This presentation focuses on three mai component that are relevant to implement and achieve language competencies. i.e. , the acquisition of word meaning, teh foramtion of concepts, and the undrstanding of the socio- cultural meaning of language.

1. SemanticSemantic ApproachApproach
IMPLEMENTING
LANGUAGE
COMPETENCIES
LIC. RODOLFO Chaviano
Universidad Americana (UAM)
SEPTEMBER 2006

2. Word-Meaning & Concept Formation
•
“
” ...a problem must arise that cannot be solved otherwise than
through the formation of new concepts”
(Vygotsky, 1962:55)
Once the child realizes that everything has a name, each new object presents
the child with a problem situation, and he solves the problem by naming
the object. When he lacks the word for the new object, he demands it from adults.
The early word-meanings thus acquired will be the embryos of concept formation.
By explaining human language development and cognitive development,
Vygotsky's theory serves as a strong foundation for the modern trends in applied
linguistics. It lends support to less structured and more natural, communicative
and experiential approaches and points to the importance of early real-world
human interaction in foreign language learning.
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3. BASIC SKILLS FOR COMMUNICATION
PERCEPTION MEANING
NAME
DEFINITION
DESCRIPTIONL
EXPLANATION
ITEM WORD
CATEGORY
PERCEPTION
LANGUAGE
a tree
a plant
with leaves
...fruits
...etc.
An apple tree
that grows in
... RCh.

4. Competencies
OUR LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES
RELY MAINLY ON:
the acquisition of word-meaning.
the formation of concepts.
the understanding of the socio-cultural
meaning of language.
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5. meaning
SPEECH COMPETENCE
LEXICAL COMPETENCE
WRITING COMPETENCE
AUDITORY COMPETENCE
LISTENING COMPETENCE
SYNTAGMATIC COMPETENCESYNTAGMATIC COMPETENCE
GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE COMPETENCE
Etc.
BEING
COMPETENT
HAVING
multiple
Competencies
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6. 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 syntagmaticsyntagmatic..
Grammatical competence is paradigmaticparadigmatic..
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7. The Tip of the Iceberg – ??
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
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8. Using Utterances*
• Students should get familiar with and use
utterancesutterances 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 preceded and
followed by silence or a change in speaker.
©1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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9. Multi-word Units *
• Students should understand and use
multi-word unitsmulti-word units from the very start.
• A computer screen, a flower vase, a
pepperoni pizza, a waste paper
basket, a helping hand, a ceiling fan,
the state-of-the-art technology, etc.
* term coined by Lewis, Michael. The Lexical Approach, 1994.
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10. The Social Meaning of Language
• This semantic category ,semantic category , the most difficult to be understood and
mastered, 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 unitslexical units such as hot-desking, that would seldom
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 collocationsword collocations such as, a thick moustache, a distant
relative, dropped the flower vase, spoil the food, etc. are among
the most common.
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11. Understanding SyntagmaticSyntagmatic Competence
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12. Performance ⇔ Competence
fluency
accuracy
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MEANING
WORD
LANGUAGE
PERFORMANCE
LANGUAGE
PERCEPTION
LANGUAGE
COMPETENCE
memory

13. WORD-MEANING & FORMATION OF CONCEPTS
It is a tree. It is a plant. It has leaves and a solid trunk.
It’s tall and green. It provides shade and oxygen.
It grows in the forest or everywhere around us.
It’s a mango tree. It’s grown in tropical areas.
It’s well known. It bears delicious fruit. It is usually
canned during the harvest season so as to have enough
fruit available throughout the year. RCh.
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14. TEST YOUR LANGUAGE PERCEPTION
.
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15. Which animal in the group chirps?
Which animal croaks and jumps?
Which animal trills and flies?
Which animal crows?
Which two animals neigh and moo respectively?
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TEST YOUR LEXICAL COMPETENCE
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16. Which animal(s) in the group has fins?
Which animal(s) in this group has a mane?
Which animal(s) has a beak ?
Which animal(s) has horns?
Which two animals have feathers?
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TEST YOUR DESCRIPTIVE COMPETENCE
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17. Hibernates all winter and has a thick coated skin
Takes part in races and is used to pull carriages
Undergoes metamorphosis and lays eggs.
Hatches for 21 days before cracking the shell.
It’s a beast of burden and is related to poor intelligence
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TEST YOUR EXPOSITORY COMPETENCE
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18. TEST YOUR MEMORY
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19. TEST YOUR MEMORY
• What colors did you see?
• How many squares did you count?
• Which was the first color you saw?
• Which color appears more times?
• Which was the last color you saw?
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20. TEST YOUR PERCEPTION
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21. Which row has less squares?
Which row contains more squares?
Where are the two yellow squares?
Is there a third yellow square?
Are the two yellow squares exactly the same?
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TEST YOUR PERCEPTION
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22. TEST YOUR SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCE
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23. CONCLUSIONS
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24. Some Ideas to Implement Language CompetenciesSome Ideas to Implement Language Competencies
• 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.
•Do 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
• 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.
• Conveying meaning is syntagmatic.
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25. SEMIOTICS:
SEMIOTICS
The study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior;
the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing.
⇒ DIVIDES INTO THREE BRANCHES:
PRAGMATICS:
Linguistics concerned with the relationship of sentences to the environment
in which they occur. Relation between linguistic expressions (signs) and their
uses.
SEMANTICS:
A branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they
refer to, and including theories of denotations, extension, naming, and truth.
The meaning or relationship of meanings of a sign or a set of signs; especially
connotative meaning.
SYNTACTICS:
It’s a branch of semiotics that deals with the formal relation between signs
or expressions in abstraction from their signification and their interpreters.
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26. Intercultural Awareness Skills
These are attitudes and skillsattitudes 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
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27. MethodologyMethodology
●GTM Grammar Translation Method = Learning Rules & Structures
(Grammatical Rules)
Grammatical Competence was a priority
Memorizing words and rules
●ALM Audio Lingual Method = Learning by Repetitive Drills
( Behaviorism )
Repeating patterns would lead into language performance
●CLT Communicative Language Teaching = Learning the functions of language.
( Communicative Acts)
Focus on fluency rather than accuracy.
Claims Integrative Skills Practice
● LA Lexical Approach = Advocates Lexical Competence
(Lexical Units)
The priority should be on lexis (corpus linguistics) rather than on grammar
● SA Semantic Approach = Understanding Semantic Categories
( Learning Chunks of Language)
Conveying meaning is a priority regardless of accuracy or fluency
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28. Semantic Approach
Thank you very
much!
LIC. RODOLFO ChAVIANO
Universidad Americana (UAM)
Sept 2006