Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of ObligationFayaz A. Ahmed 7/27/2012 Learner Problems and Solutions ………………………………………………………………….7 3. ..... 11 5... negatives and interrogatives ……….2 2.4 2.9 4..6 3. 6 • Problem 1: Inaccurate use of infinitives. Ahmed .12 5. 5 3.8 • Problem 2: Overgeneralization and overuse of a modal …………………………….Page |1 Table of Contents 1.2 2.2: Spinning ideas …………………………………………………………………………………….3 Pronunciation ……………………………………………………………………………………….2 Form …………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 • Problem 3: Distinction between mustn’t and don’t have to ……………………….3: Matching activity …………………………………………………………………………………13 Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A.1 Meaning and Use …………………………………………………………………………………. Language Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………….2 2.8 • Solution: Spinning Ideas …………………………………………………………………………….7 • Solution: Rephrasing sentences ………………………………………………………………. Appendices 5.1: Rephrasing sentences………………………………………………………………………….. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 5. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………….9 • Solution: Matching activity ……………………………………………………………………….1 Problems of form …………………………………………………………………………………..2 Problems of meaning and use ………………………………………………………………. Introduction Modal are among the first grammar topics taught in most language courses. (Cowan. 2. Ahmed . Have (got) to is a marginal or semi modal that is “closely related to pure modal verbs in terms of meaning but does not share all or any of their formal characteristics” (Parrot. Examples: We must catch the 5 o’ clock train. judgment or interpretation of what we are speaking or writing about. experience difficulty in constructing sentences using must and should and mostly fail to distinguish between different degrees of obligation. 2. conventions or by someone else’s will. I have left out ought to as it is a low-frequency semi-modal that is rarely used by pre-intermediate learners. Form and Phonological Features Modal verbs are used to “make an assessment. 2008:293) I have chosen to explore and investigate a specific function of the modal verbs that my students often find difficult to handle. “ If the necessity derives from some Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. Lewis (1986: 100) also notes that learners of English have frequently found the distinction between must and have to a source of much confusion. 2000:119) Must and should are pure modals of obligation that share the formal characteristics of the auxiliary verbs.” (Parrot.Language Analysis: Meaning. I’m afraid you have to start wearing glasses. decided to focus on the specific challenges faced by lower-intermediate learners across different learning contexts when they use modals of obligation in order to address these areas more effectively in the classroom. or to express our attitude to this.Page |2 1. their first language. Lewis also makes a compelling argument in favor of drawing a clear distinction between these two modals. I have. Parrot (2000: 125) notes that a distinction is often drawn between must and have to in terms of the nature of obligation or necessity. Must expresses an internal obligation created by the speaker himself and have to indicates an external obligation imposed by regulations. I teach Saudi learners whose exposure to modals is minimal given that there are no modal verbs in Arabic. (Swan and Smith.1 Meaning and use • must/ have to/ have got to Must and have (got) to are used to express a sense of strong obligation. 2001:203) I have noticed that my lower-intermediate students in particular. 2000: 120). therefore. ” Have got to is more frequently used in informal spoken and written English as an alternative to have to. Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. • had to/will have to Had to indicates a sense of strong obligation in the past and essentially used in all contexts as must does not have a past meaning. Example: He was so sick that we had to take him to hospital yesterday” (Cowan: 310) Will have to expresses future obligations. 1986: 105) Examples: He has to have his hair cut. Ahmed . 2000: 122) Example: I’ve got to pick my kids from school today. (He has joined the army and has been told to have his hair cut) He must have his hair cut. must is commonly used in impersonal public notices to emphasize legal necessity as in “You must carry your passport at all times. But we also need to draw our learners’ attention to the vagaries of real-life language that often subvert such a distinction. Example: You will have to come tomorrow if you want that book. I have often noticed that my pre-intermediate students tend to overuse must across different contexts. have to is appropriate. on the contrary. must is appropriate.Page |3 source external to the speaker. (Parrot. This practical distinction can offer them a more suitable and appropriate alternative in certain situations. For instance. (Parrot: 125).” (Lewis. if the source of the necessity is the speaker’s own volition or perception. (I insist that he has his hair cut) (Lewis: 105) Scrivener (2010:221-22). I agree that it is a helpful distinction which provides learners a rule of thumb to help them choose an acceptable form. Lewis notes (108) that this form is more frequent in everyday speech than either must or have to but has not received sufficient attention in the classroom. questions the validity of such a distinction and finds it potentially problematic from the learners’ point of view. NOT should to go) • They are negated by the addition of not. it expresses possibility and not obligation (e. Mustn’t expresses prohibition. 