The aim of this study is to find out the perceptions of secondary students about learning the English language through metaphor analysis. The research was carried out with 432 students studying in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades of 6 primary schools in Yozgat city centre. Qualitative method and survey model were used in the study; typical case sampling was used to form the study group. The data of the study were obtained with the data collection tool prepared by the researcher and finalized after expert opinion. In the data collection tool, students were asked to answer a semi-structured question reflecting their thoughts about learning English. The data obtained from the research were analyzed by content analysis method and descriptive analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. As a result of data analysis, metaphors were examined under five themes: challenging, progressive, beneficial, enjoyable, and intangible. The metaphors show that students generally have positive perceptions about learning English. These metaphors are substantial as they provide an in-depth understanding of students' perceptions and shed light on teachers and curriculum designers. [This paper was published in "Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Language."]