An examination of the validity of metaphor analysis studies

Abstract

The last decade has seen a large number of studies employing metaphor elicitation techniques, especially using 'X is (like) Y' format to investigate language teachers' and learners' understandings of teaching and/or learning. Although a few recent studies have reported the proportion of unsuccessful answers to this type of task, and identified a number of issues connected with task difficulty, there appears to be little published work that has seriously addressed the validity of the method used. The aims of this paper are therefore to explore the discourse and contexts where failure/difficulty with the metaphor elicitation task occurs, to try and understand what causes the problems and to suggest approaches to resolving them. In so doing, this paper reports on two small-scale metaphor analysis studies that were primarily designed to reduce the incidence of difficulty with 'X is (like) Y' metaphor prompts, presenting the perceived reasons for the difficulties and discussing possible solutions by introducing training in the form of four ready-made metaphor related teaching sessions. Essentially, I argue that training both about metaphor and in using it are important, and that thought needs to be given to both the nature and the length of training. The hope is that the present paper can be a first step and will serve to shed light on the ways that can be employed by metaphor researchers to identify and then resolve their methodological problems.

Map, Foundations, Recipe, Burden: Teachers’ Conceptual Metaphors on Lesson Planning

“…The investigations that use conceptual metaphors have been criticized for not explaining the analysis procedures and subjectivity when interpreting the results (Wan 2011;Seung et al 2015;Low 2015). Therefore, the use of several analysis methods is a strategy that strengthens the validity of the results through the methodological triangulation.…”

Análisis de creencias sobre el rol docente en estudiantes de pedagogía en inglés chilenos a través de la metáfora conceptual.

“…Tal como observa Wan (2011), la construcción de este tipo de cuestionario debe resguardar que los sujetos efectivamente utilicen metáforas y de no ser así, explicitar las causas, además se debe procurar que las investigaciones mantengan criterios de validez.…”

Conceptualizaciones metafóricas sobre el rol del profesor en estudiantes de pedagogía

“…Al igual que otros estudios, se pretende que los sujetos justifiquen la metáfora escogida. Dado que existen antecedentes sobre investigaciones previas con el mismo objeto de la presente investigación, en la que los sujetos no han logrado construir ni entregar metáforas (Wan, 2011), en el cuestionario se incluyó una breve definición. Luego, se presentaron 4 ejemplos de metáforas, fuera del ámbito de la educación.…”