Metaphor and Simile in English Context: Do They Know the Differences?

The present research tries to explore and find out the students understanding on selected metaphor and simile in English context at the sixth semester of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning. This descriptive quantitative research involves 38 students as it samples selected from two classes in total. This research was conducted on May, 2019. The instruments used to collect the data were test which consisted of 40 items. The result from the test revealed the understanding on these two topics are fair, metaphor (62,63) and simile (60,92). This data seems showing a clear picture that the students need to improve their knowledge on the differences between metaphor and simile.


Introduction
Figurative language is a language that uses figurative words in the form of a single word or phrase that has the meaning of special repetition, arrangement or deletion of words with literal meanings. According to Abrams (1981: 63), "Figurative language is a deviation from what is understood by speakers of language as ordinary, or standard, significance or sequence of words, to achieve some special meaning". Many people speaks using emphasis, expression or clarity. Figures of speech portray mental images in words. Alphabet not only describes figures figuratively, but numbers also speak or describe figuratively. It stimulates our imagination and fosters our visual and audio sides. In general, figurative language can be divided into 4 groups, namely: confirmation, comparison, opposition, and figures of speech.
Metaphors are one of the figures that are often used in the context of English. The main key in a metaphor is to use word choices that equate something with something else. In equating or comparing something, the metaphor uses direct comparison without being followed by comparative words like, similar, like ... like, etc.
Metaphor itself is widely used by the wider community, especially students, perhaps because the use of language is easier to understand. Usually, metaphors are used for imaginative ways of describing something by referring to something else that has qualities to express, such as seducing someone we often hear or say statements like "Oh, my love is red, rose red." In this statement, we do not interpret in the true sense but based on equality or comparison, red can be interpreted as the same love with roses. Film can also attract someone's interest to follow interesting things such as advertisements that we can find on banners or electronic media. The complement of language style also can be finding in song lyrics, poetry, etc.
Simile is a figurative language or it can also be called a parable that compares 2 different things using conjunctions (such as or as). Simile has two theories that needed, first, simile requires a general comparison theory and the two similes require differences. It was explained that there are three types of comparative assessment, namely: comparison of open, closed, simple, and closed variables. The difference between a simile comparison and an ordinary comparison is if the simile uses predictive comparisons (predictions are described as subjects) while the usual comparison uses symmetrical comparisons (subject and prediction as independent units).
Based on the introduction, the problems of the research were stated as follows: a) How is the students' understanding on metaphor in English context? b) How is the students' understanding on simile in English context?

Method
This study conducted a descriptive quantitative study to reveals and seeks for the answers. Descriptive design collect information about variables without changing the environment or manipulating any variables, so they do not look at possible cause and effect. According to Grove, Burns and Gray (2013, p, 215), descriptive designs "May be used to develop theory, identify problems with current practice, justify current practice, make judgments or determine what others in similar situations are doing". Besides that, Arikunto (2013) explained that "That descriptive research has no hypothesis but only described some variable and condition naturally". So, this research had a purpose to describe students' understanding on metaphor and simile in English context at the sixth semester students of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning, especially to the lecturers' semantics class. Moreover, according to Creswell (2003, p. 18), states, quantitative research "Employ strategies of inquiry such as experimental and surveys, and collect data on predetermined instruments that yield statistical data".
Population of this study were the sixth semester of Department of English Education at Faculty of Education and Teachers' Training in Universitas Lancang Kuning. These students were selected due to they already taken a semantic class in the last semester. The class of them were just regular by the total students were 38. According to Creswell (2005:146), "A sample is a subgroup of the target population that researcher plans to study for generalizing about the target population".
If the population is less than 100 people, the sample can be taken all of the population. The technique took the sample is chosen by total, it means, every number of population will be selected. The online test used as the main instrument in this research. The test consisted of 40 items. Google form used to help in gaining the main data to reveals the linguistic phenomenon regarding metaphor and simile.
The form of the test was multiple choice. The researcher use based on syllabus of semantics that consists of five choices; excellent, good, fair, poor and failed. The students able to select one of the answers in multiple choice. Each choice had score to calculate the data from the test. One question value 2,5. The online test can be seen in this following link http://bit.ly/testmetaphorandsimile. This study will calculated and analyzed the data of the test by using descriptive statistics as in the formulation below: To strengthen of score above, the researcher would be refer to the Course Grade of Students at Semantics of department Universitas Lancang Kuning to know the level of students' understanding on metaphor and simile in English context. The range of score was represented by the table 2.1 below: After finished the test, the researcher tabulated the score of the students' answers to check the validity and reliability by using SPSS version 22 program. Based on the result, the researcher saw that from 50 questions only 48 questions that have been valid. The reliable of the test was 752. It is because the test was valid and reliable.
The researcher did test to sixth semester student of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning on 27th May, 2019 until 18th June, 2019 to answer the first question in this research, "How is the students' understanding on metaphor in English context?". The researcher gave 40 questions to 38 sixth semester students of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning. The researcher only gave 40 questions to the students to get the maximum score. The number of metaphor questions was 20 questions. The researcher shared the form of a test in link to the group class of students in semester 6A and 6B, then the researcher gave instructions to them to choose one of the choices they thought was right. The test consists of 2 indicators: sentences about metaphor and sentences about simile.
After shared the test, the researcher tabulated and calculated the score of the test. The researcher would like to present the data and descriptive statistics from the data. The researcher used mean and range to calculated the total of students in each scale of the question. The description of the scores that had already been analysed can be seen in the following table. Range (J) = Xmax -Xmin = 100-10 = 90 Based on the table 3.1 above, it can be interpreted that the students' understanding on selected metaphor in English context at sixth semester of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning. The understanding of the sixth semester of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning can be categorized into fair. Based on table 4 above, the table showed that the total of raw score of students was 2380 with the mean was 62,63 and the range of the score was 90 with the higher score was 100 and the lowest score was 10.

