Semantics

Pragmatics
Non-verbal Communication
ED 684
Maria Dantas-Whitney

To recap
According to ODE, effective ELD instruction
actively develops competence in the functions,
forms and vocabulary, and provides many
opportunities to develop oral and written fluency.
Language functions represent language use in
context (pragmatics)
Language forms are the elements of grammar
(syntax, morphology) and pronunciation
(phonology)
Vocabulary instruction focuses on the meaning
and form of words (semantics, morphology)

Semantics:
The meanings of language
Semantics is the study of meanings of
individual words and of larger units such
as phrases and sentences
Words with stability in meaning (e.g., kick)
Words with multiple meanings (e.g., break),
ambiguous meanings (e.g., bank) and
debatable meanings (e.g., marriage)
Learning synonyms (e.g., sickness and disease)
Learning appropriate usage of words ( i.e.,
colloquial and formal uses)

Literal and non-literal meanings

Two important types of meaning: linguistic
meaning and speakers meaning
When we speak literally, there is no important
difference between the speakers meaning and
the linguistic meaning
When we speak non-literally, we mean
something different from what our words mean
Sarcasm or irony (e.g., That movie was a real winner)
Metaphorical uses of language (e.g., she has emerald
eyes)

Meaning Properties
Lexical ambiguity: a word has more than
one meaning (e.g., He found a bat; She
couldnt bear children)
Anomaly: an expression is anomalous
when the meanings of its individual words
are incompatible (e.g., colorless green
idea; dream diagonally)

Meaning Relations
Synonyms: words that have the same meaning (e.g., car
and automobile)
Homonyms: words that have identical pronunciation &
spelling but different meanings (e.g., bank; bat)
Homophones: words that have identical pronunciation
but different spelling and different meanings (e.g., air &
heir; bazaar & bizarre)
Homographs: words that share the same spelling but are
pronounced differently and have different meanings
(e.g., minute [unit of time] & minute [small])
Meaning inclusion: (e.g., the word sister includes the meaning of
female). When we put together words that are related by
meaning inclusion, we derive redundant expressions
(e.g., my female sister)
Antonyms (opposites) define the extremities of a scale
(e.g., coldcoollukewarmwarmhot)

Cognates and False Cognates

Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning,

spelling, and pronunciation.
30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For
Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English
language.

A word that looks or sounds similar to one in English but actually

has a totally different meaning is called a false cognate.

Using Spanish cognates to develop comprehension in English

http://www.colorincolorado.org/introduction/cognates.php
False Cognates (Spanish/English)
http://www.musicalspanish.com/tutorial/false-cognates.htm

Pragmatics
Pragmatics: The Influence of context
Language functions (e.g., greetings, requests,
complaints, apologies)
Language registers (e.g., formal vs. informal)
Rules for conversations and narratives (e.g.,
genres, turn-taking, body language)

Language Functions
Language has purpose - to communicate
needs, wants, ideas, information, and
feelings. Students need many
opportunities to use language for different
purposes within meaningful contexts and
concrete experiences.

Conversational Rules
Scripts: predictable sequence of events in a given
situation
Turn-taking: Rules of when to speak, when to remain
silent, how long to speak, how long to remain silent, how
to give up the floor, how to enter a conversation, etc.
Openings and closings (e.g., excuse me and thank you for
your help)
Discourse connectors (e.g., well, oh, I see, okay)

Topic focus and relevance: ability to explore and

maintain one anothers interest in the topic
Knowing how to use the interlocutors reactions and input

Conversational repair: ability to clear up

misunderstandings and marinating the conversation
Understanding non-verbal signals, asking for clarification

Class Activities to Practice

Pragmatics
Role plays
Group discussions
Projects that require using the language
outside the classroom
Feedback
Analyzing authentic conversations

Non-verbal communication

Gestures
Facial expressions
Eye contact
Communicative distance
Conceptions of time

Proxemics
Communicating through the use of space is known as
proxemics.
Space: an area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person's
body into which intruders may not come
Distance: a relational concept, typically measured in terms of
how far one individual is from the other. There are four types of
distances: intimate, personal, social, and public.
Territory: This aspect of proxemics has important implications
for communication. It refers to any area controlled and defended
by an individual or group of individuals with emphasis on
physical possession.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/state/proxemics.htm

Oculesics
Rules governing eye contact are different in different
cultures, and the difference can make people feel
uncomfortable without being aware of why they are
uncomfortable
Eye contact or lack of, depending on culture can be
interpreted as honesty, invasion of privacy, confidence,
attentiveness, lying, untrustworthiness, or unfriendliness.
Direct eye contact is favored in Western cultures and
signifies honesty; eye contact is maintained for a few
seconds and then broken.
Most Asian countries favor indirect eye contact and this
signifies respect.

Kinesics

Kinesics is the term used for communicating through various types of

body movements, including facial expressions, gestures, posture and
stance.

Facial Expression: People from all cultures express anger, happiness,

and sadness the very same way. However the extent to which they
are expressed can vary greatly
Smiling in public
Lack of facial expression from students in class

Gestures: Gestures are unique to a culture. In a classroom situation

gestures are used to add meaning or emphasis.
The size or shape of the gestures can become confusing to ELLs.
Someone using big gestures is perceived as having power, confidence
and status, whereas someone using small gestures is perceived as having
little confidence. This can become problematic when students are
presenting in front of the class.

Appearance
Communication with another is often preceded by visual
observations of the others physical appearance. In
many cultures physical appearance communicates sex,
age, and status within a culture.
Most cultures have unwritten rules for how their
members should present themselves and violating these
rules may result in negative sanctions.
For students coming from Asia and some Latin American
countries, where a teachers appearance is very formal,
and indicates status it can be difficult to adjust to the
more casual dress style of teachers in the U.S.

Haptics
Haptics refers to touching behavior.
Although most frequent during greetings and departures,
touching can occur in a variety of circumstances also
during a conversation.
Some cultures place great emphasis on physical contact
between people during a conversation, and the people
involved in a conversation may at regular intervals touch
the other person.
This behavior on the other side may make people from
societies in which touching is limited to for example
greeting and departure feel extremely uncomfortable.