"A Language Teacher is Like...": Examining Malaysian Students' Perceptions of Language Teachers through Metaphor Analysis.

Abstract

This article examines metaphors about language teachers created by a group of 23 Malaysian university students. The aims of the study are (1) to determine whether metaphors produced by language learners in the Asian educational context can fit into the four philosophical perspectives on education outlined by Oxford et al. (1998), and (2) to explore whether students’ gender influences their metaphor production. This study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The results of the content analysis of 27 metaphors produced by the participants show that Oxford et al.’s (1998) typology of metaphors is applicable in the Malaysian educational context. In addition, the qualitative analysis reveals that the imagery used in the metaphors is, to some extent, gender-related. However, the results of statistical analysis indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the perceptions of the teacher’s role between the students of different genders. Pedagogical implications of the research findings are discussed.