Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Research Background
In foreign language learning, the importance of vocabulary is self-evident. Wilkins(1972) indicates that no grammar, people cannot express a lot of things, but no words,people cannot express anything. Obviously, vocabulary is an important part of languagecommunication ability. It is difficult for speakers to express their thoughts clearly if theydon’t have sufficient and deep mastering of vocabulary. Given the fundamental function ofvocabulary in communication, since 1980s, the study of the acquisition of vocabulary hasgradually been a focus of linguists (e.g., Howards, 1964; Lyons, 1977; Curtis, 1987;Lennon, 1996; Nation, 1990, 2001). Nation (2001) argues that the high-frequency words inthe language are of great importance, both teachers and students need to put a good deal ofeffort and energy into learning. It seems that high-frequency words are easier to learn thanthe low-frequency words, but in fact they have become the main obstacles for learners.This is because that the more frequently a given word is used, the more polysemous ittends to be (Howards, 1964).In English, an overwhelming majority of words are polysemous. It is said that over40% of the words in English have more than one meaning (Durkin & Manning, 1989).Compared with the basic meaning, the metaphorical meanings of the polysemous wordsappear more frequently in the context (Low, 1998). Wen (2008) admitted that although aword having multiple meaning is not a big obstacle to the native speakers, and for thesecond language learners, it tends to make them get into trouble. Thus, for the secondlanguage learners, the acquisition of polysemous words seems to be more difficult.Domestic scholars have found similar problems. For example, the ability of learners tospeculate on the meaning of the polysemy based on context is weak; the acquisition ofpolysemous words is not balanced, and the mastery of the core meanings is much betterthan the peripheral ones; they don’t understand the motivation among the multiplemeanings of a polysemous word and its semantic networks, mostly memorize the first threemeanings of a polysemous words listed in the dictionary by rote memory (Cao, 2010).Most of these problems are related to inappropriate teaching methods. Thus, it becomes anurgent task on hand to change and improve the teaching methods of English polysemouswords.
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1.2 Research Purpose and Significance
Given the importance of learning high-frequency words and learning difficulties thismay entail, much attention should be paid to polysemous words in L2 vocabulary teachingand learning. As Curtis (1987) argued, “because most high-frequency words have multiplemeanings, instruction should be designed so that it focuses on the word meanings thatstudents need to know” (p. 49). The problem here is how to reduce students’ pressure fromthese polysemous words. Although they are very important, polysemous words have notattracted enough attention in the field of second language acquisition and teaching. One ofthe major reasons can be attributed to the lack of a theoretical framework within which tosystematically view polysemy. However, the introduction of conceptual metaphor theory incognitive linguistics provides a new perspective for English polysemy teaching andlearning. Several linguistics and scholars have discussed theoretically the benefits obtainedfrom the application of conceptual metaphor in English teaching and learning, and some ofthem have tried to apply it to English teaching practice.By researching the applicability and the effectiveness of the insights of cognitivelinguistics in teaching polysemous words, this paper will try to help teachers and ChineseEnglish-learners better deal with polysemous words, and further enhance the learners’overall proficiency. The significance of the study are as follows: first, it will provideteachers with pedagogical methods that can be used in the instruction of a set of highfrequency lexica
