A Study Of Modal Verb Entries In English Learners' Dictionaries

Modal verbs are very important but difficult for Chinese EFL learners. They have received a great deal of attention in learners' dictionaries. The thesis examines these dictionaries in great detail and shows how they have developed through time to meet the perceived needs of Chinese EFL learners.The theory of modality in functional grammar is introduced as the criterion for corpus and dictionary investigation to the present study. Based on the theory of modality, the thesis investigates the frequency, phrase structure, error and meaning distribution of modal verbs in CLEC and FLOB corpora. The objective is to find out any possible inappropriate use of modal verbs by Chinese EFL learners. The data collected in the corpus study is used as the reference for the constructive analysis and illustration of the key features of modal verbs in learners' dictionaries.On the basis of the detailed investigation, the author finds that the denotation and lexical information of modal verbs in the present learners' dictionaries suggests that insufficient attention is given by the present day dictionaries to the inappropriate use of modal verbs by Chinese EFL learners. For this reason, the thesis proposes suggestions on how to improve the definition in the following fields: provide more syntactical information in accessible and visible way; add error warning; emphasize phrase structure in the examples; build semantic network; note the meaning frequency comparison of the use of modal verb with multiple meanings between Chinese EFL learners and native speakers.