Ramin Ahrari - PhD Candidate of Applied Linguistics Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch

The current study aimed to investigate the effects of Content-Based Instruction and Collaborative learning instruction on metaphorical competence. The initial participants of the present study were ۷۵ upper-intermediate EFL learners who were given an OPT the results of which were used to select ۶۰ learners. The ۶۰ learners were chosen and divided into three groups each consisting of ۲۰ students and given a pretest of metaphorical competence. Next, the first experimental group was exposed to Collaborative learning teaching of metaphors. The second group was taught the target metaphorical expressions through Content-Based instruction. The control group was exposed to the conventional method of teaching. The findings of the statistical test of one-way ANOVA indicated that both Content-Based instruction and Collaborative learning instruction significantly affected the metaphorical competence of EFL learners. However, no significant difference was found between the Content-based and Collaborative learning instruction in improving L۲ learners’ metaphorical competence. Based on the findings of the present study, it is suggested that metaphorical language be taught via Content-Based instruction and/or Collaborative learning as both of these methods were found effective for teaching metaphorical language

Metaphorical language, Competence, Collaborative learning, Content-Based instruction