The Eyes Tell a Story: An Eye-Tracking Exploration on Metaphor Comprehension and Learning in Second Language Speakers of EnglishTools Aros Muñoz, Pablo (2023) The Eyes Tell a Story: An Eye-Tracking Exploration on Metaphor Comprehension and Learning in Second Language Speakers of English. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
AbstractDespite the pervasiveness of metaphors in language, they are a challenging aspect of language comprehension. Many researchers have devoted their efforts to understand how people understand metaphors in a first language. However, not much research about the same process in a second language has been carried out. In this thesis, I delved into the comprehension process of metaphors and similes compared to literal sentences and explored how non-native speakers can learn metaphors in a second language. In Study 1, I used a reading task that presented native and non-native speakers with English metaphors and Spanish metaphors translated into English. In Study 2, native and non-native speakers were presented with metaphors, similes, and literal sentences. This study also involved a reading task in front of an eye-tracker that provided me with eye-movement data. The results of Study 2 showed a processing advantage of similes over metaphors due to the predictability that the word “like” adds to the sentences.
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