FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIN

SYLLABUS DEL CURSO SEMANTICS

FACULTY
AREA
COURSE ID
NUMBER
NUMBER OF
CREDITS
HOURS OF INCAMPUS WORK

PROFESSOR

1. GENERAL INFORMATION.
Faculty of Education
B. A in English Teaching
PROGRAM
AREA DE
FORMACION
DISCIPLINAR

COURSE

SEMANTICS

BFE22B00A123

SEMESTER

2016- I

DATE

32
Full time, part time
and hourly paid
professors.

HOURS OF
INDEPENDENT
WORK
E-mail

14 12 15

64

mary.nino@ugc.edu.co

2. RATIONALE.
Students are not used to reflect upon the meaning of the mother tongue and not in
a second language. This course is intended to get them acquainted with what it
means to do it and especially with the language they are learning. Semantics deals
with the communicative content a word may have and how the combination of
many words can provide more complex meanings. Some basic concepts used in
the analysis of the meaning of a specific language are developed throughout the
course; in order to engage students in further analysis and research on this matter
and make them aware of the importance of apply new knowledge to their teaching
methods and practices.
3. GENERAL OBJECTIVE.
At the end of the course, the students will be able, among other things, to
understand and reflect on the basic concepts related to Semantics, to prepare
them for simple analysis of meanings in a second language, leading them to higher
thinking processes. They will show the acquisition of these processes by
generating a virtual product (Website) that demonstrates their ability to show their
new knowledge to others by using ICTs.

4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

State the role of Semantics within the Linguistics area.

Differentiate the differences between Semantics and Pragmatics.

Explain the scope and basic concepts of Semantics.

Outline the Parts of Speech and make good use of them.

Discuss about word formation processes.

Differentiate the word meaning properties.

Justify the use of ambiguity in Language.

Generate a possible research question at the end of the course.

Display in a creative way the products of the course in a website.

5. AREA DISCUSSION PROBLEM

Which are the necessary pedagogical, communicative, technological and
investigative competences in the pre-service teachers education in order to foster
meaningful changes in their social context?

6. COURSE DISCUSSION ISSUES.

Which are the linguistic aspects of meaning of the English language that
increase the students reflection on its structure, in order to develop their
awareness of it and to develop higher thinking processes when generating
possible research questions about this subject?

State the role of Semantics within the Linguistics area.

What are the differences between Semantics and Pragmatics?

How are words created?

What aspects of language meaning must be taken into account to analyze

meaning in language?

7. COMPETENCES.
The students must develop the following competences:

Good autonomous learning habits, reinforced with good verbal

communication.

Deep analysis of theoretical concepts that allows questioning them and

suggesting new perspectives.

Discuss the sense relations in the study of words.

Awareness of innovative instructional methods which include information

technologies.

Reflect about the best transformative educational learning and teaching

methods.

Apply new knowledge to daily life in order to improve pronunciation.

Ability to transmit new knowledge to others.

8. ACTIVITIES.
Students will design a course project. In it, they will display the products of each
one of the sessions, according to the topic presented.
WEEK
S

TOPICS

TEACHING
ACTIVITES

What are the

general principles of
the course?
Presentation and
What is the syllabus,
comments.
the methodology
and evaluation
criteria of the
Class project
course?
introduction.

TIME

How to differentiate Class project

Why are the

components of
language important?

TIME

Finding information
related to
Sentences,
Utterances, and
Propositions
(Reference reading).

What are the

Components of
Language?

INDEPENDENT
WORK
Start the design of
the tool that will
allow the student to
present the final
project that
comprises the work
of the semester.

Class project 1st

draft.
Sentences,
Utterances, and
Propositions?

Finding information
related to Parts of
Speech (reference
reading).

development

What are the

1st draft discussion
functions of the
Parts of speech?
Are they the same in Class project
development
Spanish?
What are the
2nd draft discussion.
functions of the
Parts of speech?
Are they the same in Class project
development.
Spanish?

Class project 2nd

draft.

Class project 1st

delivery.
2

Finding information
related to
Morphology
(reference reading).

Developing the
exam.
6

FIRST MIDTERM
EXAM

1st Delivery.
2
Provide the exam.

