Syntactic Structures, Essay Example

Syntactic structures are an important component of both teaching and learning ESL. There are many other elements that are also important, such as grammar and vocabulary, but understanding how to arrange words to form coherent and effective sentences is fundamental to effective communication.  Even languages that are similar in some ways will still have differences, and differences in syntactic structures are common. An educator with a firm grasp on the syntactic structures of both native and second languages will be better prepared to teach ESL students.

The meanings of these sentences are changed simply by changing the position of the word “only.” Some of the sentences appear to mean the same thing, such as the last two:

“He said that he loved only linguistics”

“He said that he loved linguistics only.”

In the first of these two sentences, the subject (“he”) said that he loved linguistics and nothing else. In the second sentence he said the same thing, despite the different placement of the word “only.” By moving the word “only,” the meaning can be completely changed. In the sentence “Only he said that he loved linguistics,” the word “only” is modifying the word “he” rather than the word “linguistics.” This means that “he” was the only one who said he loved linguistics, differentiating himself from anyone who did not say they loved linguistics. In another sentence, “only” is used to modify “said,” meaning that he said nothing else besides the fact that he loved linguistics. Such differences can be seen in almost all of the example sentences, which demonstrates the significance of syntactic structure in effective communication.

The issue of pragmatics presents one of the most significant challenges to educators and students in teaching and learning a second language.  In order to understand language and to speak it effectively, it is necessary to understand the context in which it is used. This context is not just about issues such as vocabulary, grammar, or syntax; it is also about cultural context, the specific setting in which something is being said, who is speaking, and other factors. A non-native speaker may understand the issues of structure and grammar very well, but many not understand social and cultural context that also give meaning to speech. This makes it difficult to teach pragmatics, as it goes beyond the scope of learning or teaching the mechanics of a language. It may be impossible to really teach pragmatics, but it is important to teach students to be aware of issue related to pragmatics. To a great degree, non-native speakers must develop pragmatics on their own, and those who do will be more competent in speaking their second languages.