Investigating metaphor comprehension strategies of young Second Language students of Greek

Abstract This study investigates the metaphor comprehension strategies used by elementary school students with Greek as an L2 when they encounter a Greek metaphorical expression. Using open metaphor comprehension tasks, as well as stimulated recall interviews, the present study aims to describe students’ cognitive processes in relation to the bodily, conceptual and sociο-experiential motivation that triggers their emergence ( Kimmel, 2006 ; Zlatev, 2006 ). The results demonstrate that a variety of strategies are used by the participants with metaphorical extension of the literal meanings dominating on the others. In the same conditions, mental imagery, as well as universality of metaphors interact in a variety of respects and define not only the strategy that is used, but also the extent to which the linguistic metaphors are comprehended in a non-directive context.