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c. Permission: Can and Could
Can and Could also have meaning to indicate permission. The following details are the use of can and could to express permission.
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1 Asking for permission
Can and could are all used in asking for permission. Can is probably the commenest of the two though some people consider
that can is „not correct’ -
Can I have a drop more whisky?
Could is rather more hesitant that can, and is used when you are not sure that you will get permission or when you don’t
want to sound too sure. -
Could I ask you something, if you are not too busy?
2 Giving permission
When someone gives permission, heshe uses can, but not Could. Could is suggest respect, so it is more natural in asking for
permission that in giving it. -
„Could I use your phone?’ – yes, of course you can.
„Not:....of course you could.’ 3
Reporting permission When the writer talks about permission that has already been
given, may is not usually used. -
It’s not fair. Joey can stay up till ten and have to go to bed at
eight.not: ...Joey may stay up... -
Can you park on the pavement in your country?Not: May
you...? In the past, could is used to say that one wass allowed to do
something at any time„general permission’
When I lived at home, I could watch TV whenever I wanted to. But the writer
don’t use could to talk about permission for one particular action in past.
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Michael Swam, Practical English usage, …p.131
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- I was allowed to see her yesterday evening. Not: I could see
her...
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d. Offers; can and could
Can and Could are also often used to offer something to another
people. To make offers more polite could is used more approprite than
can. The following examples are some of the use when could and can
express offers. -
I can lend you the money till tommorow, if you need it.
-
I could do shopping for you, if you are tired.
-
Can I carry your luggage?
-
Could I give You dinner tonight? e.
Request and Order: can and could Can and Could are also used to make someone to do something, or to
orders someone to do as they are orders. For example, in restaurant, when custemers make an order, they may ask waiters to bring them
meals such as drinks, desert, cigarette, etc. The following examples
show how can and could fit these meanings.
-
You can start by doing the washing up, and then you can clean the
car. -
Sofi can do the shopping, and I will do the cooking. Harold can do
the washing-up. -
You could phone Sofi and see what time she is coming.
-
Can you come here a minute, please?
-
Could you help me with this letter? C.
Students’ difficulties in using CAN and COULD
Modal auxilaries are among the more difficult structure ESL and English teacher have to deal with. One of the reasons for his is the form of
modals. The students,who have been told time to time again that present-tense verb with third person singular subjects require an-s ending, overgeneralize
this rule to modals this rule to modals- for example, He cans play tennis.
17
Michael Swam, Practical English usage, …p.131
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And the main verb modal auxilaries is always the bare infinitive infinitive without “to”. It is can not say: he can to play tennis or He could to play tennis
but He can play tennis or He could play tennis. This overgeneralization results in error because in English modal Auxilaries can, could,may,will,etc are
distinguished from other auxilariey verb be, have, do as well as from ordinary verbs by their lack of tense and their resultant lack of subject-verb
agreement; that is, modals do not inflect. In English, modals are derived from verb that did carry tense and
take agreement markers during a much earlier stages of the language. It is thus important to emphasize to learners that English no longer inflects modals for
tense and number. Another formal property of modals that may cause your students some trouble is that modal directly precede a verb without the
intervening infinitive to that is required when two ordinary verbs follow each other in sequence.
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Modal+ verb verb +verb
I can go I want to go.
I can to go I want go.
Many of the students will treat modals like ordinary verbs and produce error by using a superfluous infinitive to: Jack must to Study Harder.
The biggest problem of ESL students face with modals is their meaning. Each modal can have more than one meaning and each meaning is a
member of an inter-related system. When a speaker chooses to use one modal, she is deciding not to use any of the other modals, thereby indicating the
degree of emphasis.The problem lies not in the surface positioning of modals nor in their wide range of meanings, but in associating the right modal with
the right meaning. The difficulties, in interpreting an already complex system, have often been compounded by teaching methods that present
modals as a list. Students memorize the modals with their accompanying
18
Diane Larsen Freeman and Marianne Murcia ,THE GRAMMAR BOOK An ESLEFL Teacher’s Course second edition New York: Pearson Education, Inc1999,p.137
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meanings, but they may have no idea of the subtle social and cultural information each choice conveys.
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Modals can also appear in the perfect aspect with a have + -en construction. This can also be a difficult area for students. The problems
students experience with the perfect modal construction can be attributed to the fact that they often believe the addition of the perfect construction adds
perfectiveness to the meaning. Beside that, the difficulties in learning modal auxiliaries were caused
by internal factor; the factor comes from inside of the students, such as Interest, motivation, mental health and talent.
