[英语学习]proverbs as a part of EFL teaching.pdf

“When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do” Proverbs as a Part of EFL Teaching Maria Hanzén Examensarbete i engelska (15 hp) Handledare: Mattias Jakobsson Engelska 61-90 hp SP-ENG hösten 2007 Examinator: Mari-Ann Berg HÖGSKOLAN FÖR LÄRANDE OCH Examensarbete 15 hp KOMMUNIKATION (HLK) inom Engelska 61-90hp Högskolan i Jönköping Höstterminen 2007 ABSTRACT Maria Hanzén ”When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do” – Proverbs as a Part of EFL Teaching Number of pages: 27 This essay was underpinned by the premise that the proverb plays an important role in language teaching as a part of gaining cultural knowledge, metaphorical understanding and communicative competence. The purpose with this essay was to examine whether proverbs are a part of the EFL (English as Foreign Language) teaching in the county of Jönköping, Sweden. The investigation focused on the occurrence of proverbs in eleven textbooks for the English A- and B-courses, and on the attitudes toward using prov- erbs in the teaching among nineteen teachers at seven upper secondary schools. Descriptive methods were used, which combined quantitative and qualitative approaches, i.e. content analysis and close read- ing of the textbooks and a questionnaire answered by the teachers. The result showed that proverbs are a small part of the EFL teaching regarding both the textbooks and the use in the classroom by the teachers. Proverbs are mainly used as bases for discussions in the text- books, and by the teachers as expressions to explain, to discuss the meaning and to compare to the Swedish equivalents. There is a positive attitude towar