Modal Verbs Teaching Modals to Low-Level ESL Students Julian Elias Sac State English Language Institute & Cosumnes River College

single-word, principal, true modals can can could could will will would would should should may may might might must must shall shall Important? Necessary?

phrasal modals / modal phrases / modal-like expressions have to have got to ought to had better know how to be going to be able to be about to be to be supposed to be allowed to be permitted to

difficult vocab. auxiliary modality participle infinitive semimodals defective * *A defective verb is a verb with an incomplete conjugation, or one which cannot be used in some other way as normal verbs can. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.

difficult vocab. ability advice advisability necessity obligation permission possibility probability auxiliary modality participle infinitive semimodals defective

difficult vocab. ability advice advisability necessity obligation permission possibility probability Suggestion #1: Have your students look up &/or translate these words. infinitive

Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman “Modal auxiliaries are among the more difficult structures ESL/EFL teachers have to deal with.”

Folse “Modals are small but important words or phrases that allow the speaker or writer to include nuances of meaning for verbs.” “A modal rarely has just one meaning, and rarely is one meaning expressed by only one modal.”

Barry Modals “carry a wide range of different meanings and nuances of meaning…, [and] the meanings are very hard to spell out in exact and predictable terms.”

not easy / not confusing  so-so  difficult / confusing simple present % % % 00 present progressive % % % % 0 simple past % % % % 0 future % % % % 0 nouns & pronouns % % % % 0 modals % % 19 50% % % informal grammar survey informal grammar survey 38 low/low-intermediate students

common low-level mistakes did be Sam did be late yesterday. did is Why did Sam is late yesterday? was I was slept last night. was She was closed the window ten minutes ago. Are ate Are they ate pizza for dinner last night? ate What did they ate for dinner last night? has Does Kate usually has a salad for lunch? did has What did Kate usually has for lunch? is lift David is often lift weights. spent Why did she spent the day at home yesterday?

am/is/are/was/were + present participle am/is/are/was/were + present participle play – I am play soccer. (I am playing ….) do/don’t + base form do/don’t + base form playing – Do you playing soccer? (Do you play…?) does/doesn’t + base form does/doesn’t + base form playing – He doesn’t playing soccer. (He doesn’t play….) did/didn’t + base form did/didn’t + base form ’m played – I’m not played soccer. (I didn’t play….) was – I wasn’t play soccer. (I didn’t play….) was played – I wasn’t played soccer. (I didn’t play….) plays – Did he plays soccer? (Did he play…?) didn’t played – He didn’t played soccer. (He didn’t play….)

Azar & Hagen – Ch. 12 Modals, Part 1: Expressing Ability Using can Pronunciation of can & can’t Using can – questions Using know how to Using could – past of can Using be able to Using very & too Using two, too & to More about prepositions: at & in for place will, be going to, may & might are in Chapters 10 & 11

Azar & Hagen – Ch. 12 Modals, Part 1: Expressing Ability Using can Pronunciation of can & can’t Using can – questions know how to Using know how to Using could – past of can be able to Using be able to Using very & too Using two, too & to More about prepositions: at & in for place Good information & exercises, but…  phrasal modal  only if enough time

Most low-level students have a lot of trouble with phrasal modals.

modal vs. phrasal modal will I/You/She/He/It/We/ They will eat. I/You/She/He/It/We/ They will not (won’t) eat. Will (Won’t) I/you/she/ he/it/we/they eat? Why will (won’t) I/you/ she/he/it/we/they eat? be going to I am going to eat. You/We/They are going to eat. She/He/It is going to eat. I’m not going to eat. You/We/They aren’t going to eat. She/He/It isn’t going to eat.

be going to Am I (not) going to eat? Are (Aren’t) you/we/they going to eat? Is (Isn’t) she/he/it going to eat? What am I going to eat? What are you/we/they going to eat? What is she/he/it going to eat? Past tense: was/wasn’t/were/weren’t going to eat

modal vs. phrasal modal can I/You/She/He/It/We/ They can drive. I/You/She/He/It/We/ They cannot (can’t) drive. Can (Can’t) I/you/she/ he/it/we/they eat? Why can (can’t) I/you/ she/he/it/we/they drive? be able to I am able to drive. You/We/They are able to drive. She/He/It is able to drive. I’m not able to drive. You/We/They aren’t able to drive. She/He/It isn’t able to drive.

