Resources

10mins - Introduction: Homework check: Have you completed the online homework? Any problems? Have you read anything in English since our last meeting? What did you read?

Speaking part 1: general conversation. Ask questions about daily life, interests or experiences. How long have you been studying English? What do you like most about studying this language? Do you think you spend too much time working or studying?

Debate question: Has technology made us better or worse at communicating? What is the most common way to communicate now? How is communication different for you than it was for your parents? Do you think communication is more or less stressful than it was 20 years ago?

10mins - Review: Modals - make a diagram on the whiteboard to illustrate the use of each tense.

Ability:

Can - inf. general ability

Could - f. general ability in the past, more polite way to ask permission

Able to - f. a more formal way to describe ‘can’

Possibility:

Can - a general possibility

May - it’s possible this will happen.

Could - it’s possible, considering potential conditions and alternatives. Used to ask a question about the possibility of something happening.

Might - it’s possible this is true, but less certain that may or could

Conclusions, willingness, habits:

Will - prediction about the future

Would - a prediction about an imaginary situation

Used to - things that happened repeatedly in the past

Necessity, deduction:

must - it is necessary or required. In our opinion it is important.

have (got) to - less formal and preferred for questions. Is used when something was necessary in the past. To say something will be necessary in the future, use: will have to. Suggests that the necessity comes from external rules. Ex: The council has to close two city centre car parks following a health and safety report.

**In the negative form, mustn’t means you CANNOT do something. _Don’t have to_means it is not a requirement, but you still can.

Obligation:

Ought to - advice or recommendation - an opinion belonging to a group OR individual.

Should - advice or recommendation - an opinion belonging to an individual.

Ex: I should buy her a present, but I won’t. (a personal opinion going against itself.)

I ought to buy her a present, but I won’t. (a personal course of action going against a pre-existing group opinion about a social circumstance)*preferred answer.

Shouldn’t - something is unlikely or a bad idea. A recommendation against something.

10mins - Activity: Professional practice - Imagine you are an English teacher giving advice to your students about how to successfully pass the speaking part of their English exam. What are the do’s and don’t’s of a speaking exam? Use appropriate modal verbs. (This can be a written or discussion-based activity, time permitting.)

10mins - Worksheet: 03 modal verbs

15mins - Test: 03 listening practice - part 1

05mins - Warm down: Goodbye, see you next time. Encourage students to do additional reading for vocabulary building outside of the lesson. News articles, short stories, and novels are all great suggestions.

00mins - Homework: Complete the next section of the online homework.

Worksheet answers -

Part 1: 2. 'll be able to 3. wasn't able to 4. Could 5. could 6. might 7. could 8. mightn't

Part 2: 2. g 3. e 4. a 5. i 6. h 7. b

Test answers: 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. A 6. B