Turkish EFL Learners' Metaphors with Respect to English Language Coursebooks

With the increasing interest in using metaphor as a research tool, metaphor has been more a means of understanding the components of thinking than a part of figurative device. As in other fields, research in the field of language teaching and learning has extensively used metaphors as to develop a better understanding of learners’ beliefs, thoughts, and values about language learning process and its components. In line with this reasoning, the present study searches into EFL learners’ perceptions about the concept of foreign language coursebook by means of metaphors. The participants were 150 EFL learners studying at Cyprus International University. The data were analyzed using the content analysis. The results of the study revealed that for most of the learners, language coursebooks are perceived as a planet, foreign country, secret garden, and space, which indicates uncertainty and enigma experienced by the learners.