Finding information
related to word
relations and word
formation (reference
reading).

Feedback process

Is there any relation

between the
structure of words
and their meaning?
How can that
relation be stated?

What are the word

formation
processes?

What is the inner

1st delivery
discussion

4
Prepare the exam.

Class project
development.

Class project 3rd

draft.
Class project
development.

3rd draft discussion

Finding information
related to sentence
structure (reference
reading).
Class project 4th

draft.
structure of
sentences?

Class project
development.

Finding information
related to Ambiguity
(reference reading).

4th draft discussion.

Prepare the second

delivery and the
exam

How is ambiguity
given in a language? Class project
development

10

SECOND
MIDTERM EXAM

11

How is ambiguity
given in a language?
Can different
expressions have
the same referent?

12
Can the same
expression have
different referents?
What type of
information does a
Dictionary provide?
13

14

15

16

2nd Delivery.
2

Developing the
exam.

Provide the exam.

2nd
delivery.discussion.
2
Class project
development

Class project 5th

draft

Class project
Class project
socialization

Class project
development

How is that
information related
to predicates?
How does
th
Propositional Logic 6 draft discussion
affect the
Class project
communication
development
process?
How does
Propositional Logic
affect the
communication
process?
FINAL EXAM

Class project 6th

draft.

Class project Final

Delivery
2

7th draft discussion

Finding information
related to word
relations

Class project 8th

draft.

Developing the

Class project
development
Feedback process.

Finding information
related to Word
Meaning.

2nd delivery
discussion.

17

SOCIALIZATION

Class project
development
Feedback Process

Exam.
Preparing final
presentation
2

9. READING PLAN.
Hurford, J. R., & Heasley, B. (2007). Semantics: a Coursebook (2nd ed.).
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

TYPE OF
ASSESSMENT:

10. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA.

PERCENTAGE
DATE
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
%

First partial grade

Second partial
grade
Third partial grade

30%

5th week According to the professors criteria

30%

10th week According to the professors criteria

15%

16th week According to the professors criteria

Final Exam

20%

16th week Written test.

11. REFERENCES.
Core text: Hurford, J. R., & Heasley, B. (2007). Semantics: a coursebook (2nd ed.).
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
Further Reading:
Ambiguity. (n.d.). Ambiguity. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://online.sfsu.edu/kbach/ambguity.html

Astuti, G. T. (2013, September 12). Ict English Learning Make Our Knowledge
Open. : Meaning Postulates. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://astutigina.blogspot.com/2013/09/meaning-postulates.html

Foundations of Semantics II: Composition . (2011, February 1). . Retrieved July

22, 2014, from http://www.gist.ugent.be/file/217

HORSEY, R. (n.d.). Meaning postulates and deference . . Retrieved July 22,

2014, from http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/publications/WPL/00papers/horsey.pdf

Journal of Semantics. (2014, January 1). Oxford Journals. Retrieved July 22,
2014, from http://jos.oxfordjournals.org/

Journal of Web Semantics. (n.d.). Elsevier. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-web-semantics/

Katamba, F. (n.d.). LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.
English morphology. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/209

Rook, S. (n.d.). Statements, Connectives, Quantifiers. SlideServe. Retrieved

July 22, 2014, from http://www.slideserve.com/Thomas/statementsconnectives-quantifiers

Semantics and Pragmatics - Predicate Logic I. (2013, June 6). YouTube.

Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhodKMPwShc

Semantics and Pragmatics - Predicate Logic II. (2013, June 28). YouTube.
Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWGHfcaOT1s

Szcs, L. (2012, January 1). On Sense and Reference in Semantics.

Academia.edu. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://www.academia.edu/5973165/On_Sense_and_Reference_in_Semantics

The parts of speech | The Writing Center. (n.d.). The parts of speech | The
Writing Center. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://arts.uottawa.ca/writingcentre/en/hypergrammar/the-parts-of-speech

Word Formation: Lexical Derivation. (n.d.). Word Formation: Lexical Derivation.

Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/linguistics/lectures/05lect10.html

Word Relationships. (n.d.). --Guide to Vocabulary--Academic Support.

Retrieved July 22, 2014, from
https://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/507.HTM