Diagrams in Second or Foreign Language Learning??!

Abstract

Existing diagrams for tense use as presented in grammar surveys for foreign learners have been analyzed from a semantic theoretic point of view. The analysis reveals that the notational systems used in the diagrammatic representations of the tense rules dealt with are defective in that they can give rise to incorrect interpretations and ambiguities. Moreover, they do not allow the learner to get a coherent view of the tense system. The flaws of the existing diagrams are mainly caused by the lack of a clear delimitation and description of the critical information to be conveyed to the learner. In this paper, we try to avoid these defects by proposing a notational system that relies on a formal semantic approach of tensed discourse.