Dạy giới từ tiếng anh theo quan điểm ngôn ngữ học tri nhận tt tiếng anh

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.

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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.

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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.

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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 CLbased teaching of English prepositions?
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

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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

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

Abstract domain
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).

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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

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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 (forcedchoice 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).

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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 postquestionnaire 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.
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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.
3. 5 Data Analysis
The analysis was done with results from the tests and part 2 of the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire first, then the interview, and finally part 1
of the post-questionnaire and video-recordings. The data collected from the
testing instruments was input into SPSS version 22 for statistical computation.
Also, the data from part 2 of the pre- and post-questionnaires was processed
with SPSS to compare CG members’ responses to the treatment which they had
previously received and the CL-based treatment. The data collected from part 1
of the pre- and post-questionnaires and interview was classified, themeanalyzed, and coded.
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

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< .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
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metaphorical meanings, with 4.36 and 2.60, improved more significantly than
those of TG, with .24 and 1.84 respectively in the posttest.
4.1.2 Measures of the Test Scores across the Two Treatments

In general, CG’s mean scores for the whole tests, spatial and
metaphorical meanings were significant in the paired samples t-test. Their score
differences between the two groups were significant (p < .05). Regarding the
score change in each test section, both groups’ mean scores underwent
improvements in each test section. First, CG’s score improved from 10.48 to
12.96, but TG’s score increased from 10.28 to 11.04. Both groups achieved the
lowest scores was Text Completion Section. In particular, CG’ score developed
from 4.16 to 6.04, and TG’s score rose from 4.04 to 4.56. For Sentence
Completion Section, CG’s and TG’s scores grew by approximately 2.5 and .80
respectively. The Independent Samples t-Tests shows that the improvements in
CG’s knowledge of the semantics of the prepositions from the pretest to the
posttest were significant (p < .001, 2-tailed). There was a relatively considerable
increase in CG’s scores for all the three sections: sentence completion (SC),
multiple choice (MC) and text completion (TC). The Independent Samples tTest of CG’s scores shows that its score gains were significant (p < .001). On
contrary, the Independent Samples t-test of TG’ scores shows that its score gains
were insignificant (p>.05). Cronbach’s Alpha standard for statistical reliability
was assured (α = .847 for CG and α = .728 for TG). Repeated measures of
ANOVA also indicate that the differences in the posttest results of each section
between the two groups were significant, p < .05.

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4.1.3 Discussion of the Effects of the CL-Based Treatment on the
Participants’ Knowledge of Spatial and Metaphorical Meanings
The foregoing analyses indicate that it may be, at least, moderately
effective to apply CL-based teaching. The main difference in the two treatments
was in the warm-up activity and instruction which reflected the CL-based
treatment and traditional treatment. In other words, CG’s score improvement
was mainly tailored to the pedagogical CL-based application.

What appears from the analyses is that both kinds of treatment had a
pronounced impact on the scores of both groups involved in this study, resulting
in their statistical score growth from the pretest to the posttest. Also, in contrast
to TG, CG developed significantly over time in terms of their knowledge and
memory of the semantics of the prepositions, which led to the improvements in
their scores. In short, TG’s and CG’s score improvements from the pretest to
the posttest mainly reflected these differences in the two treatments.
4.2 Participants’ Evaluative Opinions of the CL-Based Treatment
4.2.1 Participants’ Responses to the Treatments of the Spatial Meanings
of the Prepositions
Overall, the participants believed that the treatments they had received
from their former teachers and the CL-based treatment were both appropriate
and interesting. A comparison of the participants’ responses to the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire shows that the CL-based treatment was
considered to be better than the teaching of the prepositions which the
participants had previously received. The mean differences in these two types
of treatment of the spatial meanings in terms of the interest and appropriateness
was .48 and the corresponding figure for the effects of the treatments was .75.