2010: 221) Should when used in the past (should+ have) does not express obligation. Ahmed . I can hear you easily. You shouldn’t lie to me.g.” (Swan: 355) On the contrary.) • should Should is used to express a weaker degree of obligation. He must work hard. (e.g. Should I call him? NOT Do I should) (Adapted from Parrot.g. (Don’t shout.) You don’t have to shout. (Parrot. (It’s not necessary for you to shout. you’re making too much noise. (e.2 Form The pure modals must and should share the following formal characteristics of the auxiliary verbs and differ from all other verbs. 2000: 126) The following examples further illustrate the difference: You mustn’t shout.) (Scrivener.g. don’t / doesn’t have to indicate an absence of obligation as in “You don’t have to be here early tomorrow. NOT musted go) • They are inverted with the subject to form questions (e. NOT musts) • They are followed by the bare infinitive. 2008:303) Example: If it still feels bad. you should see the doctor today. (e.) 2. (In my opinion. It is not allowed. I should go home. I should finish the job by Monday. (e. it’s important for you to see the doctor but it lacks the urgency or force of must or have to.Page |4 • mustn’t/ don’t or doesn’t have to The negative forms of must and have to have completely different meanings.g. • They are not inflected in the third person singular.g.a strong obligation not to do something as in “Students mustn’t use the staff car park. It signals advice or recommendation based on the speaker’s subjective perception of what is right. 2000: 121) Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. When used in the future. appropriate or desirable (Cowan. NOT I don’t should) • They are not inflected for tense. 3 Pronunciation should /must Elision and assimilation in connected speech • /t/ of must gets elided when it appears within a consonant cluster before sounds like /p/ or /g/. should and have (got) to Tense Past subject Sentence Types Affirmative Negative had to *didn’t have to base form of the verb base form of the verb bare infinitive bare infinitive base form of the verb bare infinitive Present subject have/has (got) to must *should *don’t/doesn’t have to *mustn’t shouldn’t won’t (will + not) have to Future subject will have to must * Negative forms of must and have to have very different meanings. 2010: 218) 2. not obligation. I must go now / aɪ məs gəʊ naʊ/) • /d/ of should usually assimilates to /g/ before sounds like /k/ or /g/. does and did for negation and interrogation must.Page |5 Have to functions like any other verb with a past form and it is used with do.g. / jʊ ʃəg gəʊ həʊm/) (Kelly. 2000:109) Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A.g. (e. Ahmed . Interrogatives: must+subject+ bare infinitive and do/does/did + subject +verb structures are used in certain situations to express irritation. (Scrivener. (e. 1994: 61) Have+ to when blended. / jʊ `ʃʊdnt laɪtə jə fɑ:ðə/ You mustn’t smoke here. Examples: You shouldn’t lie to your father. sounds like /hæftə/ with the shortening of the final vowel. When a close correspondence is found. But the negative contractions shouldn’t and mustn’t are pronounced with a full vowel and the ‘schwa’ is replaced by /ʊ/ and /ʌ/ to emphasize moral disapproval and strong prohibition respectively.1 Problems of form Problems of form typically result from L1 interference. / jʊ hæftə peɪ ðə fəʊn bil tədeɪ / In connected speech got to of have got to sounds like gotta/gɒtə/ ex: I’ve got to go now. /jʊ `mʌsənt sməʊk hɪə/ have to/don’t have to/have got to Assimilation and vowel reduction • Marginal modal have to demonstrates the following phonological changes in connected speech: /v/ turns into an unvoiced /f/ under the influence of the neighboring unvoiced /t/.Learner Problems and Solutions 3. Students unconsciously seek correspondence between English modal verbs and verbs in their own first language.Page |6 Vowel substitution in negative sentences • should / ʃəd/ and must / məst/ are pronounced with a ‘schwa’ in connected speech when they have an affirmative meaning. Ahmed . Example: You have to pay the phone bill today. they often transfer the L1 grammar to the corresponding English verb (Cowan: 319) Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A./ aɪv gɒtə gəʊ naʊ/ 3. (Underhill. these learners unconsciously transfer their knowledge of L1 to L2 resulting in errors. Does he should see a doctor? They don’t must leave today.g. negative and interrogative forms Lower level learners with first languages like Spanish. He is required to rephrase the italicized sentence on the card using one of the following: should. Procedure: Each student picks a colored card with a sentence or sentences written on it. Arabic does not have any modal verb which makes it difficult for them to grasp the special status of these verbs in English. You shouldn’t lie to me. (e. Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. Italian and Portuguese often use full infinitives after should or must instead of bare infinitives. Language output: Should I take the umbrella? I must get a visa to visit the UK. shouldn’t and mustn’t without changing its meaning.affirmative. The activity includes three sentence types. When faced with the need to communicate in English. negative and interrogative to address a range of typical learner errors in using bare infinitive as well as forming questions and negatives.) They also use the auxiliary verb do to form questions and negatives (e. (Swan and Smith. Students complete the task individually and then work in pairs as they exchange their cards and peer-check the rephrased sentences. Teacher monitors closely and notes down errors for delayed feedback. They’re expected to use the modal forms accurately to rephrase the sentences without changing their meaning.) Their first languages do not have a special class of modals with distinctive functions that behave differently from the ordinary inflected verbs.g.Page |7 Problem 1: Inaccurate use of infinitive. Ahmed . Solution: Appendix 1: Rephrasing sentences Aim: To raise learners’ awareness of the modals as a special category of verbs that are not used with infinitive or do forms in negation and interrogation. But it is more challenging than a conventional gapfill exercise as it further tests students’ understanding of the forms. 2001: 60. My Saudi pre-intermediate students tend to make similar errors in form. French. 81 & 120). The peer-check and subsequent teacher’s feedback help learners recognize the distinctive formal features of the target modals. must. You must to go to the movies with us. Rationale: This accuracy-focused activity requires students to understand the context of a given sentence and figure out which modal to use. for instance. (Swan and Smith: 9 & 43). Teams take turns to cast the dice twice: once to set the modal in accordance with the first circle and once to set the situation according to the second circle on the board. Language output: When you’re in a foreign country. Both teams have 3 minutes to write down as many sentences as possible containing the modal as they can.you have to carry your passport with you. the Dutch verb moest and the German verb musste refer to the past tense and they look and sound suspiciously similar to English must. Some confusion also results from the false friends.Page |8 3.2 Problems of meaning and use Low-level learners across different learning contexts find it difficult to grasp the finer semantic distinction between different modals with their specific meaning and functions. French learners. I must go to London yesterday). Solution: Appendix 2: Spinning ideas Aim: To expose students to a range of modals with different meanings and to encourage them to use the target modals in conversation. When you’re on holiday. When the time is up. Procedure: Teacher divides the class into two teams and hands out the material. (Thornbury. For instance. use the single verb devoir to cover the notions of obligation expressed by both must and should. I feel it seriously undermines their communicative competence as modals are context-sensitive and have interpersonal meanings. I have also noticed that my Saudi pre-intermediate students often avoid talking about their past obligations simply because they are unsure of the status of must and mostly unaware of had to as a valid replacement for must to express such an obligation. Germany and Spain tend to rely excessively on must to express obligation in all situations.verbs in several European languages that sound similar to an English modal like must but express a very different meaning. Problem 2: Overgeneralization and overuse of one modal Lower level learners across different learning contexts including France. for the situation drawn.g. 2006:135) Indiscriminate use of must in situations that warrant use of more non-threatening should could be misconstrued as rude and impolite and may cause social embarrassment. The lower-level learners from these language communities often confuse these verbs with must and attribute past meaning (e. you shouldn’t think about work. the teams take turns reading out the sentences produced. Ahmed . They Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. (There is no need to park your car here. But the corresponding negations confuse learners with mutually exclusive meanings as in the following. You mustn’t park your car here. Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. This can be an effective free-practice task following a presentation of the target modals by the teacher. You can park your car somewhere else. But its negative form unlike mustn’t is used to express absence of necessity. Problem 3: Distinction between mustn’t and don’t have to Cowan (2008:319) notes that German students often use mustn’t incorrectly to indicate absence of obligation. you may have to pay a fine or your car may be towed away.Page |9 score one point for every meaningful and appropriate sentence and score a bonus for producing an original sentence not thought up by their opponents.) You don’t have to park your car here. Rationale: It’s a fun game that engages and motivates students. The game raises students’ awareness of a range of alternatives they can draw on to express different shades of meaning. (If you do. It engages their schema and encourages them to notice the correspondence between the target language and their daily life in terms of meaning. Procedure: Students are given a worksheet with some pictures and sentences. My pre-intermediate students have also found this distinction rather arbitrary because the affirmative forms. The group contest promotes a competitive spirit and encourages students to collaborate and produce appropriate sentences using the target modals.) Solution: Appendix 3: Matching activity Aim: To help students recognize and understand the difference between mustn’t and don’t have to. They are required to match the pictures with the relevant sentences individually and then discuss their responses in pairs. Rationale: Students find the activity motivating because the pictures introduce real-life symbols and notices. The German modal verb mussen like must expresses strong obligation. Ahmed . The situations provide a variety of familiar and meaningful contexts to stimulate language production. Mustn’t in English signals strong prohibition rather than absence of necessity or obligation for which don’t have to is commonly used.must and have to have similar meanings. Parrot. Swan. Michael (1995) Practical English Usage. Adrian (1994) Sound Foundations. Swan.P a g e | 10 Bibliography 1. Macmillan 9. Macmillan 6. Cambridge University Press 2. Michael & Smith. Cowan. Cambridge University Press 5. Longman 3. Lewis. Oxford University Press 7. Scrivener. Maria & Chin. LTP 4.) (2001) Learner English. Zaorob. Michael (1986) The English Verb: An Exploration of Structure and Meaning. Ron (2008) The Teacher’s Grammar of English. Jim (2010) Teaching English Grammar. Underhill. Elizabeth (2001) Games for Grammar Practice. Cambridge University Press Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. Macmillan 10. Thornbury. Kelly. Scott (2006) An A-Z of ELT. Bernard (Ed. Cambridge University Press 8. Ahmed . Martin (2000) Grammar for English Language Teachers. Gerald (2000) How to Teach Pronunciation. You're my best friend. Source: Self-designed Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. Don't eat ice cream if you've a sore throat. You've a broken leg ! It's necessary for you to stay in hospital for three weeks. shouldn’t and mustn’t. It's important for you to look for a new job if you're not very happy. Remember you can’t change the meaning of the sentences. Don't lie to me. This is a no smoking area.1 Rephrasing Sentences Pick one of the colored cards and rephrase the sentence (in italics) on the card using one of the following: must. It's necessary for me to get a visa to visit the UK. You look tired! It's important for you to take some rest. Don't smoke here.P a g e | 11 Appendix 5. Is it better to take the umbrella? It might rain this evening. It's necessary for you to have a degree to get a job at university. It's necessary for me to wear a uniform at work. should. Ahmed . Ahmed .2 Spinning Ideas Source: Adapted from Games for Grammar Practice (2001) CUP must should 6 don't have to 1 mustn't 5 shouldn't have to 2 4 3 At work 6 On holiday 5 At a job interview 4 In a restaurant 1 In a foreign country 2 At the libraray 3 Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A.P a g e | 12 Appendix 5. H.P a g e | 13 Appendix 5. Ahmed . D. F. E. Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. B.3 Matching Activity Match the signs and notices with the statements that follow. I. A. C. G. Source: Self-designed Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. You mustn’t eat here. You mustn’t talk on the phone.P a g e | 14 You mustn’t park here. Ahmed . You mustn’t smoke here. You mustn’t make any noise. You don’t have to pay for it. You don’t have to pay online. You don’t have to if you’re busy on that day. You don’t have to pay now.
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