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Raising Awareness of Adverbs of
Frequency to Low-Level Learners
of English
LSA 3 Background Essay
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Word count:
2040
Contents
1.
Introduction....................................................................3
2.
Analysis..........................................................................4
2.1. Adverbs of Frequency: Meaning and Use...................4
2.2. Adverbs of Frequency: Form......................................6
2.2.1. Formation (morphology)........................................6
2.2.2. Position in a sentence............................................6
2.3. Pronunciation.............................................................9
2.3.1. Stress:...................................................................9
2.3.2. Pronunciation........................................................9
3.
Learners Issues............................................................10
4.
Suggestions..................................................................11
Bibliography........................................................................15
1 Introduction
The use of adverbs of frequency is considered an essential
grammatical component during different stages of language
learning, and especially with low level learners of English. Adverbs
are one of the major parts of speech which form the meaning.
[The] form classes are composed of the major parts of speech:
nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. These are the words that
carry the content or meaning of a sentence. (DeCapua, 2008,
p.21). Learning adverbs widens the learners scope of
understanding and use of language in general, as adverbs answer
the question of how, when, why and to what extent some actions
occur. Lower level learners need to be aware of the dimensions of
the actions they are perceiving or even reporting on these
adverbs.
Parrot (2008) mentions that; For teaching purposes, it is
generally necessary to specify particular type of adverbs (p.28).
Since adverbs refer to a large varied word class of subcategories
which has different functions (e.g. adverbs of manner, place,
time, degree, frequency etc.), it is important to choose certain
types or subcategories of adverbs that matches learners levels
needs. According to my background in teaching grammar, I found
that learners need to study adverbs of frequency as early as the
present simple is introduced, when expressing their daily
activities and habitual actions, requiring the understanding of
their frequency.
1. Analysis
Adverbs of Frequency are Adverbs of Time that answer the
question "How frequently?" or "How often?" According to Swan
(2005), grammar provides different subcategories of adverbs
according to their functions:
-
Adverbs of manner (well, badly)
Adverbs of place (above, beyond)
Adverbs of time (soon, ago)
Adverbs of degree (much, plenty)
Adverbs of linking (firstly, later)
Adverbs of comment and attitude (actually, probably)
Adverbs of ordering and limiting (also, then)
Adverbs of length of time (long)
Adverbs of frequency (often, usually)
2.1. Adverbs of Frequency: Meaning and Use
Adverbs of frequency include: always, usually, often,
sometimes, occasionally, hardly ever, seldom, rarely, never,
everyday /week, /moth etc and normally. Though adverbs of
frequency can be closely tied to adverbs of time length and
adverbs of time, they are distinguished by expressing frequency
(how often). Therefore they can be defined as adverbs which are
used to indicate how often we do things and how often things
happen. (Parrot, 2000).
Adverbs of frequency can be defined in two categories based
on meaning as follows:
1. Definite frequency adverbs which indicate definite
occurrences, like:
a. She visits her aunt every day. (seven days a week)
b. They never walk to work. (zero occurences)
2. Indefinite frequency adverbs, like:
a. We usually go to school on foot. (we hardly ever take
the bus)
Adverbs of frequency tell us how many times something is
happening. They can be measured on a scale from 0% (e.g.
never) to 100% (e.g. always). Though, according to Scrivener
(2010), exaggeration, generalization and vagueness may modify
the meaning. In the example they never walk to work, it could
be an exaggeration, and never is not meant to be of 0% value.
Anyone could use the same statement to show how luxurious is
his friends life, for example.
2.2. Adverbs of Frequency: Form
2.2.1.
Formation (morphology)
Unlike the majority of adverbs, adverbs of frequency are not
adjective-based. Most adverbs are formed by adding the suffix ly
to an adjective (e.g. quick quickly), but adverbs of frequency are
not (except rarely, occasionally). Therefore, they cannot be
identified as adverbs by their spelling or pronunciation.
2.2.2.
Position in a sentence
Adverbs of frequency go in various positions in a sentence.
They typically go before the verb.
My friends always go out on weekends.
Subj. + always + verb
We dont put an adverb between a verb and its object.
I often get headaches
Subj + adv + verb + obj
All the indefinite adverbs of frequency can go in the same
position. In the standard spoken and written English learners
might tackle different positions. For raising their awareness of the
use of adverbs of frequency, here are some other position
possibilities.
2.2.2.1.
Front Position
The indefinite adverbs of frequency usually go in the
first position, especially if the adverb is the main focus
of the message, and has more weight than the action
itself.
Every week, she has a new hairstyle.
Some adverbs of indefinite frequency (e.g. sometimes,
-
usually, often) can go in front position.
- Sometimes I eat pizza or I sometimes eat
pizza.
Adverbs with negative emphasis can come in front
position for extra emphasis. In this case the emphasis is
always referring to the previous sentence, and a
question form (auxiliary + subject) comes after the
adverb.
-
A: Look at you! You havent gone to the
gym since we arrived.
B: Oh yeah. Seldom do we have the time
for ourselves.
2.2.2.2.
Mid position
Mid position is the most common form for the adverbs of
frequency. They usually go before one part verbs (play, listen,
eat), and after the auxiliary verbs (be, have, do).
a. Before one part verb:
- I always play tennis on Saturday.
b. After auxiliary verbs:
- She has never written to me.
In case the verb phrase has more than one
auxiliary verb, the adverb of frequency goes
after the first one.
- They have always been treated harshly.
The position changes with auxiliary verbs
depending on meaning and status. When the
auxiliary verb is used to emphasize the
meaning, mid position adverbs go before the
verb.
