SOME TIPS TO TEACHERS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS FOR NON-PHILOLOGICAL STUDENTS GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCY FORMATION (CASE STUDY OF MODAL VERBS)

Abstract

An important aspect of training students of a non-philological specialty is the formation of foreign language communicative competence. Successful development of the latter is impossible without the formation of all its basic components, one of which is grammatical competency as knowledge of grammatical elements of language and the ability to use them in communication, on the one hand, and connections and patterns established between grammatical phenomena and concepts they express, on the other hand. The article highlights eight tips for teachers as for the formation and improvement of grammatical competency of students of non-philological specialties on the grammatical topic “Modal verbs” in classes of the subject “Foreign language (English)”. The main focus is on the step-by-step recommendations of teaching modal verbs as speech units expressing the speaker’s subjective attitude to what he is saying. The following tips are outlined: analysis of the theoretical and practical content of the basic textbook, according to which the topic “Modal Verbs” is taught; establishing feedback through the involvement of students in clarifying the essence of modality in general; introduction of grammatical material through the definition of dominant modal verbs, semi-modal verbs and other verbs denoting modality; illustration of the easiest way to study modal verbs; outlining the typical mistakes that students often make while studying this topic (here the teacher also illustrates the key features of modal verbs); comparison of means expressing modality in Ukrainian and English with an emphasis on different shades of expression of duty or obligation; differentiation between modal verbs of low and high modality; focusing on the triad – modal verb, tense and time reference.