The use of English modal verbs in writings by non-English major students at a university in Vietnam

In academic writing, modality is extremely important since it expresses the writer's attitude toward the ideas they provide as well as toward the readers.According to many researchers, the ability to use modality appropriately significantly contribute to the pragmatic aspect in English writing.It also indicates a high degree of linguistic and pragmatic competency in the written mode.However, past research has shown that learners of English seem to struggle with employing modal verbs appropriately.Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how Vietnamese learners of English use modal verbs in their writings.For this purpose, a collection of 75 pieces of writing from 30 non-English major students at a university in Vietnam was analyzed using a quantitative method.Findings indicated that Vietnamese learners of English do not use modal verbs frequently in their writing.Besides, they tend to overuse can, should, will and rarely use other modal verbs.Based on the analysis of the students' writings, this study proposed possible reasons that account for these issues.The study provided some insights into the use of modal verbs by Vietnamese learners of English as a Foreign Language and thus informed the teaching of modal verbs in the English classroom and contributed to the academic curricula design.