- I always do say thank you. (to emphasize
the verb)
They come with be according to the same
previous rule.
- He is always late.
2.2.2.3.
End Position
Learners are constantly informed that definite
frequency adverbs normally go in end position.
- I brush my teeth every morning.
Indefinite adverbs of frequency come in end
position, if they are the main focus of the
message.
- I get up very depressed sometimes.
2.3. Pronunciation
The phonological component of adverbs of frequency can be
described as:
2.3.1.
Stress:
Adverbs of frequency are normally stressed in a sentence.
They add to the meaning of the verb, adjective and clause, so
they always carry the primary stress of a sentence. Adverbs of
frequency receive the primary stress regardless of their position
in the sentence (front, mid, end), whether they are emphasized or
not.
-
I ALWAYS go to school.
They NEVER call me late.
SOMETIMES I go out on Sundays.
I play squash with my friend EVERY
Thursday.
2.3.2.
Pronunciation
A lot of adverbs of frequency are one syllable words. One
syllable and multi syllable words are usually stressed on the first
syllable.
OFten
USually
The pronunciation of often varies from American to British
English, as the /t/ sound is silent in British English and pronounced
in American English.
2. Learners Issues
Throughout my experience, I have seen learners producing
errors with adverbs of frequency. I have noticed that most of
these errors are not related to their first language interference
more than the process second language acquisition itself, as I
encountered learners with different first language backgrounds
and yet, they all repeated similar errors. It is mainly the
awareness of the adverbs of frequency and their importance
which is not probably raised well. The learners issues with the
adverbs of frequency are meaning and use, form and
pronunciation issues.
Learners typically have problems with the form of adverbs of
frequency. They place them in the wrong position in a sentence.
Since teaching adverbs of frequency is much fit to the elementary
and pre-intermediate levels, which are mainly concerned with
nouns, verbs and adjectives, where learners are not expected to
have a high proficiency level at this stage. Therefore, they
normally confuse the position of adverbs of frequency with verbs
and adjectives.
Another very common issue is the learners constant error in
the use of double negative with never (I never dont eat fast
food). The use of double negatives is a natural development of
learners interlanguage (Selinker, 1972). Learners typically study
present simple before adverbs of frequency. This results confusing
the negative form in the present simple with never, without
really paying attention to never as the only existing negative
adverb of frequency.
Being unaware of the meaning of the adverbs, learners
confuse it with adjectives. Sometimes it is not easy for learners to
master the use of adverbs of frequency despite of mastering the
-ly adverbs, as an example. When the learners are familiar with
the -ly form, they tend to overgeneralize the concept and
consider the adverbs of frequency like often as an adjective. In
addition, learners used to make errors with meaning among the
adverbs of frequency themselves. A learner might say I rarely
drive to school, while he means I always drive to school,
because he is simply is not aware of the scale of frequency for the
adverbs.
The pronunciation issue is not of great impact as the form
and meaning are. The pronunciation of the adverbs is not very
complicated and easy to grasp.
3. Suggestions
Scrivener (2010) highlighted a point of level-exposure of
adverbs of frequency. He suggested that some certain adverbs of
frequency to be taught for lower level learners (e.g. always,
sometimes, usually, often, never, every day / week etc), and
named the rest as:
more advanced to the higher levels. Later on,
occasionally and hardly ever may be introduced as
equivalent to sometimes and rarely. Other adverbs (e.g.
constantly, regularly, almost never, normally, routinely,
seldom, sporadically) could be considered more advanced
and are not usually introduced at elementary or
intermediate level. (p. 115)
Scrivener (2010) also presents a very elaborate concept to
raise learners awareness of the meaning of adverbs of frequency
(see figure 1). The use of a continuum of frequency helps learners
to identify the different scale of every adverb. It is simply like a
timeline that most teachers use to describe tense.
0%
50%
100%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------never
hardly
rarely
occasionally
sometimes
often
usually
always
ever
Figure 1, (a continuum of adverbs).
Another continuum activity that proves to be effective with
learners is how often do you..?
-
The teacher divides the learners into two
groups, and asks them to figure out what
miming is. Teacher uses flashcards to show
as an example, in case learners didnt
understand.
Learners compete to name activities.
They place them on a weekly schedule.
Wash my car for example twice a week.
After stating the routines, learners are
expected to count the days of an activity
and place it on a continuum.
Finally the learners produce sentences
using adverbs of frequency depending on
their continuum.
Using a tabulated chart which shows the frequency of events
and adverbs of frequency may help learners understanding the
meaning and use of adverbs of frequency; like, Does he ever play
cricket? Yes, sometimes. Football? No, never. (Atkin, 2002). This activity
could develop learners awareness of form by asking the learners
to answer by a gap fill activity.
Learners debate is another activity where the teacher can
encourage learners to discuss their habitual activities to practice
form and meaning. In circles, learners can describe each others
daily routine.
To cover the pronunciation part, teachers can use choral and
individual drilling. Using authentic conversation may help with
stress awareness.
Bibliography
Atkin R. (2002) Teaching Tense. ELB Publishing.
DeCapua A. (2008)Grammar for Teachers. Springer Science
and Business Media, LLC.
Parrot M. (2000) Grammar for English Language Teachers.
Cambridge; Cambridge University Press
Scrivener J. (2010) Teaching English Grammar. Macmillan
Education.
Swan M. (2005) Practical English Usage. Oxford University
Pres.
Yule G. (1998) Explaining English Grammar. Oxford
University Press.
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. IRAL-International Review
of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10(1-4),
209-232.
