Some applications help 10th form students to learn modal verbs more effectively

Some mistakes learners may make in using Modal Verbs 5 Chapter 2: Advice, Permission and Offer expressed via Modal Verbs 7 3.4.. - Suggest some activities for teaching- learning of Modal

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

AND TRAINING

THE FIFTH TRIEU SON HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

Some applications help 10th form students to

learn modal verbs more effectively

Author: DoThi Tam

Position: English teacher

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.4 Some mistakes learners may make in using Modal Verbs 5

Chapter 2: Advice, Permission and Offer expressed via Modal Verbs 7

3.4 Applying suggestions in teaching for 10th form students 16

Part A: INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

As far as we know English is widely used all over the world not only incommunication but also in many other aspects such as culture, politics, economy,commerce, tourism and so on Along with mother tongue, everyone in the worldcan use English to communicate with one another It is English that helps peoplecloser, more friendly and understandable It is therefore necessary to learnEnglish language To be proficient in English, moreover, the important thing is tomaster English grammar

Modal Verbs are a very important part of English grammar LearningModal Verbs is not very interesting The uses of Modal Verbs cause learner a lot

of difficulties because one modal verb can have different meanings and differentModal Verbs can express one meaning Especially it is difficult to use suitableModal Verbs in each situation A specific example is that your roommate had a

bad cold because she forgot to bring an umbrella when she went out You say you should bring your umbrella this sentence is not suitable, you have to say,“ you should have brought your umbrella” because this situation happened in the past.

“Should have+ past participle” expresses advice for things that happened in the past, “should do” for advice at present or in the future.

For above-mentioned reasons, I have decided to study Modal Verbs

In my study, I would like to clarify the use of Modal Verbs in expressing advice,permission and offer and some applications to teaching Modal Verbs

II Aims and objectives of the study

This paper sets the aims and objectives as follow:

- Bring an insight into English Modal Verbs

- Give English students or teachers’ deep understanding of expressing advice,permission and offer via Modal Verbs

- Point out some mistakes learners may make when using Modal Verbs

- Suggest some activities for teaching- learning of Modal Verbs in expressingadvice, permission and offer to make learners understand better and moreinterested in learning them

III The scope of the study

In this paper, because of our limited time and knowledge, I only studyconcept, types, characteristics, usage and function of Modal Verbs I also mention tothe use of Modal Verbs in expressing advice, permission and offer and suggest someapplications to teaching Modal Verbs for upper- secondary school students

IV Method of the study

I use a combination of different methods

- Collecting materials: Data are taken from various reference books, which related tomodal verbs Information sources are also accessed from Internet

- Analyzing and synthesizing:

Data are analyzed to choose important information about Modal Verbs After that,synthesize them

- Consulting our supervisor and other experienced teachers

V Design of the study

The study consists of three parts:

Part A: Introduction

Information about the rationale, aims and objectives, scope, method and design ofthe study are provided

Part B: Development

This part includes 3 chapters:

Chapter 1: Theoretical background

I mention concept, types, characteristics, usages and functions of Modal Verbs Chapter 2: I would like to study on advice, permission and offer expressed viaModal Verbs and some mistakes learners may make when using them

Chapter 3:

This chapter is presented with “application to teaching Modal Verbs” In this chapter

I suggest some activities for teaching- learning modal verbs in expressing advice,permission and offer

Part C: Conclusion

I conclude what I have mentioned in my study paper

Part B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter I Theoretical background

In this chapter, firstly I mention the notion of Modal Verbs and some othernotions related this: types, characteristics and the usage of Modal Verbs Secondly, Istudy some communicative functions including advice, permission and offer Finally,

I show some mistakes learners may make in using Modal Verbs

1.1 What are Modal Verbs?

According to Long man’ Dictionary of language teaching and applied

linguistics, Modal is defined as any of the auxiliary verbs which indicate attitudes of

the speaker or writer towards the state or event expressed by another verbs i.e whichindicate different types of modality.

1.2 Types of Modal Verbs

It can be divided into two categories: pure modals and semi- modal

Pure modal Semi- modal

1.3 The usage of Modal Verbs

1.3.1 Meanings

We use Modal Verbs to make an assessment, judgment or interpretation of what

we are speaking or writing about or express our attitude to this

The assessment of ability: I can play football.

The judgment of obligation: You must stay at home tonight.

