Using Modalities

Matt Altstiel
3/5/07
TESL 3001

Using Modals

While I tend to stay away from overt grammar lessons, and instead focus instead on participatory communicative learning strategies with a facilitative role as a teacher, teaching some grammar structures are unavoidable. Modals of advice as well as the conditional structure of phrases appears everyday in commonplace English. Teaching grammar, like all ESL subjects must be taught in a meaningful setting. Therefore, I wrote the principal modal expressions on a white board and asked my students if they knew the meaning of said words. When the majority of the students responded no or appeared unsure, I asked them if these words had ever interfered with the meaning of a sentence or question. My students then discussed various situations where they had heard these words and were able to roughly gauge on their own the meaning of these words. After discussing the words and practicing writing sentences and questions, the class seemed comfortable enough with usage to move on to another subject.

In order to accomplish this goal, I created a lesson plan well in advance featuring a terminal goal with enabling goals. The terminal goal was to effectively use ten different modal and conditional sentences in polite, and question forms. Four enabling objectives using each of the set skills of language were employed. I diagnosed potential difficulties beforehand and during the exercise and shifted my strategy accordingly. At the end of the exercise, I had them act out a role play using a chain dialogue using multiple structures of modals and previously learned idiomatic phrases. I set the examples as job, home and shopping so they would be relevant to each student without making them too specific.

Grammar structures can be extremely helpful and necessary when teaching, however, what I have learned from class informed me that teaching structures is more helpful when taught in a meaningful, natural setting. The conditional also exists in Spanish grammar structures, so using necessary, but minimal examples in Spanish proved to be a critical link to help bridge a gap in understanding.