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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES BÙI PHÚ HƯNG SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS TEACHING ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROAC

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BÙI PHÚ HƯNG SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS

TEACHING ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS:

A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROACH

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 9 14 01 11

HUE, 2019

This study was completed at:

University of Foreign Languages, Hue University

Supervisor 1: Assoc Prof Trương Viên, PhD

Supervisor 2: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ, PhD

Reviewer 1: Prof Nguyễn Hòa, PhD

Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Tôn Nữ Mỹ Nhật, PhD

Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Lê Phạm Hoài Hương, PhD

This doctoral dissertation will be defended in the Thesis Examination Council of Hue University at 03 Le Loi Street, Hue City at…………am/pm

on ……… /………… /…………

This dissertation can be found in the National Library and library of University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, at 57 Nguyen Khoa Chiem Street, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of the PhD thesis submitted today entitled:

“TEACHING ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROACH”

for the degree of Doctor of Education, is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree at any other institution To the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by other people except where the reference is made in the thesis itself

Hue, May 29, 2019

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of applying cognitive linguistics (CL) to teaching the spatial and metaphorical senses of English

prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between, in, in front of, on and

under It made attempts to apply the basic concepts in cognitive linguistics,

including embodiment theory, image schema theory, conceptual metaphor theory and domain mapping theory Also, the integrated text and picture comprehension (ITPC) model was applied to frame the input and practice tasks

A pretest-posttest between-group research design was adopted The results of the pretest and pre-questionnaire were used to select student participants who were then divided into two different groups: cognitive group and traditional group The findings revealed that the cognitive group (M=27.00) significantly outperformed the traditional group (M=22.36) in the posttest in terms of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings

The cognitive group participants also responded that they appreciated the CL-based teaching of the prepositions more than the pedagogical applications which their former teachers had previously applied in terms of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings Six out of 25 cognitive members responded that the teacher should have added something fun to make the lesson more interesting Most of the participants believed that CL-based teaching was appropriate and admitted that CL-based teaching had more positive effects on their knowledge of the spatial meanings than that of the metaphorical meanings

The findings suggest that future studies and practices in ELT which would like to apply cognitive linguistics in EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom could include songs or games in the post-teaching stage Further research can also apply cognitive linguistics to teaching other prepositions in other contexts and employ a delayed posttest to measure the students’ long-term memory of the target items

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

English prepositions expose some difficulties to EFL students (Fang, 2000) owing to their inherent characteristics and regular practice of teaching this word class (Alonso, Cadierno & Jarvis, 2016) It has been argued in contemporary literature that the frequently applied options for teaching prepositions cannot help integrate new input with learners’ existing knowledge

in order to form a related cognitive structure (Cho, 2010) The emergence of cognitive linguistics (CL) gives implications for English language teaching and learning as its foundation is based on how humans acquire and learn language Regarding prepositions, CL proposes the use of image schema theory and domain mapping theory in explaining the semantics of prepositions as it can help learners form a cognitive structure of prepositional senses, which is considered to facilitate learning and memory of the target items (Evans & Green, 2006) This study would like to include other prepositions, and investigate learners’ opinions as reflections on the CL-based teaching

1.2 Research Aims

The primary purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to explore the effects of applying cognitive linguistics to teaching the spatial and metaphorical

meanings of English prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside, between,

in, in front of, on, and under Also, it aims to explore Vietnamese students’

opinions of preposition teaching based on cognitive linguistics (CL) or how they appreciate the treatment based on cognitive linguistic concepts

1.3 Research Questions

1 What are the effects of CL-based teaching on Vietnamese EFL college students’ knowledge of the spatial and metaphorical meanings of English prepositions?

