Semiotic modeling of the text-driven conceptual paradigm in language education

Abstract

Abstract The conceptual paradigm of Thomas Sebeok’s modeling systems theory builds a theoretical foundation that modeling and knowing converge and coexist in the process of life evolution, and affords multiple narrative spaces for foreign language education, allowing us to address living and learning concurrently in the process of meaning modeling. The present paper argues that the concept of modeling has elevated us above the long-standing emphasis on the most valuable knowledge with the same (target) language standards and the same discourse power, and has captured the interest of language educators to establish a semiotic connection between knowledge content and knowledge representation through a representation model, the English textbook, which is generally considered as an important carrier of language knowledge. The study of the concept of English textbooks promotes sustainable regeneration of semiotic information on multi-level spatial interpretability so that learning can be regarded as exploration and growth of experience. Based on what these analyses reveal, the paper concludes by confirming that the textbook can effectively construct a diverse cultural signification order, considering the learner’s greater flexibility and social responsibility and providing the curriculum with a modeling nature for meaning negotiation among all parties involved.