Essay on Modals of Obligation_Fayaz Ahmed

Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation

Fayaz A. Ahmed

7/27/2012

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Helping Pre-Intermediate Learners Understand and Use Modals of Obligation Fayaz A. Ahmed

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………….2

2. Language Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………….2

2.1 Meaning and Use …………………………………………………………………………………..2

2.2 Form ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

2.3 Pronunciation ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

3. Learner Problems and Solutions …………………………………………………………………..6

3.1 Problems of form ………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

• Problem 1: Inaccurate use of infinitives, negatives and interrogatives ……….7

• Solution: Rephrasing sentences ……………………………………………………………….. .7

3.2 Problems of meaning and use ………………………………………………………………..8

• Problem 2: Overgeneralization and overuse of a modal …………………………….8

• Solution: Spinning Ideas …………………………………………………………………………….8

• Problem 3: Distinction between mustn’t and don’t have to ……………………….9

• Solution: Matching activity ………………………………………………………………………..9

4. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

5. Appendices

5.1: Rephrasing sentences…………………………………………………………………………. 11

5.2: Spinning ideas ……………………………………………………………………………………..12

5.3: Matching activity …………………………………………………………………………………13

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1.Introduction

Modal are among the first grammar topics taught in most language courses. (Cowan, 2008:293)

I have chosen to explore and investigate a specific function of the modal verbs that my students

often find difficult to handle. I teach Saudi learners whose exposure to modals is minimal given

that there are no modal verbs in Arabic, their first language. (Swan and Smith, 2001:203) I have

noticed that my lower-intermediate students in particular, experience difficulty in constructing

sentences using must and should and mostly fail to distinguish between different degrees of

obligation. Lewis (1986: 100) also notes that learners of English have frequently found the

distinction between must and have to a source of much confusion.

I have, therefore, 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.

2.Language Analysis: Meaning, Form and Phonological Features

Modal verbs are used to “make an assessment, judgment or interpretation of what we are

speaking or writing about, or to express our attitude to this.” (Parrot, 2000:119)

Must and should are pure modals of obligation that share the formal characteristics of the

auxiliary verbs. 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,

2000: 120). I have left out ought to as it is a low-frequency semi-modal that is rarely used by

pre-intermediate learners.

2.1 Meaning and use

• must/ have to/ have got to

Must and have (got) to are used to express a sense of strong obligation.

Examples: We must catch the 5 o’ clock train.

I’m afraid you have to start wearing glasses.

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,

conventions or by someone else’s will. Lewis also makes a compelling argument in favor of

drawing a clear distinction between these two modals, “ If the necessity derives from some

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source external to the speaker, have to is appropriate; if the source of the necessity is the

speaker’s own volition or perception, must is appropriate.” (Lewis, 1986: 105)

Examples:

He has to have his hair cut. (He has joined the army and has been told to have his hair cut)

He must have his hair cut. (I insist that he has his hair cut)

(Lewis: 105)

Scrivener (2010:221-22), on the contrary, questions the validity of such a distinction and finds it

potentially problematic from the learners’ point of view. I agree that it is a helpful distinction

which provides learners a rule of thumb to help them choose an acceptable form. (Parrot: 125).

I have often noticed that my pre-intermediate students tend to overuse must across different

contexts. This practical distinction can offer them a more suitable and appropriate alternative in

certain situations. But we also need to draw our learners’ attention to the vagaries of real-life

language that often subvert such a distinction. For instance, must is commonly used in

impersonal public notices to emphasize legal necessity as in “You must carry your passport at all

times.”

Have got to is more frequently used in informal spoken and written English as an alternative to

have to. (Parrot, 2000: 122)

Example: I’ve got to pick my kids from school today.

• 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. 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.

Example:

You will have to come tomorrow if you want that book.

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• mustn’t/ don’t or doesn’t have to

The negative forms of must and have to have completely different meanings. Mustn’t

expresses prohibition- a strong obligation not to do something as in “Students mustn’t use the

staff car park.” (Swan: 355)

On the contrary, don’t / doesn’t have to indicate an absence of obligation as in “You don’t have

to be here early tomorrow. (Parrot, 2000: 126)

The following examples further illustrate the difference:

You mustn’t shout, you’re making too much noise. (Don’t shout. It is not allowed.)

You don’t have to shout, I can hear you easily. (It’s not necessary for you to shout.)