2 How do Vietnamese EFL college students evaluate the effects of based teaching of English prepositions?

CL-1.4 Research Scope

This study did not attempt to teach all English prepositions, but it took a

CL approach to the teaching of the ten prepositions above, among, at, behind,

beside, between, in, in front of, on, and under in the spatial domain and abstract

domain to Vietnamese EFL college students These ten prepositions were chosen as a result of their high level of frequency and difficulty (Lindstromberg,

2010)

1.5 Significance of the Study

The present study hopes to contribute to the literature in ELT, particularly pedagogical techniques for English prepositions to EFL students Also, curriculum designing and textbook writing will be facilitated in terms of providing appropriate lessons and tasks to assist students in mastering English prepositions

1.6 Organization of the Thesis

This dissertation consists of five main chapters Following this introduction, Chapter Two reviews extant literature on CL and its applications

in ELT Chapter Three sketches research methods and design employed Chapter Four presents the results and discussion of this study Finally, Chapter

Five summarizes the key findings and gives implications and the contributions

of the present study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Place of CL in ELT

CL is grounded on the interconnections between language, human mind, and human experiences of society and interactions with the external world (Kardela, 2011; Langacker, 2008) Accordingly, it has three main characteristics: cognitive, social and communicative (Arnett & Jernigan, 2014)

2.2 Theoretical Framework

2.2.1 Spatial Configurations of English Prepositions

Cognitive linguists also propose that the meanings of prepositions can be explained by the reference entity called landmark and the mentioned object called trajector Herskovits (1986) provides examples to illustrate the spatial

meanings of the preposition in In the example the cat in the house, the cat is totally contained in the house The cat is the trajector (TR) and the house is the landmark (LM) In this situation, the meaning of the preposition in is prototypical as TR is totally contained in LM In the example the bird in the

tree, however, it is essential to include all the branches of the tree as LM In this

case, a three-dimensional space should be construed, and the meaning of the

preposition in is non-prototypical

2.2.2 The Domain Mapping Theory

A domain, an inventory of conventional linguistic units, is the cognitive structure providing background context and helping us to understand the meaning of any word The spatial relationships of prepositions are first

accumulated in the spatial domain and then prepositions transfer to the abstract domain, where they are used with the metaphorical meanings (Fillmore, 2006)

in the box in my opinion

on the desk on the telephone

at school at rest

Figure 2.2 Prepositions across domains

(Adapted from Geeraerts & Cuyckens, 2007 & Evans, 2007)

2.2.3 Conceptual Metaphor of English Prepositions

Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that conceptual metaphor theory is

grounded in everyday experience For example, “be at a crossroads” as in We

are at a crossroads is projected into human cognition and may refer to a context

in which the two lovers are at a point of making a decision Regarding the semantics of prepositions, TIME IS SPACE metaphor (Boroditsky, 2000); however, the term “metaphorical meanings” in this study refers to the metaphorical use of the prepositions in the abstract domain

2.2.4 Image Schema Theory

2.2.4.1 Definition

An image schema is a cognitive structure which is used to interpret humans’ physical experiences and connections of concepts in the human mind (Clausner & Croft, 1999) Humans make sense of the surrounding, such as LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN After image schemas of prepositions representing their spatial senses are constructed in the human mind, they may enable people to use them with the metaphorical meanings (Mandler & Cánovas, 2014)

2.2.4.2 Demonstrating the Senses of Prepositions with Image Schemas

Ming (2011) suggest four principles for constructing image schemas First, an image schema should be mainly relevant to the semantic characteristics

of the entity illustrated Also, the LM is a reference point in a stationary position Third, the target object or TR can be moving unmoving Finally, image schemas illustrating prepositions should describe where TR is in comparison

TR TR

LM

2-D image schema 3-D image schema

Figure 2.5 Image schema of preposition in (meaning: CONTAINMENT)

(Adapted from Herskovits, 1986)

Herskovits (1986) proposes that LM can be two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D), but a 3-D LM usually describes a clearer relation between TR and LM (Figure 2.2) Although a preposition may be illustrated by several image schemas according to what meaning it has in context, the construction of an image schema has to primarily satisfy 5 requirements: (1) relationship between TR and LM, (2) their distance, (3) the existence of contact between TR and LM, (4) shape and size of TR and LM and (5) direction of TR

in comparison with LM (Taylor, 1989) The constructions of the image schemas applied in this study were based on these principles and proposals of image schemas by cognitive linguists

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Approach and Design

This study combined qualitative and quantitative approaches To answer research question 1, the pretest-posttest between-group quasi-experimental

design was adopted To answer research question 2, the participants’ evaluative opinions of the treatment was collected through questionnaires and interviews

3.2 Participants

3.2.1 Description of Teachers

Two female Vietnamese EFL teachers currently teaching at a university

in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, voluntarily participated in this study They had similar teacher characteristics: around one year teaching at the research site, an experience of approximately three years as EFL teachers, a master in ELT, and

an IELTS certificate of 7.0 band score awarded one year prior to the implementation of the first study

