Metaphorical Language in Engineering Texts: English for Specific Purposes in STEM Context

Abstract

In engineering degrees, functional language courses are generally taught in simple language. Despite universities’ ongoing efforts to prepare ESP learners for effective communication which is a need of the workplace, they are rarely taught practically how to craft lay-friendly explanations through metaphorical language. However, recent research claims that metaphorical language would be more effective if it is infused with language teaching as it helps to connect new concepts with base engineering knowledge. In this regard, the exposure to metaphorical language was given to engineer students under the treatment group through reading comprehension-based activities, while the control group learned the same activities without metaphorical awareness the quantitative results were obtained by comparing the posttest of the control group and treatment group in which positive association was achieved between scientific text and language learning. This study provides an opportunity for improving the pedagogical ways by giving metaphorical awareness to students in teaching language ESP context.