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ERROR
CORRECTION (Keith O'Hare)
4 April, 2005
ERROR
CORRECTION
What are errors? Why are they
made?
Do they need correcting?
Which ones shall we correct?
When? How?
INTRODUCTION
What
are errors?
In English language teaching
errors are incorrect language compared to Standard English in written and
spoken output.
Why
are they made?
They may occur for any of the
following reasons:
Having gaps in knowledge (know a rule but not the exception), experimenting,
L1 interference, best chance at communicating, bad teaching, nerves and
tiredness,
NB Ss here think they are
creatively using the language (see backwash below!)
Errors are generally seen as a
sign of learning.
TYPES
of MISTAKE
* Errors (where they don't know
the correct form entirely)
* Slips (where a S can self
correct, i.e. they know the correct form, but have temporarily
"forgotten" it.)
* Attempts (Ss don't know
language yet)
Mistakes can also be labelled as
- Pre-systematic:
Students don't know the language yet and are just guessing or trying
their best shot at communicating - Systematic:
They have seen the language but have not fully learnt or assimilated it
yet. - Post-systematic:
They know the correct form but have made a slip.
Identifying
the error as one of the above will also influence how you handle the error.
Another factor to consider is what part of language the error belongs to.
An
error may be from any one of the following:
PHONOLOGY (Pronunciation, word
stress)
GRAMMAR (Tense, preposition use etc.)
SYNTAX (Word order)
LEXIS (Vocabulary)
REGISTER (Informal or appropriate use)
OTHER
Which
categories do the following mistakes belong to?
Can
you swimming?
My sister, he is very tall.
I sink it's a good idea
She call me one week three times
I eat lunch at one o'clock
Yesterday I go home
He didn't here
Do Ss
need correcting?
Some research says no!
Several studies have shown that in classes where the teacher never corrects
students, compared to classes where a teacher does, students have produced
almost identical results in a final evaluation and the non-corrected students
scord significantly higher on fluency.
A lot of teachers say yes!
If we don't correct, how will they learn?
What are your feelings about
this?
Which ones shall we correct? When? How?
POINTS
TO CONSIDER
Are we wasting time correcting,
"she have", when in fact, you can understand perfectly what they
are saying?
Research also shows that Ss (and
young children learning mother tongue) will only correct when they are ready
(receptive). When teachers correct, very often the S is not receptive.
This maybe an explanation of the research quoted above.
As teachers we have to choose
our grammar correction carefully.
Maybe we should consider the
affect on COMMUNICATION.
We should also consider the
effect on the listener or reader. Students have to be aware of when they are
making cultural unacceptable utterances or a faux pas.
When
shall we correct?
Some books say ask the student, I propose it doesn't so much depend on the Ss
but on the situation.
Student to class Presentation
Fluency
Pair work
Group work
Drilling
An anecdote
Drilling could be a good time to
correct on the spot. For pair work it may be better to correct after the
task.
Correction (like testing) has a
backwash effect, i.e. affects Ss future performance. What effect is your
method producing?
Also we have to consider the
learner and where they are in the learning process. What level are they? What
are their goals? When and where do they need to use English and what kind of
effect do they want to produce?
How
shall we correct?
Some ideas for ERROR CORRECTION:
* Correct errors only in
language you've just presented.
* Focus on one area of
correction for one activity.
* Tell Ss what area you are
focussing on.
* Use a flashcard. It may have
one word (like "TO") and for every mistake today with that word,
the teacher will just point to the flashcard! (It could also say TENSE or
VERB, etc.)
* Use partner monitoring. Choose
mistakes to focus on. You and your partner will choose 3 common mistakes.
Every time either of you make that mistake you will pinch, prod or hit the
other!
* Do pair work in threes! (One
observes...then rotate!)
* Do pair work in fours (One
observer is a Good angel the other is a Harsh angel)! At the end of the task,
the good angel tells the couple all the good English the pair used, while the
harsh angel tells them the mistakes.
* In error feedback, put a
mixture of good and incorrect usage on WB, let Ss identify them.
* Focus on what they do well as
much as what they do incorrectly
* In writing always give
feedback on content as well as language.
* Finger correction
* Encourage self-correction
* Make them more receptive to
changing behaviour (correcting mistakes). Use ideas they can relate to. Tell
and executive "You sound like a country bumpkin" when you say,
"he say it were really good".
* Use Time lines
* Try indirect correction by
showing the level of communication achieved.
(S: My sister, he live in Hubei
T: Oh did she have a sex change!)
* Let Ss know when you won't
correct them! (This one works a treat!) E.G. personal or emotional small
group discussions or diaries or letter exchanges.
* After pair work give class
feedback and maybe a personal note to a S. who made a mistake or demands
continual correction.
* Use a green light in writing
exercises. Students have a piece of green paper and a red one. If they want
the teacher to come across and check their work they put the green one on the
desk. If they don't want to be disturbed or checked, they use the red one.
This is all part of facilitating and encouraging learners to take control of
their learning.
* Auction Grammar. Teacher sells
a list of sentences (some correct some not) to students. Students in pairs
discuss which are correct and so want to buy. They bid and the student with
the highest bid wins it. However, if it turns out to be incorrect, they have
lost their money!
* Grammar Stock Exchange.
Variation on the above where Ss are given a sentence on a slip of paper and
have to go around and try to sell it to other students. They can bargain and
aim to purchase as many good sentences as they can.
* For one to one class. Record
student speaking. Replay and every time there's a mistake student taps the
desk. Do this repeatedly over a period of time to see (or hear!) progress.
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