The Cognitive Study of Metaphor and its Application in English Language Teaching

Metaphor in cognitive linguistics is not only a rhetorical device, but an important mental facility and cognitive instrument. Metaphors provide people a new perspective of perceiving the world and the application of cognitive theories of metaphor creates a new field of research to English teaching. After a brief analysis of the cognitive view on metaphor, this paper mainly focuses on how to apply the cognitive theories of metaphor to English language teaching. Key words: cognitive linguistics; metaphor; conceptual metaphor; English teaching