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Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the difficulties that arise for American learners of Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) when encountering Arabic metaphorical expressions and providing pedagogical implications for teaching Arabic conceptual metaphors for non-native speakers. The sample of the study consisted of 24 AFL American learners study AFL courses in the middle and advanced levels as part of the requirements to earn their bachelor degree in the Middle Eastern Studies at Houston University in USA. A questionnaire, a writing test and interviews were used as the instruments of the study. The findings of the study demonstrated that the problems encountered by AFL American learners lie on their incapability to judge whether a statement is meant to be a metaphor or a literal one, their unfamiliarity with the Arabic culture and some special characteristics of Arabic. It was recommended that AFL learners need to be taught cultural aspects of Arabic.