A Pragmatic and Semantic Analysis of EFL Learners’ Use of Modal Verbs: A Perception Study

Abstract

The current study, which employed a new analysis approach -an explicit and implicit data collection method-, investigates the perception of the English modal verbs by forty-six Saudi EFL undergraduate learners. Findings revealed that Saudi EFL students struggled with the semantic functions of English modals more than the pragmatic ones. Deontic possibility modal verbs like can and might were the most challenging forms for the EFL learners. Functional complexity, input frequency, students’ L1 influence, and cultural variation were thought to cause students’ misunderstanding of these modals. Students, on the other hand, appeared to perceive the pragmatic functions with ease, reinforcing the role of the input frequency in the acquisition of English modality because modals of Request, Suggestion and Offer are frequently introduced to students in the classroom. Furthermore, findings revealed that students’ performance in the perception test was better than the explicit one, which could be attributed to the lack of explicit instruction of the English modals. Some pedagogical implications were suggested.