INTRODUCTION:
Error correction is a vital part of any language classroom. However, teachers come to a point where it is unclear how much correction is necessary for students. What and when to correct become the most important factors to take into consideration in this discussion.
As with any aspect of teaching, a teacher must have his/her ideas and philosophy clear. This means that, error correction should form part of a teacher’s integral teaching philosophy.
There are two very important elements to consider:
- Are the students committing “simple” errors?
- Are the errors hindering communication?
These two basic questions illuminate the discussion on the subject of error correction.
For starters, what is being taught? Are the students making mistakes in the target structure of the lesson or are they making mistakes that are outside of the target structure, but that they are supposed to already know?
When students make a mistake in something that is considered to be more advanced than what they are currently learning, a teacher can deem it appropriate to bypass correction. Why? The reason for this is that you do not want to overburden students with correction. Another thing to consider is that if a student makes a mistake in the utilization of a structure that is beyond what they are currently learning, an explanation is warranted. That means that the teacher runs the risk of having to explain something that is beyond the comprehension of the majority of the class. The easiest way to get out of the problem is to resort to the students’s native language and make a boring, grammatical explanation of the situation. Remember that what we are trying to achieve is to have students communicate.
The second aspect to take into account, is whether or not students’ mistakes are hindering communication. After all, communication is the goal of every language learner. Yet, teachers try so very hard to pump grammar, rules, diagrams, charts and other visual forms of structural language into the students’ brains. Granted, this is necessary to certain degree, but how much of it is actually beneficial? The answer to that question is evident. Students want, desire, long to talk and to be able to communicate verbally. Thus, the teacher must at all times correct errors that hinder communication; errors that distort the meaning of what a person is really trying to say.
These are the two criteria that the teacher needs to have in mind, in order to assess his/her error correction strategy. Bear in mind that it is necessary to be patient, and to expect students to make very “basic” errors, even in advanced levels. This is due to the fact that no matter how long a person has been studying a language, accuracy improves, the more a student is exposed to the language inside and outside of the classroom.
ACCURACY vs. FLUENCY
In this debate, there is no clear-cut winner. The determining factor is the teacher’s overall teaching philosophy. Is the philosophy oriented towards fluency and communication, or accuracy and grammatical correctness? I can personally say that early in my teaching career, I considered accuracy to be far more important that fluency. After all, how can a person be fluent and communicate well, if he/she cannot utter language correctly?
Over the years, I have revised my teaching philosohpy, and I have come to realize that yes, accuracy is fundamental in communication, but there can be a certain amount or types of errors that don’t necessarily hinder communication.
Consider this example:
A person walks into a bank, for example, and says to the clerk: “Can I to have a deposit slip?” Most teachers would have a heart attack if their students made such an utterance. Now, how much did the error affect communication? Did is truly hinder communication, or would the clerk have been able to comprehend the request?
Consider this other example:
Two friends are talking and once says to the other: “I would like to know your new girlfriend.” (Wait a minute, what?!)
In this case, communication has obviously been interfered with, and naturally, the listener may or may not respond properly. This is a moment when it is essential for a teacher to step in and correct the student. While this mistake is no big deal, the incorrect usage of the verb “know” instead of “meet” may be misconstrued and produce an inaqueate response.
The basic principle here is that there are given speech patterns that native speakers are taught to recognize. (That’s why we say make a mistake and not make an error, and so forth) So, it is important to teach students these appropriate collocations and to make sure that when a mistake is produced that violates these collocation, a correction is made promptly.
One other consideration: it is important at all times, that the teacher make sure that students understand and comprehend clearly the target language of any given lesson. That way, the teacher can ensure that later on, the chances of students making mistakes in that particular piece of language will be reduced.
CORRECTION IN EARLIER LEVELS vs. LATER LEVELS
Students in lower leveles need more correction than students in higher levels It is a fact that I have come to learn over the years. Why? Well, when students reach higher levels, they tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over, and no matter how much one corrects, the student always makes the same mistake.
The theory behind this is that whatever students learn in the earlier levels, tends to stick with them for the rest of their lives. This means the good stuff and the bad stuff. That puts extra pressure on the lower level teacher to make sure that students are not repeating mistakes. Otherwise, It will lead to a phenomenon known as fossilization. Once a mistakes has been fossilized in a student’s mind, it will be very difficult for a teacher to make him/her “unlearn” that mistake.
