18/09/2025
Read the fresh paper here: https://bit.ly/42yORMH
This meta-analysis synthesizes 40 studies (N = 15,786) to examine how cognitive, linguistic, and personal factors influence second language (L2) learners' metaphorical competence—the ability to understand and produce metaphors in a non-native language. Results show linguistic factors, particularly vocabulary breadth/depth and reading proficiency, are the strongest predictors (r = 0.421). Cognitive factors, such as verbal intelligence, have a moderate effect (r = 0.232), while personal variables like gender show only a small impact (r = 0.216). Moderator analyses reveal that L1 metaphorical knowledge is especially influential, and that receptive metaphor skills are more closely linked to reading ability, whereas productive skills depend more on overall language proficiency. The findings suggest that metaphorical competence is primarily a linguistic achievement, supported by cognitive abilities and minimally influenced by personal traits. These insights support evidence-based strategies for L2 instruction, emphasizing the importance of lexico-semantic development and literacy in metaphor learning.
