Metaphors and grammar teaching

Despite the need for transparency and efficiency in explaining grammatical features to learners of a foreign language only very few systematic attempts have been undertaken to demonstrate the pedagogical added value of concept-based approaches to grammar instruction. The purpose of the paper is (1) to discuss the theoretical underpinnings of such an approach, to (2) present relevant theories of multimedia learning and (3) to summarize some empirical evidence on the efficiency of such an approach to language teaching and learning. The concept-based animated grammar, developed for German, uses a broad range of cognitive linguistic principles for foreign language learning in such areas as, for example, modal verbs or the passive voice.