Table 3.2 The Classification of Students' Understanding on Metaphor in English Context
Based on table 3.2, it showed that there were six students who got 100, two students got 95 and one student got 85. It made nine students categorized into excellent. Next, there were three students each got 75 and 70. These six students were on good category. Next, there were one student who got 55 and two students got 50. It made three student categorized into poor. Last, there were one student each got 45, 35 and 10, seven students who got 40 and two students got 30. So that, there were twelve students on failed category. From the diagram 1 above, it showed that 9 students were categorized into excellent. There were 6 students were categorized into good. 8 students were categorized into fair. 3 students were categorized into poor. 12 students were in failed category. By considering the students' average or mean score, the students' understand on selected metaphor in English context among sixth semester students of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning was in fair category.

Simile
The researcher did test to sixth semester student of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning on 27th May, 2019 until 18th June, 2019 to answer the second question in this research, "How is the students' understanding on simile in English context?" The researcher gave 40 questions to 38 sixth semester students of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning. The researcher only gave 40 questions to the students to get the maximum score. The number of simile questions was 20 questions. The researcher shared the form of a test in link to the group class of students in semester 6A and 6B, then the researcher gave instructions to them to choose one of the choices they thought was right. The test consists of 2 indicators: sentences about metaphor and sentences about simile.
After shared the test, the researcher tabulated and calculated the score of the test. The researcher would like to present the data and descriptive statistics from the data. The researcher used mean and range to calculated the total of students in each scale of the question. The description of the scores that had already been analysed can be seen in the following table:  Based on table 6 above, the table showed that the total of raw score of students was 2315 with the mean was 60,92 and the range of the score was 80 with the higher score was 95 and the lowest score was 15. Based on the table 5 above, it showed that there were five students who got 95, four students got 90 and two students each got 85 and 80. It made thirteen students categorized into excellent. Next, there were one student who got 70. So, these one student were on good category. Beside that, two students who got 65 and five students got 60. It made seven students categorized into fair. Next, there were one student got 55 and two students who got 50. So, these three students were on poor category. Last, there were four students each got 45 and 35, two students each got 40 and 25 and one student each got 30 and 15. So that, there were twelve students on failed category.

Figure 3.2 Frequency of The Students'
Understanding on Simile From the diagram 2 above, it showed that 13 of the students were categorized into excellent. Another 1 students were categorized into good. 7 of the students were categorized into fair. 3 of the students were categorized into poor and 12 of the students were categorized into failed. By considering the students' average or mean score, the students' understand on selected simile in English context at the sixth semester students of English Education Department in Universitas Lancang Kuning was in fair category.

Findings
Based on the type of cross-sectional survey research designs, the findings of this research has importance to give information or an input such as evaluation for the lectures in teaching semantics especially metaphor and simile. By knowing these errors, the lecturer can use the effective and efficient ways to work on eliminating the students' understanding on metaphor and simile. The findings of this research are hoped to increase the students' achievement in learning semantics especially in using metaphor and simile. The findings of this research can be seen that the mean score of the students' understanding on metaphor was 62,63 and simile was 60,92. In other words, the students' understanding on metaphor and simile was categorized into fair. In short, this research purposes to give the additional evaluation for the semantics' lecturer in teaching metaphor and simile at Universitas Lancang Kuning.
After all discussion above, what make this research different with all related finding is in accordance with the data analysis done during this research, the researcher found that the students' understanding on metaphor and simile in English context was categorized into fair, willingness revealed together here was that students fulfilled taking test data. Need to add samples to get accurate data one thing that can be exposed together here is students willingness in fulfilling their taking test data.

Conclusion
This study analysis seen that the the students' understanding on metaphor and simile was categorized into fair. The data reveals the mean score of the students' understanding on metaphor was 62,63 and simile was 60,92. With this findings the study concluded that that the students' understanding on metaphor and simile in English context need to be improved.

Acknowledgement
The writers give their gratitude to anonymous reviewers and colleague who assisted immensely in the production of this research article, especially for their feedback and critic.