Abstract
By examining the metaphoric competence of English learners at low and high levels，this paper explores the de- velopmental connections among L1 conceptual transfer competence，metaphoric competence and English proficiency． The findings are: metaphoric competence strengthens with the increase of English level significantly even though both groups metaphoric com- petence develops slowly; in the high- level group，the influence of learners L1 conceptual transfer on English metaphoric compe- tence weakens and the influence of their metaphoric competence on English proficiency changes in the same way． These results show that in FL learning environment，the three sections， namely teaching，learning and evaluation，all pay much more attention to language s forms and skills than to its conceptual system，which leads to the result that the advancement of learners meta- phorical competence lags behind the development of their English proficiency．
Key words
L1 conceptual transfer competence /
metaphoric competence /
English proficiency
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SHI Jin-Fang.
Developmental connections among L1 conceptual transfer competence，metaphoric competence and English proficiency[J]. Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice. 2012, 1(3): 57
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