An Empirical Study On The Use Of Modal Meaning In Non-English Majors’ English Writing

It is no doubt that English writing plays a vital role in English learning. It involvesgrammar, vocabulary, logic, etc. Linguists always focus on the correct express of the modalmeaning, meanwhile, as a crucial vehicle in modal meaning expressing, modal words is moreand more valued. This paper focuses on how to enhance the correctness of modal meaning inwriting with the aid of systemic functional grammar and inter-language theory on modalmeaning expressing, aiming at strengthen the decency in English communication.The study of this paper has both theoretical and practical roles in developing the qualityof English teaching in College and the skill of non-English major students in English writing.The author studied a random sample of Jilin Huaqiao Foreign Language Institute offinance and marketing, choosing180non-English major students of the same grade assubjects, the author spends16weeks on this experiment, to explore the influence of systemicfunctional grammar and inter-language theory on students’ English writing. It containsattitudes, interests and problems in writing, and makes an empirical analysis of quantitativeand qualitative. The author divides the two majors into two groups: experimental class andcontrolled class, the previous experiment has showed the ability in writing of the two classeswas in the same stage, the author uses systemic functional grammar and inter-language theoryin teaching towards the experimental class, while adopts questionnaire, tests and interviews tothe two classes, arriving at the data and using SPSS to carry statistical analysis.The result shows that the systemic function grammar and inter-language theory on modalmeaning greatly promotes the proper use of modal words in the chosen students’ Englishwriting. The study covers the shortage of the previous teaching in English writing. At thesame time, it plays vital roles in popularizing the use of systemic function grammar andinter-language theory in English teaching and promoting the combination of the systemicfunctional grammar and inter-language theory on modal meaning with English teaching.