• should

Should is used to express a weaker degree of obligation. It signals advice or recommendation

based on the speaker’s subjective perception of what is right, appropriate or desirable (Cowan,

2008:303)

Example:

If it still feels bad, you should see the doctor today. (In my opinion, it’s important for you to see

the doctor but it lacks the urgency or force of must or have to.) (Scrivener, 2010: 221)

Should when used in the past (should+ have) does not express obligation. When used in the

future, it expresses possibility and not obligation (e.g. I should finish the job by Monday.)

2.2 Form

The pure modals must and should share the following formal characteristics of the auxiliary

verbs and differ from all other verbs.

• They are not inflected in the third person singular. (e.g. He must work hard. NOT musts)

• They are followed by the bare infinitive. (e.g. I should go home. NOT should to go)

• They are negated by the addition of not. (e.g. You shouldn’t lie to me. NOT I don’t should)

• They are not inflected for tense. (e.g. NOT musted go)

• They are inverted with the subject to form questions (e.g. Should I call him? NOT Do I should)

(Adapted from Parrot, 2000: 121)

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Have to functions like any other verb with a past form and it is used with do, does and did for

negation and interrogation

must, should and have (got) to

Tense Sentence Types

Affirmative Negative Past

subject had to *didn’t have to base form of the verb

Present

subject

have/has (got) to *don’t/doesn’t have to base form of the verb

must *mustn’t bare infinitive

*should

shouldn’t bare infinitive

Future

subject

will have to won’t (will + not) have to base form of the verb

must bare infinitive

* Negative forms of must and have to have very different meanings.

Interrogatives: must+subject+ bare infinitive and do/does/did + subject +verb structures are used in certain situations to express irritation, not obligation. (Scrivener, 2010: 218)

2.3 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/. (e.g. I must go now / aɪ məs gəʊ naʊ/)

• /d/ of should usually assimilates to /g/ before sounds like /k/ or /g/.

(e.g. / jʊ ʃəg gəʊ həʊm/) (Kelly, 2000:109)

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Vowel substitution in negative sentences

• should / ʃəd/ and must / məst/ are pronounced with a ‘schwa’ in connected speech when

they have an affirmative meaning. 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.

Examples: You shouldn’t lie to your father. / jʊ `ʃʊdnt laɪtə jə fɑ:ðə/

You mustn’t smoke here. /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/. (Underhill, 1994: 61)

Have+ to when blended, sounds like /hæftə/ with the shortening of the final vowel.

Example: You have to pay the phone bill today. / 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./ aɪv gɒtə gəʊ naʊ/

3.Learner Problems and Solutions

3.1 Problems of form

Problems of form typically result from L1 interference. Students unconsciously seek

correspondence between English modal verbs and verbs in their own first language. When a

close correspondence is found, they often transfer the L1 grammar to the corresponding

English verb (Cowan: 319)

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Problem 1: Inaccurate use of infinitive, negative and interrogative forms

Lower level learners with first languages like Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese often use

full infinitives after should or must instead of bare infinitives. (e.g. You must to go to the

movies with us.) They also use the auxiliary verb do to form questions and negatives (e.g. Does

he should see a doctor? They don’t must leave today.) Their first languages do not have a

special class of modals with distinctive functions that behave differently from the ordinary

inflected verbs. (Swan and Smith, 2001: 60, 81 & 120). When faced with the need to

communicate in English, these learners unconsciously transfer their knowledge of L1 to L2

resulting in errors.

My Saudi pre-intermediate students tend to make similar errors in form. Arabic does not have

any modal verb which makes it difficult for them to grasp the special status of these verbs in

English.

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.

Language output: Should I take the umbrella?

I must get a visa to visit the UK.

You shouldn’t lie to me.

Procedure: Each student picks a colored card with a sentence or sentences written on it. He is

required to rephrase the italicized sentence on the card using one of the following: should,

must, shouldn’t and mustn’t without changing its meaning. 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.

Rationale: This accuracy-focused activity requires students to understand the context of a given

sentence and figure out which modal to use. But it is more challenging than a conventional gap-

fill exercise as it further tests students’ understanding of the forms. They’re expected to use the

modal forms accurately to rephrase the sentences without changing their meaning. The activity

includes three sentence types- affirmative, negative and interrogative to address a range of

typical learner errors in using bare infinitive as well as forming questions and negatives. The

peer-check and subsequent teacher’s feedback help learners recognize the distinctive formal

features of the target modals.