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The theme-based analysis of the qualitative data obtained from the CG
members’ responses in the interview indicates that most participants responded
that the teacher’s instructions and use of image schemas were interesting and
appropriate. However, some of them revealed that the class activities did not
really interest them.
4.2.2 Participants’ Responses to the Treatments of the Metaphorical
Meanings of the Prepositions
Concerning the appropriateness and interest of the treatment of the
metaphorical meanings, the participants did not highly think of the treatment of

the metaphorical meanings of prepositions which they had previously received,
with the total mean score of 2.98, but they highly appreciated the CL-based
treatment of this type of meaning, with a mean score from 3.49. They also
expressed their high appreciation of the effects of the CL-based treatment, with
a mean score of 3.45.
Overall, the data collected from the interviews was in line with what was
obtained from the post-questionnaire. Their responses were divided into two
sub-themes: interest and appropriateness of the treatment. 23 out of 25
participants gave positive comments regarding their interests. However, 4 out
of 25 (16%) cognitive participants expressed that they did not absolutely like
the instructions.
4.2.3 Discussion of the Participants’ Evaluattion

of the CL-Based

Treatment
There was a difference in the mean score of each of the items in the postquestionnaire in comparison with that in the pre-questionnaire. In general, the

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students’ evaluation of the treatment of the spatial meanings was better than of
the metaphorical meanings. Also, they appreciated the effects of the treament
on their knowledge of the spatial meanings more highly than the metaphorical
meanings.
In the interviews, the participants expressed their appreciation of the use
of image schemas. Hampe (2005) and Johnson (2005) explain the importance
of images in acquiring and learning certain language items in that they help
people make sense of the target language by forming cognitive structure.
Accordingly, due to human interaction with the external world, perceptions are

constructed from embodied experiences. Mayer (2005) and Schnotz (2005) also
explain that humans receive information via two main channels, namely visual
and auditory. The participants’ test results and their reponses show some
confirmation. Those who made low score gains for the spatial meaningss
usually provided negative responses that the CL-based teaching was not really
interesting to them.
Although the differences between CG’s and TG’s scores in both the
spatial and metaphorical meanings were significant, p < .05, some participants
claimed that they did not see real matches between certain metaphorical
meanings and their corresponding image schemas. Kemmerer (2005) explains
that prepositions do not always transfer from domain to domain. The
participants with the aforementioned negative responses may not have made the
transfer. This type of transfer depends on learners’ cognitive abilities and
exposure to language use (Bielak & Pawlak, 2013; Pawlak, 2006).

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1. General Conclusion
The experimental results generally demonstrate that the cognitive group
(M=27.00) outperformed the traditional group (M=22.36) in the posttest of the
prepositions although both groups scored comparatively in the pretest
(M=20.04 and 20.28 respectively). For the spatial meanings of the prepositions,
the scores gained by the cognitive group and traditional group increased by 4.36
and 0.24 respectively. For the conceptual metaphors of the prepositions, their
scores improved by 2.60 and 1.84 respectively. The independent samples t-tests
and repeated measures of ANOVA show that the differences in the scores
gained by both groups in the pretest were insignificant, but the score differences
in the posttest were significant. The Cronbach’s alpha (α) was > .7.

The experimental results were in line with those of the previous studies.
The group that received CL-based treatment generally outperformed the group
that depended on rote-learning. However, although these studies applied CL,
they were motivated by different concepts. The differences in the treatments,
including the model and post-teaching activities, and in the target prepositions,
may have been a reason for some differences in the empirical findings.
The differences in the scores achieved by the cognitive and traditional
groups also took place in each test section. In the posttest, the cognitive group
scored 7.84, but the traditional group scored 6.76 for the Sentence Completion
Section. Their scores also improved from 10.48 and 10.28 in the pretest to 12.96
and 11.04 in the posttest respectively for the Multiple Choice Section. For the
Text Completion Section, their scores improved by 2.04 and .52 from the pretest
to the posttest respectively. These differences proved significant, p <.05.