be able to Am I (not) able to drive? Are (Aren’t) you/we/they able to drive? Is (Isn’t) she/he/it able to drive? Why am I (not) able to drive? Why are (aren’t) you/we/they able to drive? Why is (isn’t) she/he/it able to drive? Past tense: was/wasn’t/were/weren’t able to drive

KNOW HOW TO I/You/We/They know how to drive. She/He/It knows how to drive. I/You/We/They don’t know how to drive. She/He/It doesn’t know how to drive. Do (Don’t) I/you/we/they know how to drive? Does (Doesn’t) she/he/it know how to drive? Why do (don’t) I/you/we/they know how to drive? Why does (doesn’t) she/he/it know how to drive?

KNOW HOW TO I/You/We/They knew how to drive. She/He/It knew how to drive. I/You/We/They didn’t know how to drive. She/He/It didn’t know how to drive. Did (Didn’t) I/you/we/they know how to drive? Did (Didn’t) she/he/it know how to drive? Why did (didn’t) I/you/we/they know how to drive? Why did (didn’t) she/he/it know how to drive?

Using should have + infinitive Using have + infinitive Using must Polite questions: May I, Could I & Can I Polite questions: Could you & Would you Imperative sentences Modal auxiliaries [review] Summary chart Using let’s  ???  only if enough time Azar & Hagen – Ch. 13 Modals, Part 2: Advice, Necessity, Requests, Suggestions

modal vs. phrasal modal (?) must I/You/She/He/It/We/ They must do __. I/You/She/He/It/We/ They must not (mustn’t) do __. Must I/you/she/he/it/ we/they do __. Why must I/you/she/ he/it/we/they do __? HAVE TO I/You/We/They have to do __. She/He/It has to do __. I/You/We/They don’t have to do __. She/He/It doesn’t have to do __.

HAVE TO Do (Don’t) I/you/we/they have to do __? Does (Doesn’t) she/he/it have to do __? Why do (don’t) I/you/we/they have to do __? Why does (doesn’t) she/he/it have to do __?

HAVE TO I/You/We/They had to drive. She/He/It had to drive. I/You/We/They didn’t have to drive. She/He/It didn’t have to drive. Did (Didn’t) I/you/we/they have to drive? Did (Didn’t) she/he/it have to drive? Why did (didn’t) I/you/we/they have to drive? Why did (didn’t) she/he/it have to drive?

Using have + infinitive(have to/has to) (a) People need to eat food. (b) People have to eat food. (c) Jack needs to study for his test. (d) Jack has to study for his test. (a) and (b) have basically the same meaning. (c) and (d) have basically the same meaning. Have + infinitive has a special meaning: it expresses the same idea as need. (e) I had to study last night.Past form: had + infinitive (f) Do you have to leave now? (g) What time does Jim have to leave? (h) Why did they have to leave…? Question form: do, does, or did is used in questions with have to. (i) I don’t have to study tonight. (i+1) Jim doesn’t have to study. (j) The concert was free. We didn’t have to buy tickets. Negative form: don’t, doesn’t, or didn’t is used with have to.

discussion topics/questions Pages 4-6 (Charts on pp. 2, 3, 9 & 10) (“Common ELL Mistakes” on pp ) Please get together with a partner or a small group We’ll come back together as a whole group to share thoughts & ideas between 10:30 and 10:45

modals in low-level reading textbook modals in low-level reading textbook (Active Skills for Reading Intro, 3 rd ed.) can On Face2Face, you can play games ___. can’t What can’t you do on Face2Face? can How long can you work in another country? can Lifelong learning can help people ___. might Which of the following might Mr. Salinas say? will be able to After you take Workshop 2, you will be able to ___. will be able to At the end of Workshop 4, you will be able to ___.