The assessment of necessity: You must eat less meat.

The assessment of possibility: She may not like this gift.

The interpretation of logical deduction: Can you answer the phone It will be mum.

1.3.2 Functions

Modal Verbs can be usually linked to particular communicative functions:

Requesting: Can you lend me some money?

Offering: Shall I post this letter for you?

Asking for or granting for permission: Can I use your computer?

Advising: I think you should return the answer back.

Suggesting: we could go to the beach for summer holiday.

Inviting: would you like to have breakfast with me?

1.4 Some mistakes learners may make when using Modal Verbs

English learners may make mistakes in both receptive skills (listening and reading)and productive skills (speaking and writing)

1.4.1 When listening for comprehension:

In most contexts Modal Verbs are pronounced in weakened form and learners mayfail to hear or identify them This doesn’t always stop learners from understandingthe essential message but it may do

For example, if the learners don’t hear can in the following, they may interpret the

statement as a promise rather than as an offer

E.g I can post this letter for you

To solve this problem, the teacher should let learners practice listening to ModalVerbs in native voice Therefore learners will get acquainted with Modal Verbs thatare pronounced in very weakened form

- A particular problem is sometimes posed by the use of should to give advice If I were you, I should…is often abbreviated to I should…and learners may understand

an offer or promise where what is intended as advice

E.g I should find another way to solve this sum.

To solve this problem, when teaching Modal Verbs in expressing advice, offer and

permission, teacher should remind learners the structure if I were you, I should… often abbreviated to I should

1.4.2 Speaking and writing

- When giving advice, native speakers of English often try not to use the imperative

mood or the Modal Verbs must as much as they can because the listener may

misunderstand their good will But it is very common for Vietnamese learners ofEnglish to use the strong form” must” to give advice

E.g You must learn English more frequently (It sounds too strong advice)

- Different Modal Verbs have similar meaning

Learners adopt one form and over- use it in cases where it would be more natural tovary the use for stylistic reasons.

They may use may to express probability and never use might/can/could in contexts

where they would be acceptable alternatives

To solve this difficulty, when teachers teach Modal Verbs to express some modalmeanings, he/she should give different Modal Verbs and learners should vary theuses of these Modal Verbs

- One Modal Verb can express different meanings Learners may not understand andremember all the meanings of one Modal Verb

The solution to this problem is that teacher can apply matching exercise (one column

is the example of meaning and one column is the meaning) Using the specificexample is easier for student to remember

A B

1) I can swim a) Requests

2) Can I look at your costumes? b) Permission

3) You can look at my costumes c) Offer

4) She is very late She can come tomorrow d) Ability

5) Can I help you? e) Possibility

- Student may not pay attention to pronunciation of Modal Verbs:

Learners may over - emphasize Modal Verbs in contexts where they would normallynot be stressed This may give the impression that they are contradicting somethingthat has already been said and can lead to people misinterpreting their attitude

In many contexts, stress is the most important feature we use to distinguish between

can (generally not stressed and can’t (generally stressed) If learners inappropriately stress can, people may understand that they have said can’t.

Chapter II: Advice, permission, and offer expressed via Modal Verbs

This chapter involves the study about how advice, permission and offer expressedvia Modal Verbs I show how they differ from each other

This is probably the most common of the structure for giving advice After should and its negative form –shouldn’t we use the base form of the infinitive form of the

verb

E.g You should stop being stupid

You shouldn’t cheat in exam.

• Had better

This structure is common in spoken English and it is usually used in the contracted

form After had better and its negative form – had better not, we use the base form

of the infinitive of the verb

E.g You’d better return the answers to the lecturer.

You’d better not tell any that you found them.

- There is a little difference between using should and had better We often use had better in the situation that is more serious If the speaker does not follow the advice,

there will be something bad happen

E.g You cough a lot You’d better give up smoking.

• Ought to

This is the most formal of the structure used for giving advice, and so it isn’t so

common After ought and its negative ought not (oughn’t), we use the full infinitive

of the verb

E.g You ought to contact the police/ You ought not to cheat in exams.

• Must

Must is used for emphatic advice.

E.g You must read this It’s marvelous!

Mustn’t is used for very emphatic advice

E.g You mustn’t leave your car unlocked This place is full of thieves.

2.1.2 Asking for advice

We use (should, ought to) to ask for advice Should is used very commonly and ought to is used less commonly.

