Angular Material get matColumnDef property

I am trying to get the matColumnDef property in my table I have tried to do it this way but with no luck. What am I doing wrong?

  <ng-container #columnDef matColumnDef="given_name">
    <th mat-header-cell *matHeaderCellDef> Given Name </th>
    <td mat-cell *matCellDef="let element"> 
      {{element.given_name}} 
      <div *ngIf="element.errors">
        {{columnDef.matColumnDef}}
      </div>
    </td> 
  </ng-container>