and most widely applicable measure of the central tendencyof a
distribution.
see also median, modemeaningn
(in linguistics) what a language expresses about the world we live in or any
possible or imaginary world.
The study of meaning is called semantics. Semantics is usually concerned
with the analysis of the meaning of words, phrases, or sentences (see
connotation, denotation, lexical field, semantic feature) and
sometimes with the meaning of utterances in discourse (see discourse
analysis) or the meaning of a whole text.
see also functions of language1,2pragmatics
meaningful drilln
in language teaching and in particular audiolingualism, a distinction
between different types of drillsis sometimes made according to the
degree of control the drill makes over the response produced by the student.
A mechanical drillis one where there is complete control over the student’s
response, and where comprehension is not required in order to produce a
correct response. For example:
Teacher Student
book Give me the book.
ladle Give me the ladle.
A meaningful drill is one in which there is still control over the response, but
understanding is required so that the student produces a correct response.
For example:
Teacher reads a sentence Student chooses a response
I’m hot. I’ll get you something to eat.
I’m cold. I’ll turn on the air conditioning.
I’m thirsty. I’ll get you something to drink.
I’m hungry. I’ll turn on the heater.
A communicative drillis one in which the type of response is controlled but
the student provides his or her own content or information. For example in
practising the past tense, the teacher may ask a series of questions:
Teacher Student completes cue
What time did you get up on
Sunday? I got up__
What did you have for
breakfast? I had__
What did you do after
breakfast? I__
meaningful drill