Enhancing metaphoric awareness in specialised reading

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F[ Boers : En`lish for Speci_c Purposes 08 "1999# 026Ð036
and "iii# they have no direct one!to!one French equivalents "e[g[\ weed out#\ or the
French equivalents are not normally used in the same context "e[g[\ wean off #\ or the
French equivalents lack the same connotations or inferences "e[g[\ bail out#[
The meaning of the expressions was explained in a glossary added to the text[ For
28 subjects "the control group# this glossary gave explanations of the _gurative sense
in the context of economics]
hurdle]
"here# di.culty\ problem
bail out]
"here# help\ rescue from _nancial di.culties\ give
subsidies
wean off]
"here# disengage\ make independent
shift tack]
"here# change policy
weed out]
"here# remove\ get rid of
For the other 35 students "the experimental group#\ the glossary gave explanations of
the expressions solely in terms of the source domain\ i[e[\ their literal usage]
hurdle]
frame to be jumped over in athletics
bail out]
try to keep a sinking boat a~oat by throwing out
water with buckets
wean off]
gradually stop breastfeeding a baby
shift tack]
turn a ship around so the wind is caught on the
other side of the sails
weed out]
pull out unwanted wild plants
Subjects were given 04 min to read and study the text as preparation for a com!
prehension test "before which they were to hand in the text#[ The test consisted of a
list of statements about the text[ The subjects were asked whether they agreed that
the statements were in accordance with the contents of the text[ For every item their
task was to tick YES\ NO or DON|T KNOW[ Most items in the test were meant to
measure {{general|| comprehension "e[g[\ It is already clear what the outcome of the
summit will be#[ These items posed problems for neither the control group nor the
experimental group[ Both groups were on a par with respect to general comprehension[
Since these test items also related to the _gurative expressions included in the text\
the test results so far suggest that students in the experimental group were quite
capable of interpreting the _gurative usage of the expressions\ even though only their
literal sense had been explained to them[ In other words\ given su.cient context\
students managed to make the extension from literal to _gurative sense themselves[
Two items in the test were related to the expressions bailin` out and weanin` off
and to the author|s opinion about state subsidies[ According to the {{logic|| of the
source domains of bailin` out and weanin` off\ subsidies can only be a temporary
solution "throwing water out of a sinking boat does not mend any holes\ and breast!
feeding an infant can last only until it needs solid food#[ When confronted with
statements concerning the author|s opinion about state subsidies\ subjects in the
control group typically ticked DON|T KNOW[ In the experimental group "i[e[\ those
who had received explanations of the literal senses only# the majority decided that the
author was against subsidies[ The di}erence between the scores of both groups proved