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The investigation into individual score gains from the pretest to the
posttest shows that most members of the cognitive group made their score gains
in the high track (> 10 points) and medium track (4-10 points), but most of the
members of the traditional group made their score gains in the medium track
and low track (lower than 4 points). In each pair with generally similar
characteristics matched in the participant selection, the cognitive group member
illustrated a higher score growth than the traditional group counterpart. For
instance, the traditional group member with the highest score rise was Mai
(T23), with 10 points; however, the score achieved by her counterpart Long
(C6) rocketed by 14 points.
The investigation into major variables with potential effects on the
experimental results shows that both groups’ exposure to the variables
investigated was inconsiderable according to the participants’ responses. The

likeliness of intervention of other variables, if any, was considered low. The
video clips recording the classroom performances showed that the teaching was
similar in the both groups, for which the experimental findings generally
reflected the treatments. The length of each corresponding class activity, use of
native language and interaction between the teacher and students were
comparable. The classroom seating arrangement, materials and resources, and
teacher’s role were also similar (Condon, 2008). Research reliability and
validity were in general assured.
One of the greatest contributions of the present study might be the
addition of students’ evaluative opinions of the meaning-focused treatment
based on CL to contemporary literature. While previous studies mainly focused
on the effects of CL-based teaching on learners’ language outcome, this study

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was interested in collecting learners’ evaluation of CL-based pedagogical
strategies applied. The analyses of the cognitive participants’ responses
revealed that the cognitive treatment was generally considered interesting,
appropriate and effective. Firstly, they preferred the teaching techniques based
on cognitive linguistics to the teaching techniques they had previously
experienced from their former teachers which were mainly based on the use of
vivid pictures, examples and learning by heart, also called simple memorization.
A comparison between the cognitive members’ responses to the prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire shows that the mean score for each cluster
of the post-questionnaire was from .40 to .48 higher than that of the prequestionnaire. Secondly, the treatment based on cognitive linguistics was
thought to be better in teaching the spatial meanings than the metaphorical
meanings. For the interest and appropriateness of the treatment based on
cognitive linguistics, the participants preferred the application on the spatial
meanings (M=3.63) to the metaphorical meanings (M=3.44). Similarly, they
also believed that the treatment had better effects on the spatial meanings

(M=3.83) than the metaphorical meanings (M=3.45). In the interviews, some
participants explained that they did not see real matches between the
metaphorical meanings instructed and corresponding image schemas. Thirdly,
in the interviews, most participants highly appreciated the treatment and
believed that it should have been applied widely, especially to students at the
beginning level. Finally, the negative comments from the cognitive members in
the interviews were mostly about the interest of the class activities. Specifically,
they expected the teacher to apply games and music to make the class
atmosphere more relaxing and interesting.

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Overall, the participants’ responses to the questionnaire and in the
interviews confirmed the experimental results. The experimental evidence
shows the cognitive group members’ improvements were significant in terms
of both the spatial and metaphorical meanings of the studied prepositions. What
is more, those participants who gave negative comments in the interviews
achieved lower scores in the posttest than those who gave positive comments.
5.2. Implications
It is essential to look back at Langacker’s (2001) recommendation for
applications of cognitive linguistics. Accordingly, the empirical results from
applying cognitive linguistics in experimental studies in English language
teaching may provide evidence for cognitive linguistics to pass the test of its
theory. From his perspective, the effectiveness of language instruction has
become larger, which will make cognitive linguistics pass the test ultimately.
However, applying cognitive linguistics to teaching English prepositions is not
the best or unique. The study by Kemmerer (2005) suggested the possibility of
teaching the spatial and metaphorical meanings of English prepositions
independently as learners might score higher in one type of meanings, spatial

or metaphorical. In other words, the transfer of prepositions from one domain
to another was not always direct. It is very important to know that Kemmerer
(2005) conducted series of experimental studies, but only two participants
scored higher for the spatial meanings, and two other participants passed the
test of metaphorical meanings but failed the test of the spatial meanings. As a
conclusion, he did not cast doubt on the effectiveness of the applications of
cognitive linguistics in English language teaching, but he made a pedagogical
alternative conclusively. The results of the present study add empirical evidence