Again, this does not mean that the teacher must correct EVERY single moment of the class because with beginners, this will most likely lead to demotivation and they may even stop trying to learn at all due to the added frustration and pressure. But it is important for the teacher to assess the overall comprehension of the lesson and provide activities and practice that will make sure that any errors are being addresses.
ERROR CORRECTION TECHINQUES
Now, to the good part. How to correct students once a mistake has been identified? There are several ways of going about this. However, of all the tricks, tips and techniques I’ve tried, I will show you the following, which are the ones I use in the actual classroom itself.
- REPETITION
This doesn’t mean drilling. What I do, is simply repeat what the student just said, but in the correct manner. That means that the teacher should maintain a normal tone, not a “correcting” tone, and that the repetition should seem as natural as possible. This is good when there is a classroom discussion, individual teacher-student talk, reading exercises where the students are reading out loud, or simply during any oral exercise where it is okay to interrupt the students. However, this should not be done while there are individual or group presentations, or dramatizations, since this may disrupt the flow of the activity.
- NOTE TAKING
While you might seem like a therapist during a session, this is a good way of keeping a record of all of the mistakes being made. After the activity has concluded, you may want to take some class time to address the issues concerning you with the class as a whole, or you may want to provide more practice in future lessons. This is great for presentations. Here, the teacher can come and after the presentation or dramatization is finished, he/she can discuss the mistakes. However, the observations should be made in general terms, so not to point out individual students and say: “so and so said this and that”.
- GESTURES
I love this particular one because you don’t have to say anything. All the teacher has to do is have some sort of gesture, preferably not menacing, that the students can identify when they are making a mistake. What is the advantage? This will promote peer and self correction. Personally, I like to make faces to students… funny faces, that way they know they are making a mistake, but they won’t feel badgered by my reactions.
- SELF-CORRECTION
When students reach a certain proficiency level, they will be able to self-correct once the become aware of the mistake that they are making. This can happen automatically, or by some sort of stimulus from the teacher, like, faces, gestures, sounds, etc.
Another way to go about this is to have students complete certain tasks or exercises, and then the teacher can go over them with the class in general. Since each student will have his/her own book or paper, they can fix whatever needs fixing, and no one else needs to see what mistakes they have made.
- PEER CORRECTION
This can be done on the spot when doing oral exercises. For example, someone makes a mistake then, a classmate will correct them. Seems simple, but some student don’t like this, particularly because other students may not have the tact that a teacher would normally have.
Thus, it is necessary for the teacher to monitor peer correction and make sure that no one’s feelings are hurt. Typically, students can exchange books or papers and correct each other’s work. This can be magnified if the teacher does not provide the answers right away, but instead let’s the students figure out what might be wrong, and the provide the final word.
- VOTING.
This is another one I love. The teacher may write sentences, words or phrases on the board, and have the students decide as a class if they are correct or not. Usually the classroom consensus will be right. If the students cannot agree, or if they agree incorrectly, than the teacher may identify a problem in a specific area and may address it when appropriate.
- CORRECTING WRITTEN WORK
When written work is assignesd, teachers usually “hack” students’ work and fill it with marks, circles, slashes and other indications. The best way to go about this, even though it means more work, is to have individual feedback sessions where the teacher can tell the student why he/she made certain remarks of his/her work, rather than just giving the work back to the student.
- REGULAR FEEDBACK
This is something that has been seriously overlooked. I like to brief my students every-so-often on the progress of the class. My observations, concerns and critiques, as well as a praise, motivation and kudos for the good things. Students need regular assessments from their teachers other than periodical tests and numerical results. It is often beneficial when students see that their teacher actually pays attention to them.
FINAL THOUGHTS.
Many students feel that they need to be corrected, otherwise the teacher is not doing his/her job. That’s how most students, regardless of age feel. While this posture is more cultural than practical, it is something that some students demand. That’s why I have found it necessary on occasion to explain to students some of the methods I use. On the other hand, there are students who don’t like to be corrected. Therefore, you need to be careful with the language used to indicate correction.
For example, phrases like, “are you sure?”, “I’m sorry …”, “try again, please” are better suited than “that’s wrong”, or simply shaking your head and saying “No.” Remember that student’s morale is a fragile thing that needs to be cultivated and carefully pruned in order to weed out mistakes.
Furthermore, the teacher’s overall attitude will make students more receptive to correction. If they see the teacher as a facilitator rather than a dictator, students will be more willing to receive guidance rather than criticism. Also, it is vital that the teacher use an appropriate tone at all times. This is especially important when there is frustration because the students simply “don’t get it”.