As Muhibin Syah said “ The internal factor is divided into aspects; physiological aspect and psychological
aspect”.
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1. Physiological Aspect
This aspect is about the conditions of the students’ body from every part of the body. For instance, when the students got headache, they
could not study well. The condition of the body can influence students’ intensity and spirits in studying. So, if their bodies are healthy, they can
study well; can receive the information about what they are learning and can get a good achievement. However, if they are not, it will influence too.
The students become lazy and no spirit to study. 2.
Psychological Aspect This factor emphasize on the inside conditions of the students. It
consists of the students’ intelligence, talent, interest, motivation, mental health and special types of learner.
a. Intelligence
The level of intelligence which the students have, give the influence in their learning. If the students have to resolve their
problems which are over than their competences or their potentials,
19
http:www2.gsu.edu~wwweslissue1modaldif.htm
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Abu Ahmadi dan Widodo Supriyono,... p.75 translated by the writer
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they will face the difficulties, especially in their learning. The higher IQ that students have, the higher achievement they will get.
b. Talent
Talent is the basic potential or basic competence which is gotten from born.
Everyone has different talent. Someone will be easy learning something that is not suitable with their talent will get bored, give up
and unhappy. c.
Interest Interest is a tendency and high spirit or desire to something.
The students’ interest can be seen by the way students follow the learning process, complete or incomplete their note and pay attention
to the italic word in those learning. Without interesting to the learning process, they will get learning difficulties. So, for those who have high
interest in learning process, they will study hard to get what they want happily. Nevertheless, for those who have less interest in learning
process, they will study just as long as they want. d.
Motivation Motivation is as inner factor that functions for making, basing
and pointing to the learning. Students’ motivation can determine good or bad in their learning achievement. The higher motivation they have,
the higher learning success they will get. Furthermore, there are two kinds of motivation, intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from the inside students that can force them to study. Extrinsic
motivation is motivation comes from outside students that give energy to study. It means the extrinsic motivation is the verse of intrinsic
motivation. e.
Mental Health In learning process, there is not only about intelligence but also
about their mental health and their emotion. The quite emotion and the
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mental health will make the good result in learning process. In addition, if the students get successful in their learning, they will have
self- esteem. The appearance of someone’s self-esteem is the factor of
mental health. f.
Special types of learner As we know, there are three types of learning styles, those are:
visual, motorist, and visual-motorist. If the learning process is suitable with their learning style, they will study happily.
Besides the internal factor, there is external factor that causes learning difficulties. In this case, the students did not concentrate to the material given
because their friends disturbed them, or there is the parent did not support them to study. It is meant, the difficulties were caused by the external factors.
The external factor includes social environment and non social environment.
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1. Social Environment
The social environment here is the human environment outside students who have contact directly with them such as family, in their
school, neighbors and mass media. Family is the first center of education. But it can be the cause of
learning difficulties if the families give less attention to their children. Social environment in school such as teachers, staff administration
and classmates can influence the students. The teacher can be a cause for learning difficulties when:
a. Unqualified teacher
b. Bad relationship between the teacher and the student.
c. The high learning standard from the teacher
d. Has no skill in diagnosing the students learning difficulties, and
e. The unsuitable method.
Moreover, the neighbors or people surrounding them can also influence in their learning activities.
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Abu Ahmadi dan Widodo Supriyono,...p.79translated by the writer
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2. Nonsocial Environment
The factors which include the nonsocial environment are the location of student’s house, the school’s building, learning instruments,
curriculum, and school timing. All these factors are thought could be the influence for the students’ achievement.
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Purpose of the Research
The writer wants to know the students’ difficulties in learning modal auxiliary especially o
f „Can’ and „Could’ in determining the meaning, function and form of Modal Auxiliary and then the writer wants to analyze
why they face the difficulties in using Modal auxiliary.
B. Place and Time of the Research
The research was held at Mts Muhammadiyah 1 Ciputat, which is located on Jl.Nangka No. 21 Ciputat, T
angerang. It’s not far and only about 20 minutes from the writer’s lodging house. This research began by doing the
observation at school and the research was carried on May 2010.
C. Method of the Research
This study uses descriptive analysis technique in a form of research about the students
’ difficulties in learning modal auxiliary. The descriptive analysis is designed to obtain the current status of phenomenon and is directed
toward determining the nature of situation as it exists at the time of the study.