A Semantic Approach to Language Teaching

Syntagmatic Competencies VS.

Paradigmatic Competencies

LIC. RODOLFO ChavianoUniversidad Americana (UAM) 2004

Understanding Syntagmatic Competence

Language Skills

• Listening

• Speaking

• Reading

• Writing

     Language _______________

  Simple Present ______________1___  Passive Voice __________________2___

  Future Perfect _________________________3____

Reported Speech ____________________________4_____

Gerunds & Infinitives _______________________________5_____

Conditional Sentences ___________________________________6______

Regular and Irregular Verbs ________________________________________7______

Phrasal verbs

______________________ _________________________8_______

The Present Perfect Progressive   ________________________________________________________9_______

Understanding & Memorizing Grammar Rules ___________________________________ 10_____

Paradigmatic Competence Grammar Categories

syn•tag•ma \sin-"tag-m€\ noun pl syn•tag•mas or syn•tag•ma•ta m€-t€\ [Gk, fr. syntassein] (1937) : a syntactic element syn•tag•mat•ic \'sin-'tag-"ma-tik\ adjective 

par•a•digm \"par-€-'dïm also -'dim\ noun [LL paradigma, fr. Gk paradeigma, fr. paradeiknynai to show side by side, fr. para- + deiknynai to show — more at diction] (15c) 1: example, pattern; esp : an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype

©1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved .

Conveying meaning is syntagmatic.

Grammatical competence is paradigmatic.

meaning

SPEECH COMPETENCE

LEXICAL COMPETENCE

WRITING COMPETENCE

AUDITORY COMPETENCE

LISTENING COMPETENCE

SYNTAGMATIC COMPETENCE

GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE COMPETENCE

MULTIPLE

COMPETENCESMULTIPLE

COMPETENCES

The Tip of the Iceberg – Words?  The most visible part of language.

  

  Meaning

Sounds Words

Utterances Multi-word units

Lexical Units Syntactic Units

Syntagmatic Units Paragraph Building

Essay / Writing Intercultural Awareness

The Social Meaning of Language   Semantic Categories

     Meaning _______________

  Greetings ______________1___  Facts of Life ___________________2___ 

Past Events _________________________3____ Future Events ____________________________4_____ Asking Questions _______________________________5_____

Reference Items ___________________________________6______

Making Comparisons ________________________________________7______

Understanding Mass & Unit _____________________________________________8_______

Understanding Verb Collocation   ________________________________________________________9_______

Connecting Ideas ____________________________________ 10_____ Understanding Syntagmatic Competence

Syntagmatic Competence Semantic Categories

Greetings

Good morning! 8:00 am OK

Good night! 8:00 pm

Wrong (if used at the time of arrival)

Ss 1: How do you do?

Ss 2: I study architecture. Wrong

Ss 1: How are you doing?

Ss 2: Nothing. wrong

Making Questions

Ss 1: How many minutes is from the house to the airport?How long?

Ss 2: About 25 minutes.

Ss 1: How is your room like?What?

Ss 2: I don’t like my bedroom

It’s very dark.  

Utterances*

• Students should get familiar with and use utterances such as• Good morning, See you! , Excuse me, I guess so, So do I, Gee, My Lord! Of course!, What´s more!, Hush!, What for?, On top of that, etc.

*ut•ter•ance (ut'uhr uhns) n. 1. an act of uttering; vocal expression. 2. something uttered, esp. a word or words. 3. manner or power of speaking. 4. Ling. any speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence or a change in speaker.

©1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Social Meaning of Language

• This semantic category, the most difficult to understand and master, lies at the bottom of the iceberg structure. Unfortunately, it is slowly learned, and often after dealing with language units for a long time. It´s quite hard, even for those living in the target language milieu. 

• There are lexical units such as hot-desking, that would never be understood by the foreign learner. Because of their syntactical relations or their incomprehensible surface meaning.

• The use of interjections, inflexions of the voice, idioms, mottos, proverbs, sayings, phrasal verbs, cliché, slogans, fixed phrases, and word collocations such as a thick moustache, a distant relative, dropped the flower vase, spoil the food, etc. are among the most important.

