Metaphor Comprehension and Performance on Metaphor-Related Language Tasks

Abstract

The performance of third- and fifth-grade good and poor readers was compared in order to determine if (a) they differed in their ability to comprehend literal and metaphoric language, (b) they differed in their ability to perform metaphor-related language tasks, and (c) their ability to comprehend metaphoric language was related to their performance on the metaphor-related language tasks. Results of separate 2 x 2 (group by grade) ANOVAs indicated that while there was no difference in performance between the two groups on the literal comprehension task, there were significant differences in their performance on both the metaphor comprehension task and on the metaphor-related language tasks. The findings also indicated differences in the pattern of correlations among the good and poor reading groups' metaphor scores and their scores on the metaphor-related language tasks. The results are discussed from a metacognitive perspective with implications for reading instruction.