E.g Should I go abroad for study?

What do you think I should do?

Shouldn’t I apply for this job?

Ought I to buy this house?

Oughtn’t I to do the task in this way?

2.2 Permission

2.2.1 Granting for permission

We can use may, might, can, could for granting permission.

• Can I? Could I? May I? Might I? are all possible and can be used for the

present or future

- Can I? is the most informal

E.g Can I use your bicycle?

- Could I? is the most generally useful of the four, as it can express both formal and

informal request for permission

E.g Could I hand in the test next week, teacher? (Formal)

Could I borrow your book, Mary? (Informal)

- May I? is a little more formal than Could I? but can also be used for both

types of requests

E.g Student: May I come in?

Teacher: Come in, please.

- Might I? is more diffident than May I? and indicates greater uncertainty about

the answer

E.g Daughter: Might I go with him tonight?

Father: No, you can’t You should forget him.

• The negative interrogative forms Can’t I and Couldn’t I are used to show that

the speaker hopes for an affirmative answer

E.g Can’t I stay up till the end of the programme?

Couldn’t I pay by cheque?

May and might are not used in this way.

• Answer to can’t I / could I requests will normally be:

Yes, you can / Yes, of course (you can)

No, you can’t.

Affirmative answers to may I / might I requests are normally:

Yes, you may / Yes, of course (you may)

For a negative answer “No, you may not “is possible but it would normally be

replaced by a milder expression:

E.g I’d rather you didn’t

2.2.2 Giving Permission

We can use can, may, might, could for giving permission.

• May and can used for permission in the present or future.

- First person

I /we can is the most usual form.

E.g I can take a day of off whenever I want.

I/ we may meaning I/ we have permission to … is possible:

E.g I may leave the office as soon as I have finished.

But this is not very common construction and it would be much more usual to say:

E.g I can leave/ I’m allowed to leave.

But in colloquial speech we would use can / could

E.g He says we can leave / He said we could leave.

- Second person

Here may is chiefly used when the speaker is giving permission You may park here mean I give you permission to park It does not normally mean The police allow you

to park or you have a right to park

Can can be used as an informal alternative to may here But it can also be used to

express the idea of having permission You can park here can mean I allow it / the police allow it/ you have a right to park here Similarly You can take two books home with you can mean I allow it / The library allows it and you can’t eat sandwiches in the library can mean I don’t allow it / The librarian doesn’t allow it or

It isn’t the proper thing to do.

- Third person

May can be used when the speaker is giving permission

E.g He may take my car (I give him permission to take it)

They may phone the office and reverse the charges (I give them permission)

But it is chiefly used in impersonal statements concerning authority and permission:

E.g In certain circumstances a police officer may (= has the right to) ask a driver

to take a breath test

In informal English can / can’t would be used

E.g He can take the car.

• Could for permission in the past

Could can also express general permission in the past.

E.g On Sundays we could (= were allowed to) stay up late.

Couldn’t however can be used a little more widely than could

E.g We couldn’t bring our dog into the restaurant.

Could can be used when there is an idea of condition:

E.g Why don’t you ring him? You can / could use my phone.

Could is also used in indirect speech introduced by the verb in a past tense:

E.g He said I could use this phone.

2.2.3 Prohibition

To make prohibition we can use must not, cannot Must not is used for emphatic

prohibition

E.g You must not smoke in this room

You can’t park your car here.

2.3 Offer

* Typical offers inviting yes/no respond

Can/could I offer you a sandwich?

Will/won’t you have a sandwich?

Would/ wouldn’t you like a sandwich?

* Typical offers with “what”

E.g What would you like to have?

What would you rather to have?

* Typical offers to do things

E.g Can I/could I /shall I open the window for you?

Would you like me to open the window for you?

Chapter III

Application to teaching Modal Verbs for upper- secondary students

Modal Verbs play an important role in English Grammar Modal Verbs are one

of the most difficult structures that an EST/EFT teacher will have to deal with.Moreover, the studying English Grammar in general and Modal Verbs in particular isnot of learner’s interests Learners also have not applied Modal Verbs incommunication In this chapter, I suggest some activities to make teaching andlearning Modal Verbs more attractive I mention to the use of pictures, games, androle-play in teaching and learning advice, permission, offer via Modal Verbs