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of the effects of applying cognitive linguistics and give some implications for
teaching and learning English prepositions effectively to students learning
English as a foreign language. In addition, from these results, some issues
related to classroom instruction are raised together with suggestions:
For textbook writers and administrators:
Textbook writers and administrators should update the current
approaches in English language teaching, particularly the positive effects of
applying cognitive linguistic concepts to teaching English prepositions in this
study regarding the experimental results and students’ opinions in a context
where English is used as a foreign language. The following are suggestions:
- There should be international and national conventions on introducing
how to apply cognitive linguistics to teaching language elements,
particularly prepositions, in contexts where English is used as a foreign
language.
- It is also possible to include linguistic approaches to instructing language
elements, especially integrating pedagogical applications of cognitive
linguistics into curricula and syllabi.
- Applying instruction based on cognitive linguistic concepts and

classroom activities can be a pedagogical alternative to teaching
prepositions. A total or partial procedure may be adapted to make
preposition lessons more meaningful and effective.
For teachers:
Teaching prepositions in the light of cognitive linguistics in classrooms
of English as a foreign language has proved to be successful in contexts where

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English is used as a foreign language by many empirical studies, especially from
the current research. In order for this alternative to teaching prepositions to be
successful,
- Teachers should grasp theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics,
together with its integration into concrete lessons.
- In designing concrete lessons, making use of image schemas will be a
focus since it can help learners accurately understand the semantics of
prepositions. Image schemas can also facilitate learners’ memory of the
semantics of prepositions.
- Teachers should also make use of image schemas to teach prepositions
in terms of conceptual metaphors, but this requires the teachers to apply
domain mapping theory help learners to make transfer of prepositions
from the spatial domain to the abstract domain.
- As many pedagogical modifications of cognitive linguistics in the recent
studies as well as this study suggest the employment of teacher
instruction to provide linguistic input, teachers should apply speaking and
writing tasks so that learners have opportunities to use language after the
instruction of prepositions.
- However, due to some negative feedback from the participants in the
treatment, teachers should employ games, music and sense of humour in

teaching based on cognitive linguistic concepts to engage learners both
cognitively and affectively in the class activities.

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For learners:
Knowledge of language may be essential in contexts where English is
used as a foreign language. Learners apply meaningful learning by using image
schemas to make general sense of some meaning of a preposition. In particular,
- Relating the prior knowledge and new knowledge proved significant.
Concerning the semantics of prepositions, learners should relate the
metaphorical meanings to the spatial meanings to consolidate their
language knowledge and language use.
- In foreign language learning, both auditory and visual sources of
information are crucial. Combining both sources can foster the learning
process and outcomes.
- Being attentive to the teacher instruction is essential in contexts where
English is used as a foreign language, but it is not sufficient. Students
learning English as a foreign language should also get exposed to
language use. Speaking and writing tasks offered by the teacher in the
classroom may do some help.
5.3. Limitations of the Study
However, research limitations were certainly inevitable. The present
study confined itself to only ten prepositions above, among, at, behind, beside,
between, in, in front of, on, and under. An extended application will probably
bring about more implications for successive studies. Also, the aim of the study
was to measure its effects on the participants’ knowledge, rather than language
competence. This was reflected by the constructs of the testing instruments.
Current pedagogical applications mostly suggest teachers of English as a

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foreign language to guide students to language use. Although the class
procedure included speaking and writing tasks in each session, it was applied
mainly to foster the participants’ explicit knowledge as the focus of the study.
Recent studies have showed the relationship between learners’ explicit
knowledge and implicit knowledge in English language learning (Pawlak,
2006). Measures of the participants’ implicit knowledge of the target items in
speaking and writing would have provided implications for later research in
English language teaching in general and applying cognitive linguistics to
English language teaching in particular. Another limitation of this doctoral
thesis might come from the fact that students might have remembered the items
used in the pretest and referred to them in the posttest despite the fact that the
likeliness of this happening was low. Also, as presented in the objectives and
scope of the study, the study aimed to explore the two groups’ score
improvements in the tests for the spatial and metaphorical meanings of the
prepositions; therefore, it did not aim to analyse effects of the treatments on the
participants’ improvements in each preposition. The final limitation might be
about the researcher’s role as the trainer. The teachers might have been
unintentionally attracted to one type of treatment, which in turn transferred into
their teaching performances. However, this likeliness was low because the
video clips showed there was no significant difference in their teaching styles.
The observations, and data collection and analysis were double-checked by the
researcher assistants.
5.4. Suggestions for Future Studies
Future studies that are interested in applying cognitive linguistics to
teaching prepositions may find some ways to eliminate the weaknesses of the

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