest that integrating conceptual metaphors into idiom teaching can be a pedagogical tool for enhancing learners’ retention and comprehension of idiomatic expressions in EFL classrooms. This paper contributes to metaphor-based pedagogy in the context of Vietnam and pedagogical techniques in teaching figurative language and highlights the necessity of cultural factors in teaching idioms.