3.2.2 Student Participants

Fifty first-year students volunteered to get involved in this study The selection of the participants in this study was mainly based on their answers to the pre-questionnaire and pretest, and their academic records of English learning in high school

3.3 Data Collection Instrumentation

3.3.1 Pretest and Posttest

The pretest and posttest in this study had the same format, with three sections each: forced-choice sentence completion, multiple choice questions and text completion The combination of discrete-point direct test (forced-choice sentence completion and multiple choice questions) and text completion formats was assumed to measure the participants’ knowledge of individual target language items and their use in the context of text (Bassili, Smith, & MacLeod, 1989; Harmer, 2015)

3.3.2 Questionnaires and Interviews

The pre-questionnaire was designed to explore two main parts: (1) participants’ background information and (2) their evaluation of the pedagogical techniques they had previously received prior to this study The data collected from Part 1 (qualitative) was used, together with those from other instruments, mainly to select the participants Part 2 mainly investigated (1) the interest and appropriateness and (2) effects of the CL-based treatment

The post-questionnaire had two main parts: (1) investigation into other interventions and (2) participants’ responses to the CL-based treatment Part 2 was quite the same as the corresponding part in the pre-questionnaire, but it was reworded to particularly refer to the CL-based treatment The post-questionnaire for the traditional group was comprised of part 1 only The interview used the framework of the part 2 of the post-questionnaire

3.4 Research Procedure and Treatments

3.4.1 Traditional Treatment

The traditional group (TG) received the teacher-fronted explicit instruction on the prepositions accompanied by the teacher’s verbal prompts, student handouts and PowerPoint files For the spatial meanings, the prepositions were represented in form of real life pictures and verbal explanations In each session of the metaphorical meanings, the participants were first introduced the target items and asked to complete five sentences The five sentences showed context clues for the participants to choose the correct options The teacher’s instruction began with the introductions of collocations, phrasal verbs and idioms as an arbitrary matter After the instruction, the participants were also required to do a controlled practice, speaking and writing tasks

3.4.2 CL-based Treatment

The cognitive group (CG) received a CL-based treatment The instructions were meaning-focused, explicit and inductive Both traditional and cognitive treatments employed the same practices and illustrating pictures The teaching of spatial meanings was comprised of five main activities The teacher mainly used image schemas to illustrate the meanings of the prepositions In sessions of the metaphorical meanings, the teacher applied domain mapping theory to relate the metaphorical and spatial meanings of prepositions to form a cognitive structure in the students’ minds by using the same image schemas in illustrating these different types of meanings

of the pre- and post-questionnaires and interview was classified, analyzed, and coded

theme-3.6 Research Reliability and Validity

Many measures were applied to increase the research reliability and validity In this study, Cronbach’s Alpha values of the experimental results and each questionnaire cluster was greater than 7 Also, the experimental results show that the difference in the mean scores of the two groups was significant (p

< 05) The involvement of the two teachers and two research assistants was to increase the subjectivity in this study The instruments employed were also tested and amended to minimize the intervention of other variables in the empirical results (McMillan & Schumacher, 2001)

3.7 Research Ethics

Regarding research ethics, all of the participation, including the student and teacher participants and was voluntary They responded to the researcher’s call for participation They were informed of the purposes of the present study and their rights to be helped from any harm arising from or related to this study Their identities were kept confidential The participant selection was not influenced by discrimination All the participants were treated with respect and dignity throughout the study

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Effects of CL-Based Teaching on Vietnamese EFL College Students’ Knowledge of Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings

4.1.1 Experimental Results of the Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings of the Prepositions

Overall, although both groups gained a relatively comparable score in the pretest, CG significantly outperformed TG in the posttest In particular, in the pretest, CG and TG achieved a score of 20.04 and 20.28 respectively However, CG’s score developed by 6.96, but TG gained a mean score of only 2.08 from the pretest to the posttest Also, the standard deviations show that individualls

in both groups had their data points equally close to the mean prior to the treatments, but these values dispersed after the treatments More specifically, the standard deviations for CG and TG were 4.243 and 3.796 repsectively The statistical analysis also shows that CG’s scores for both the spatial and