Evaluating the performance of Iraqi EFL University students in understanding the meanings of English modals

الملخص EN

This study aims at investigating the performance of Iraqi EFL University Students to recognize and use the various meanings of English models.

This study has aimed to shed light upon: i) evaluating the understanding of English modals’ meanings by Iraqi EFL learners at the university level ii) the acquisition rate of English modals and their meanings, and iii) the order of such an acquisition.

It is hypothesized that: Iraqi college students do not distinguish the different types of English modals and their meanings.

2.The students’ achievement at the recognition level is predicted to be higher than their achievement at the production level.

3- Of the various types of English modals, it is hypothesized that the order of acquisition is:- Will-would > can-could > must > shall>may-might >other On the basis of the above hypotheses, a twenty-item proficiency test has been administered to the First Year Iraqi EFL learners at the Department of English, College of Education, University of Babylon.

The sample that were selected to test administration.

consisted of (60) first-year subjects and has a representative rate of (100%) of all the admissible population.

The statistical calculations show that the resultant performance rate is (38.75) which means that subjects at their final semester before final examinations are indeed far away from drawing close to achieving a good mastery of English modals.

This result provides statistical evidence to the validity of the First and Second hypotheses.

The relative weight of the correct-response frequencies indicate that the following hierarchy can be drawn for their acquisition route by Iraqi EFL learners at the first-year level: Will-would > can-could > must > shall>may-might >other The result above provides empirical data that proves the validity of the Third hypothesis.