Figurative language expressing emotion and motivation in a web based learning environment

The present study aims to investigate how figurative language was used by the participants of an online learning environment in order to express their emotion, feelings and motivation in their new learning experience. According to our results, figurative language mainly served as an original and specific linguistic feature through which people project themselves (their identity, emotions and feelings) in the online context. The research was conducted on a ten-week course, delivered at a distance via a computer conferencing system, addressed to 57 student teachers.