Metaphorical Analysis of Iranian MA University Students’ Beliefs: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Following the innovations in language teaching and learning, metaphor analysis as an indirect tool of delving into individuals' beliefs has been utilized in this study to explore the use of metaphor to express the various perspectives of university students about the process of learning and teaching. In fact, this research intends to examine the metaphors produced by Iranian MA students about learning and teaching both in ideal and current situations. Using the Iranian contexts of education, this study aimed at: first, collecting the metaphors the students created by using the prompts "A university student is/should be like a..." and "A university professor is/should be like a...", and second, identifying and analyzing the metaphors. The results demonstrated that MA university students have different conceptions of learning and teaching, wishing to form the bedrock of their teaching and learning paradigm based on "situative" learning concepts.