Validating an AI-Developed Metaphor Awareness Test (MAT) to Exploring Figurative Language Competence of Kurdish EFL Students.

Figurative language competence is a cornerstone of higher-level language proficiency, with metaphor and metonymy operating as master tropes. The pervasion of figurative language in natural discourse makes it crucial to the learners to communicate effectively, and those who lack such ability essentia...

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Publicado en:Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 557 - 579
Autores principales: Mzury, Diyar Lateef Omar, Jukil, Ali Mahmood
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) Aug2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Validating an AI-Developed Metaphor Awareness Test (MAT) to Exploring Figurative Language Competence of Kurdish EFL Students.
      aug:
        au:
          Mzury, Diyar Lateef Omar
          Jukil, Ali Mahmood
        affil: Department of English Language, College of Basic Education, Salahaddin UniversityErbil, Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
      su:
        Figures of speech
        Test reliability
        Language ability testing
        Metonyms
        Artificial intelligence in education
      sug:
        subj:
          Figures of speech
          Test reliability
          Language ability testing
          Metonyms
          Artificial intelligence in education
      keyword:
        figurative language
        metaphor
        metaphor awareness
        Metaphor Awareness Tool (MAT)
        metonymy
        األستعارة
        اختبار الوعي باألستعارة
        الكناية
        المغة المجازية
      ab: Figurative language competence is a cornerstone of higher-level language proficiency, with metaphor and metonymy operating as master tropes. The pervasion of figurative language in natural discourse makes it crucial to the learners to communicate effectively, and those who lack such ability essentially become cut off from enormous amount of input. Tools to measure metaphor awareness must undergo proper statistical and methodological validation. This study adapts and develops a Metaphor Awareness Test (MAT) using generative AI, specifically ChatGPT. After a pilot conducted with 15 students checking validity and reliability, the refined MAT was administered to 92 undergraduate students at preintermediate to intermediate proficiency. The administration of the test involved sufficient directions and definitions prior to the test to measure the intended construct (awareness). The instrument serves as the baseline for a subsequent experimental study involving pre- and post-tests for metaphor and metonymy in reading and writing skills, alongside AIgenerated textual and multimodal instructional materials. Participants demonstrated a consistent difference in recognizing metaphor and metonymy. They also showed challenges identifying elements of figurative language, with markedly stronger performance on metaphor than on metonymy. The tool achieves psychometric reliability through continuous improvement and adjustments, and the results are relevant for teaching figurative language to Kurdish EFL.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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