Turkish EFL students’ Metaphorical Perceptions about their Instructors: The Case of Atatürk University Kâzım Karabekir Education Faculty ELT Department

This study aimed to determine the metaphorical perceptions of Atatürk University, Kâzım Karabekir Education Faculty EFL students about their instructors. The participants in this study were 93 ELT department students studying at Atatürk University Kâzım Karabekir Education Faculty, Türkiye, during the 2022-2023 education year. For data collection, the participants were requested to complete the prompts of “An instructor is like . . . because . . .” to express their conceptualizations of the concept of teacher. For the data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. Qualitative data were evaluated using content analysis techniques. Qualitative data were analyzed through frequencies and percentages. According to the results, 90 valid metaphors were created by the students and there were 41 different metaphors. The most preferred five metaphors about their instructors were guide/tour guide (n=15, 16.6 %), light (n=7, 7.77 %), tree (n=6, 6.66 %), map and compass (n=5, 5.55 %), and book (n=4, 4.44 %), respectively. The metaphors were grouped under 6 conceptual categories such as instructor as a knowledge provider, instructor as a healer, instructor as the supporter of individual development, instructor as a guide and leader, and instructor as something/somebody valuable.