Translation, metaphorical competence and conceptual fluency

Metaphorical Competence and Conceptual Fluency have been under discussion in Second Language Acquisition Research for more than a decade and there have been a number of suggestions of how to achieve and improve these areas. Some researchers maintain that the learner language will remain deficient if the levels of Metaphorical Competence and Conceptual Fluency is not developed appropriately. However, there seems to be very little room within the framework of 'normal' language classes to give students the opportunity to develop these skills. This paper attempts to make a case for employing translation exercises as a regular classroom activity in order to provide learners with the appropriate problem solving strategies to attain the above mentioned objective.