The purpose of this study is to examine how the modal verbs- deber, querer and poder – are treated and explained in selected tasks in two exercise books Colores 9 Exercise Book and ¡Qué bien! 9 Exercises. Texts linked to the tasks in their respective textbooks are also examined.
By taking into consideration the research questions, this study helps to show how the selected exercises in each exercise book deal with how modal verbs are designed and used from amorphosyntactic perspective in the selected exercises, and this study will also examine how the function and meaning of these modal verbs are explained in their context.
The study uses a qualitative method with a content analysis based on a functional perspective, which includes an analysis of three categories or perspectives designed to answer the research questions.
The analysis shows that the exercise books have some exercises that use the modal verbs deber, querer, and poder among other verbs to teach grammar but exercises focusing on these modal verbs are missing. The selected exercises which discuss the modal verbs include deductive and inductive strategies in which grammar learning can take place as a product and as a process. The authors of the exercise books use translation, memorization, and repetition of the contents of the textbooks in most of the exercises. These modal verbs are also used in exercises that focus on free communication to understand language.
From a morphosyntactic perspective, all three verbs are largely used only in the present tense in indicative and querer and poder are treated as examples of diphthong verbs. Finally, it is shown that the selected exercises do not deal with the function and meaning of modal verbs.
The study concludes that the pedagogical methods used in the two exercise books to convey the content of the exercises do not help to gain an understanding of the importance of the function and meaning that these modal verbs have, although they are significant for language learning.
2023.