Metaphors

In this section we will look at various kinds of metaphors. In the past I have had students analyse the use of metaphors in websites. This is not so relevant these days and you can ignore the second slide in the video.

What has changed is that the digital world now exists in its own right. We no longer explain the online world in terms of the real world. If in the early days of the web you wanted to create an educational website, you might have used an image or plan of a school, with a library, a classroom, etc. You would then click on the library to go there. We no longer need this in order to navigate online.

I also talk about the desktop metaphor, which we have had on computers for decades now. Again we are no longer in that transition from the familiar "real" world to a digital world. (How much experience do you have with physical files and folders compared with digital files and folders?)

video Links to an external site..

We use metaphors as a way of thinking and talking about abstract and complex processes. Before looking at metaphors related to CALL, we'll examine metaphors in language use.

1. Metaphors in Language

We talk about complex, abstract domains in terms of less abstract concrete domains. For example, the human body is a good source domain for metaphorical extensions. We are so used to these metaphors that we don't notice them. We don't think about "back" in "the back of the queue". What about "head of the family" "head up the sales division".

A car engine "runs" and we "run a business".

Another mapping is from space to time, resulting in "next year". Can you see this is a metaphor? We create a sort of mental image associated with years so that they are sort of lined up as blocks, allowing us to talk about "the next one".

I have some examples below. We don't need to go into a lot of detail on the language metaphors. It will be useful, however, to think about language learning metaphors.

1.1. Conceptual metaphors

Lakoff and Johnson in a famous book called Metaphors We Live By pointed out some conceptual metaphors that help us to talk about reality. Here are some examples.

MORE IS UP

high society
high pitch
high prices

GOOD/HEALTH/FUTURE IS UP

He's at the peak of health.

in top form

He fell ill.

He's sinking fast.

He came down with the flu.

His health is declining.


BUSINESS IS WAR

An advertising campaign
sales force
a battle on the high street

LOVE IS A JOURNEY

we’ve reached a crossroads

our marriage is on the rocks

1.2 Container metaphors

The body is a container

Anger is pressure in the container/body

I’m full up. My brain is full

I feel so empty


2. Communication/learning – conduit metaphor.

THE CONDUIT METAPHOR

Typically there are two containers (bodies) with a pipe or conduit between them. Something flows along the pipe (packets containing ideas, information, etc.)

It's hard to get that idea across to him.

I gave you that idea.

I can't get through to him.

EXPRESSIONS ARE CONTAINERS FOR MEANINGS

Some examples.

It's difficult to put my ideas into words.

You can't simply stuff ideas into a sentence any old way.

The meaning is right there in the words.

His words carry little meaning.

The introduction has a great deal of thought content.

Your words seem hollow.

The sentence is without meaning.

The idea is buried in terribly dense paragraphs.


3. Metaphors for technology use


3.1 CALL Metaphors

I am highlighting metaphors because I want you to be aware of where metaphors are limiting or misleading in some way and where they are useful. This applies to ideas about language and language learning, computers and technology use and CALL. You can look out for these metaphors when doing the reading or looking at websites etc.

One metaphor underlying education in general is a combination of the container metaphor and conduit metaphor. The teacher is seen a container -- full of information -- and there is pipe to the student (an empty container). Information flows from the teacher to the student. In this case it is easy to see how the teacher's role might be replaced by a computer. I don't think that the conduit metaphor captures the essence of teaching and learning, but there are some ways in which the metaphor holds and you can come across ideas (or programs) that are based on this viewpoint.

The following come from Carla Meskill in an article  – Metaphors that shape research

Conduit vs Berry Bush metaphor for CALL

Originally due to Stevens 1984.

The conduit metaphor is very strong in education and it refers to a delivery metaphor. As noted above, the teacher is full of knowlegde. The student is empty and knowledge flows from the teacher to the student.

We can substitute a computer for the teacher.

Berry bush

The berries are on a bush for learners to take. Again the information is in "packets" but the delivery is different. The learners are in control and pick the berries as they wish

A similar distinction is magister / pedagogue, which was used by John Higgins in 1988.

Most computer programs are in the magister mode, i.e. teacher mode.

Modern learning with Google/dictionaries/etc. closer to the pedagogue mode than in earlier times. (Pedagogue -- a Greek slave who walked behind the young master and who answered the master's questions when summoned.)

You expect to access the info you want - - how you want it and when you want it.

Worlds metaphor

Papert 1980 coined the term for microworld – a simulated learning environment – a small world

World of Warcraft etc. is another kind of online world (without language learning.

In these "worlds" learners are put in a situation, a world, where they can operate and have to do things.

Tools metaphor

Computer as tool is a straightforward metaphor. The computer extends our capabilities and allows us to do various things.

Community and meeting place metaphors

There are various implementations of this metaphor: Facebook, emails,  chats, blogs, discussion boards.

In this video, I go back to the earlier command-line manner of interacting with the computer. Since the main content of the screen was limited to the characters on a keyboard (and some primitive graphics), the scope for creating worlds was rather limited -- though people did find ways to create games etc.

video Links to an external site.