Cognitive Comprehension of "Beyond & Behind": An Experimental Study of Baghdad University

The present study analyzes two locative English prepositions behind and beyond from the cognitive semantic point of view. These prepositions pose a problem experienced by Iraqi undergraduates. The complexity of these two prepositions encourages the researcher to use the cognitive linguistics (CL) approach and its insights as developed by Evans and Tyler 2003 to test its validity and help the Iraqi students. The data analysis is quantitatively-based. Seventy second-year university students participate in this experimental study. The pre-test and post-test data are analyzed through SPSS statistical editor and the results show a progress of more than (0.05 <=). The results of the questionnaire show a noticeable positive change in the students' attitude toward CL approach and display the main source of difficulty that is related to perplexity in the usage of these prepositions. The effectiveness of CL approach in getting accurate comprehension of the English prepositions behind and beyond is proved by the results of this experiment.