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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. Some confusion

also results from the false friends- verbs in several European languages that sound similar to an

English modal like must but express a very different meaning. For instance, the Dutch verb

moest and the German verb musste refer to the past tense and they look and sound

suspiciously similar to English must. The lower-level learners from these language communities

often confuse these verbs with must and attribute past meaning (e.g. I must go to London

yesterday). (Swan and Smith: 9 & 43).

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.

Problem 2: Overgeneralization and overuse of one modal

Lower level learners across different learning contexts including France, Germany and Spain

tend to rely excessively on must to express obligation in all situations. French learners, 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. (Thornbury, 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.

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.

Language output: When you’re in a foreign country,you have to carry your passport with you.

When you’re on holiday, you shouldn’t think about work.

Procedure: Teacher divides the class into two teams and hands out the material. 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. Both teams have 3 minutes to

write down as many sentences as possible containing the modal as they can, for the situation

drawn. When the time is up, the teams take turns reading out the sentences produced. They

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score one point for every meaningful and appropriate sentence and score a bonus for

producing an original sentence not thought up by their opponents.

Rationale: It’s a fun game that engages and motivates students. The group contest promotes a

competitive spirit and encourages students to collaborate and produce appropriate sentences

using the target modals. The situations provide a variety of familiar and meaningful contexts to

stimulate language production. The game raises students’ awareness of a range of alternatives

they can draw on to express different shades of meaning. This can be an effective free-practice

task following a presentation of the target modals by the teacher.

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. The German modal verb mussen like must expresses strong obligation.

But its negative form unlike mustn’t is used to express absence of necessity. Mustn’t in English

signals strong prohibition rather than absence of necessity or obligation for which don’t have to

is commonly used. My pre-intermediate students have also found this distinction rather

arbitrary because the affirmative forms- must and have to have similar meanings. But the

corresponding negations confuse learners with mutually exclusive meanings as in the following.

You mustn’t park your car here.

(If you do, you may have to pay a fine or your car may be towed away.)

You don’t have to park your car here.

(There is no need to park your car here. You can park your car somewhere else.)

Solution:

Appendix 3: Matching activity

Aim: To help students recognize and understand the difference between mustn’t and don’t

have to.

Procedure: Students are given a worksheet with some pictures and sentences. 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. It engages their schema and encourages them to notice the correspondence

between the target language and their daily life in terms of meaning.

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Bibliography

1. Cowan, Ron (2008) The Teacher’s Grammar of English, Cambridge University Press

2. Kelly, Gerald (2000) How to Teach Pronunciation. Longman

3. Lewis, Michael (1986) The English Verb: An Exploration of Structure and Meaning. LTP

4. Parrot, Martin (2000) Grammar for English Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press

5. Scrivener, Jim (2010) Teaching English Grammar. Macmillan

6. Swan, Michael (1995) Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press

7. Swan, Michael & Smith, Bernard (Ed.) (2001) Learner English, Cambridge University Press

8. Thornbury, Scott (2006) An A-Z of ELT. Macmillan

9. Underhill, Adrian (1994) Sound Foundations. Macmillan

10. Zaorob, Maria & Chin, Elizabeth (2001) Games for Grammar Practice. Cambridge University

Press

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Appendix 5.1

Rephrasing Sentences

Pick one of the colored cards and rephrase the sentence (in italics) on the card using one of the following: must, should, shouldn’t and mustn’t. Remember you can’t change the meaning of the sentences.

Source: Self-designed

Don't eat ice cream if you've a sore throat.

You look tired! It's important for you to take some rest.

Don't smoke here. This is a no smoking area.

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.

Is it better to take the umbrella? It might rain this

evening.

Don't lie to me. You're my best friend.

It's important for you to look for a new job if you're not very happy.

You've a broken leg ! It's necessary for you to stay in hospital for three

weeks.

It's necessary for me to get a visa to visit the UK.

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Appendix 5.2

Spinning Ideas

Source: Adapted from Games for Grammar Practice (2001) CUP

should

1

mustn't

2

have to

3 shouldn't

4

don't have to

5

must

6

In a restaurant

1

In a foreign country

2

At the libraray

3

At a job interview

4

On holiday 5

At work

6

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Appendix 5.3

Matching Activity

Match the signs and notices with the statements that follow.

A. B. C.

D. E. F.

G. H. I.

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Source: Self-designed

You mustn’t park here.

You don’t have to pay for it.

You don’t have to if you’re busy on that day.

You mustn’t smoke here.

You mustn’t talk on the phone.

You don’t have to pay online.

You mustn’t make any noise.

You mustn’t eat here.

You don’t have to pay now.

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Essay on Modals of Obligation_Fayaz Ahmed