Intercultural Awareness Skills

These are attitudes and skills that are needed to build competence. Among them are:

- observing, identifying and recognizing- comparing and contrasting- negotiating meaning- dealing with or tolerating ambiguity- effectively interpreting messages- limiting the possibility of misinterpretation- defending one's own point of view while acknowledging

the legitimacy of others - accepting difference

Understanding Verb Collocation I don’t like to borrow money to people, they

take a long time to return it to you.(lend)

I learned to drive the bike when I was 6. ( learn how to drive)

What is good to win weight? (gain)

The car alarm shoot in the middle of the

night, so everyone thought it was a thief, fortunately, it was a cat. (went off)

Connecting Ideas

In spite of, I think, that the situation is not political. It’s legal. We need a lawyer. (use appropriate conjunction)

Also, I have observed his strange behavior, but I think he should be taken to court. (use appropriate conjunction)

Because she is under 16, she won’t be able to see the film. (use appropriate conjunction) I will come back until September the 20th. The contract ends on

Sept 19th. (use appropriate verb form) How I am young and strong, my mother don’t have to work. (use appropriate connector)

Reference Items I never speak to people on the street, and when I

speak to him it’s because it is very necessary.

Bananas are delicious, I like it in the morning.

There are two kinds of doctors, first who listens to you, and explains everything. The second, is the doctor who gives you orders, asks questions, prescribes medicine, and never check your blood pressure.

President Lincoln was the 16th American

president, and Jefferson was the third. The number one was a famous speech maker, the last one was an excellent writer.

Making Comparisons

I am oldest than my sister.

My mother is not fat, and my sister is not fat too.

Phillip is the better in the group.

This is the more important assignment in the Marketing class.

Nelly is not as tall than Susan.

Future Events I am going to finish my career by the year

2007. We will can go on Sunday.

She maybe weight 130 or 140 pounds, I am not sure, I didn’t see her well.

I will pay you when I will come back from Miami

 

Understanding Mass & Unit

We don’t usually have many informations about African countries.

There are many mouse in the neighborhood.

I bought 3 breads, some ham, and a bottle of coke.

There are 5 millions inhabitants living in Salvador.

There were many , cars, handicrafts, and furnitures at the local fair.

Past Events and Memories

I .(have never drunk)never drink Vodka in my life We ( … ) lived in Costa Rica for 3 years before we moved to Nicaragua.

When ( … ) I was writing my essay, a visitor come ( … ) with the bad news.

I was used ( … )to smoke 10 cigarettes a day.

He not forgot ( … ) to pay the bill, he forgot the bill in the house.

I must to ( … ) work overtime last night .

Syntagmatic Competence

Core of Language CompetencIes

PhonicsWordsUtterancesLexical UnitsSyntactic UnitsSyntagmatic UnitsParagraph BuildingEssay WritingAcquisition of Intercultural SkillsUnderstanding the SocialMeaning of Language

= Syntagmatic Competencies

Some Ideas to Implement Semantic Approach

Some Ideas to Implement Semantic Approach

• Meaning is on top of any communicative act.

• English students should get familiar with and

use utterances.

• Students should understand and use multi-

word units from the very start.

• Students should understand and derive words

by analogy, and by developing association

strategies.

• The formation of simple syntactic units is

fundamental in the understanding & building

up English.

• Extended syntagmatic units are those needed

to expand ideas within the same sentence.

• Writing practice from the very beginning.

• The Social Meaning of Language is quite hard,

even for those living in the target language

milieu. 

• English is a phonemic language.• Students should be given theoretical information on writing styles.• Intercultural Awareness Skills are needed to build up competence• Conveying meaning is syntagmatic.• Grammatical competence is paradigmatic.•  Paradigmatic Competence relies on

Grammar Categories.• Syntagmatic Competence relies on Semantic Categories.• Understanding Syntagmatic Competence

means doing an re-doing the language meaning.• Syntagmatic competence is at the core of language competence.

 

Semantic Approach to LanguageTeaching

Thank you verymuch!

LI C. RODOLFO ChAVIANOUniversidad Americana (UAM)

J uly 2004