Metaphoric Competence: A Language Learning Strength of Students with a Holistic Cognitive Style?

Abstract

This article examines metaphoric competence and its relationship to L2 learning and teaching. The study described measured four aspects of metaphoric competence in the participants' L1 and L2: (a) originality of metaphor production, (b) ability to find meaning in metaphor, (c) speed in finding meaning in metaphor, and (d) fluency of metaphor interpretation. Two of the four aspects were found to be weakly related whereas the other two were independent. Speed in finding meaning in metaphor was significantly related to the holistic cognitive style, and all four aspects had positive yet statistically nonsignificant relationships with communicative language ability. The implications of these findings are discussed.