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A quasi-experimental evaluation of CMT

Embodied-based idiom instruction in a multilingual Moroccan context

ORCiD logo with link | Cadi Ayyad UniversityMarrakech
Published online: 25 August 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.26003.ely
Abstract
This quasi-experimental study investigates the effectiveness of a Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and embodiment-based instructional approach on idiom comprehension among Moroccan EFL learners. Eighty Baccalaureate science-track students were assigned to either an experimental group (EG) receiving CMT-informed instruction with embodied activities and explicit cross-linguistic comparisons, or a control group (CG) receiving traditional rote-memorization instruction. Over two instructional sessions, the EG learned body-part idioms through conceptual metaphor explanation, physical role-playing, image schema drawing, and sensory elicitation activities, while actively comparing English idioms with equivalents in Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic (Darija). The CG received dictionary definitions and fill-in-the-blank exercises without conceptual or embodied support. Pretest and posttest measures revealed that the EG demonstrated substantial improvement in idiom comprehension compared to the CG. Findings suggest that explicit conceptual mapping instruction, combined with embodied activities and cross-linguistic activation of learners’ existing multilingual resources, significantly enhances figurative language comprehension.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Theoretical framework
    • 2.2Idiomaticity from arbitrariness to conceptualization
    • 2.3Metaphoricity and analyzability in idiom acquisition
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Research approach and design
    • 3.2Participants and setting
    • 3.3Materials
    • 3.4Procedure
    • 3.5Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Quantitative findings
    • 4.2Summary of quantitative patterns
    • 4.3Discussion
    • 4.4Research and practical implications
  • 5.Conclusion
  • 6.Limitations
  • References
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