Metaphors of ELT in Malaysia and their Educational Implications
The Metaphors of ELT in Malaysia and their Educational Implications Imran Ho-Abdullah, School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. ... my> Abstract The conference organizers have broken new grounds in using the popular Star Trek metaphors in the discussion of ELT in Malaysia. However, the creative and ingenious use of language in the discourse of ELT by the organizers can be traced to the more conventional conceptualization of learning in terms of “journeys”, “routes”, “pathways”, “voyages”. This paper will examine the “log book” to uncover various metaphorical conceptualization of ELT in Malaysia in everyday discourse (in particular among the proponents and champions of ELT on the one hand, and their “nemesis”, on the other). The content of the paper will primarily be concerned with examining the different perspectives on ELT and the implications of their choice of metaphors (whether conscious or otherwise). The paper will highlight the importance of understanding and using appropriate metaphors in discussion of the ELT “enterprise” in Malaysia in order to bridge the gaps between the two parties to allow us to move on into “new frontiers”. ... Introduction How we as Malaysians view and understand “English Language Teaching” (henceforth, ELT) and thus define ELT will determine our practices and philosophy of ELT including our approach, our methodology, the curriculum etc. This paper argues that, in many respects, our understanding of ELT is constructed by the language used in the discourse of ELT and matters related to ELT such as the use, status, the roles and functions of English as well as our proficiency in the language. Accordingly, new realities of ELT can be constructed via the use of new and relevant (perhaps also exciting conceptual metaphors) in the discourse of ELT. Specifically, this paper will attempt to apply a Lakoffian cognitive semantics framework to the analysis of Malaysian “ELT” by examining the linguistic expressions used to articulate ELT and English in Malaysia. ... edu /metaphors/Control_Is_Up. ... Similarly the Anger is Heat and the Body is Container for Emotions metaphors can explain linguistic expressions such as: ‘You make my blood boil’; ‘Hes just blowing off steam’; ‘He boiled over’. ... edu /metaphors/ Anger Is_Heat. ... First, I present a brief description of the cognitive semantics framework for linguistic description, paying particular attention to the construct of conceptual metaphors. This is followed by an analysis of how current discourse frames the discussion of ELT in Malaysia. The last section of the paper will provide a few suggestions as to how we might “reframe” the notions of “ELT” via the use of alternative conceptual metaphors in domestic discourse of ELT in Malaysia. The aim of this paper is primarily to ask and examine what are the prevalent metaphors of ELT in Malaysia. The analysis attempts to reveal how a linguistic study (a cognitive linguistics) of the expressions used in ELT can reveal the multifaceted meaning conveyed by such a expression through different conceptual metaphors. A better understanding of the term “ELT” will no doubt be crucial as our conception of ELT will influenced our practices, policies and curriculum. Hopefully the study here would serve to reveal what is sometimes concealed in our deliberations and discussions of ELT in Malaysia. However, the paper does not pretend to be exhaustive in its analysis and addresses only a few issues in the hope that the analysis will be useful towards mapping out the new frontiers of ELT in Malaysia. ... The present paper shares the above assumptions and accepts the Cognitive Linguistics conception of semantic representation and their views on a system of conceptual metaphors in everyday language as essentially correct. Specifically, the semantic structure of an item or expression can be explicated in terms of conventionalized conceptual metaphors and the meaning of the expression can be defined with respect to some domain (Taylor 1995). ... The semantics of “ELT” to be drawn out in this study is dependent on the notion of conceptual metaphors and the identification of the source domains of such metaphors in the discussion of EL. Fundamentally, the framework accepts the expression used in the discussion of ELT may utilize different conceptual metaphors with some conventional metaphors being the “default” or the “preferred” metaphor. To this extent, how someone defines “ELT” is dependent on the organizing metaphor or the “framing” of the discourse. ... In this regard, how we understand ELT might very well be dependent on that is what is fore grounded and what is back grounded.