LINGUISTICS 

FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS

 HOME
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 PHONOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
 MORPHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
 SYNTAX IN THE CLASSROOM
 SEMANTICS IN THE CLASSROOM
 PRAGMATICS IN THE CLASSROOM
 HELPFUL WEBSITES AND LINKS
 REFERENCES
WHAT IS SEMANTICS? IN THE CLASSROOM

Semantics is the study of the meaning of

language.  Lexical semantics looks at individual Tips for Applying Semantics:
word meaning, defining words by connecting it to
actual concept, objects, and other words and by
considering personal experiences and  ELLs are learning both the social and
understanding of words, role of syntax in word academic language of English.  Social
meaning, and the influence of physical and language, or
cultural contexts of words.  Compositional
semantics looks at how individual words and          playground and 
syntax make sentences with meaning.  In          everyday speech, can take only 1-2 years to
everyday use, meaning goes beyond just learning          develop.  Academic language can take 7
the dictionary meaning.  A strong understanding          years or more for ELLs to develop, as it
of words helps us know where to use words in a          includes more rarely used, complex
sentence, how and where to use in a social          vocabulary that may have more abstract
setting, what all the possible meanings are for a          meaning and requires significantly more
word, and what other words might be used in          background knowledge to understand. 
their place. Keep
         this in mind when considering language
When considering how we understand words,          development and appropriate expectations
there are many different ways to approach word          and activities for ELLs.
meaning, two of which include: 

 Idioms: Due to the importance of

 Componential Analysis: Words defined metaphors and cultural contexts of
by the components that make up each understanding for idioms, idioms are
word: especially challenging expressions for
         i.e. Dog [+mammal] [+ domesticated]  
                     [+carnivore] ELLs, who may lack the necessary
background knowledge.  It is particularly
helpful to explicitly pre-teach idioms
 Lexical Fields: Word meaning by how it when previewing texts, and further
is grouped into a web of related words explain idioms that may arise in
and meaning. classroom discussion or educational
media.  Amelia Bedelia books provide a
         i.e. Household Pets: dog, hamster, parakeet, great text to explore and practice the use
              cat, goldfish of idioms in language, for the primary
grades.
In defining words, we can also consider semantic
relationships, such as:  Use the concept of lexical fields to help
ELLs build vocabulary, by grouping
words and teaching relationships between
 Hyponyms- a hierarchical semantic words- helps to build cognitive structures
relationship, where a general term has that can result in significant vocabulary
numerous subordinate terms (hyponyms) development and building students’ word
that fall under it banks.

         i.e. Dog --> Pekingese, mutt, terrier,   Children as ‘Language

                          Dalmatian Detectives’: Encourage ELLs to
constantly explore words, looking at
origins of words, connections and
 Meronyms- a whole to part hierarchical similarities of words between languages
relationship (i.e. Spanish cognates), and breaking
down words to understand their meanings.
         i.e. Dog --> paws, snout, tail, ears
 Cognates are words that are spelled
similarly between two languages, and
 Synonyms- words that have the same have similar meanings.  It can be a useful
meaning tool, especially when teaching ELLs
academic vocabulary, for cognates that
         i.e. Violet/purple, cemetery/graveyard, etc. exist in their native language.  However,
be wary of false cognates, words that are
similar but have significantly different
 Antonyms- words that have opposite meanings (i.e. embarrassed (English) &
meanings embarazada (pregnant- in Spanish)). Here
is a list of Spanish and English cognates
         i.e Fat/thin, loud/soft, etc. from Colorin Colorado website:

 Homonym- words that share the same

spelling or pronunciation, but have  Using a variety of vocabulary building
different meanings activities is key for ELLs to attain new
vocabulary, as well as gain a strong
         i.e. Four/For (homophones- same
         pronunciation), Sink as in kitchen sink/sink understanding of word meaning and
         as in fall down into something related words.  Make abstract words more
         (homographs- same spelling & concrete by referring to everyday
         pronunciation) experiences.  Incorporate movement and
kinesthetic activities when appropriate for
Semantic change occurs when words change in word meaning (i.e. hand gestures to
their meaning through use over time and in describe movement of water, or pointing
different contexts. to body parts when learning parts of an
animal).  Involve students in examination
of word meaning, through discussion,
 Generalization refers to when the drawing, finding it in texts, connecting the
meaning of a word becomes more general, word to other words they know, cognates,
to include more meaning/conceptual area or the word in their native language.
that the original meaning of the word. 
 Wordle is an online tool that creates word
 Specialization is when the word meaning clouds from the text that you input.  It can
“narrows”, getting more “specialized” and be a great way to explore word meanings
specific.  and semantic relationships.

 Metaphorical extension is when a word

is connected metaphorically to another
situation/context and the word meaning
changes through the extended use of the
word in conceptually similar contexts. 

 A euphemism is when people use a

certain word in place of a more literal,
blunt word, in an attempt to make
something sound more pleasing (i.e.
passed away, instead of died).

 A dysphemism is almost the opposite of

euphemism and refers to when a word
meaning is changed when used in certain
contexts in order to make the word sound
worse. 

 Pejoration goes beyond dysphemism,

where a word meaning takes on negative
connotations more permanently, due to
constant dysphemism or contextual
factors (social, cultural, historical, etc.). 

 Amelioration of a word endows the word

with more “positive or socially accepted”
 meaning and use from a previously
negative or neutral meaning.

At the sentence meaning level, one might look

simply at the composition of sentences to
understand meaning, though the underlying
context of sentence provides lots of meaning as
well.  Compositionality looks at how sentences
mean by looking at the parts of the sentence and
how they are put together to make meaning. 
However, when using sentences for functional
and everyday purposes, we find meaning in
context, not just in the abstract parts.  For
example, one phrase can have many different
meanings, depending on the context it is used in. 
“You’re on fire” can mean a literal fire if
someone’s clothes catch fire, or can mean that
someone is doing really well on successive
tasks.  Idioms are exemplars for the importance
of context for meaning.  Idioms are sayings
where the meaning of the statement does not
come directly from the meaning of the words
used, but instead meaning comes from metaphor
to an original situation or setting or from use in
literature or shared cultural experiences.  For
example, “Being saved by the bell” is an idiom
who roots lie in boxing, where the bell was rung
just in time for a fighter to make it, and now the
metaphor applies to anyone who is saved just in
time.

Powered by   Create your own unique website with customizable

templates. Get Started