ERROR
CORRECTION
Hi buddies!, As we know,
sometimes it’s difficult to find a way to correct our students because we are
in a risk that if we correct them in away they don’t like or in some way we
make them feel embarrassed or something like that, they won’t want to talk or
write again because they will be afraid of committing mistakes in class at the
moment of speaking or writing. Or also as many of us have noticed in ICPNA classes
we find many kind of people teenagers ,
adults ,people in their forties , people who don’t like being corrected and so
on!. What to do in these cases? Here I have found three techniques.
1. Teacher Modeling
& Correction of Spoken Errors When
the teacher corrects a speaking error, what he or she is actually doing is
providing a correct model for the learner to emulate. This stage, applied at
any level, and especially at low levels, ensures that the learners receive
correct information.
The best technique
that a teacher can use is to correctly repeat back to the learner what they had
said incorrectly, and then have them repeat it again. Never echo the error that
the learner has made, as this can sound like you are mocking them.
Whatever you do, you
must make this process gentle and positive to ensure that the learner is
receptive. Your goal is to ensure the learners are developing awareness of the
error, rather than making it a matter of “right and wrong.” Avoid negative
language at all costs. Avoid saying, “No,” or “Wrong,” or anything similar. In
fact, praise the effort made, even if incorrect. Follow up by modeling the
correction, and praise the learner again when he or she reproduces the language
correctly.
2. Learner Comparison
& Correcting Written Errors In
classrooms where the learners have developed a good working rapport with each
other, (an important requirement for this technique!) the teacher can step out
of the center by allowing the learners to develop error awareness amongst
themselves.
It is important
however, that the learners are encouraged to compare errors, rather than
actually employ a correction technique. The latter approach could result in
management problems for you. For example, a younger learner should not correct
an older learner in some cultures. In others, a woman may not correct a man. In
multi-lingual classrooms, there could be resentment of one national correcting
a non-allied national (ex: Japanese to Russian, or French to German). Beyond
the cultural conflicts, there could also be resentment arising from personality
conflicts.
To get around these
problems, an effective strategy is to leave spoken error correction to the
teacher. For the correction of written tasks, however, invite learners to
compare their answers. Avoid employing a teacher-to-learner correction of a
task, which can be isolating, exposing and time consuming in most
circumstances.
As they do this, make
sure you monitor and make yourself available to clear up any further confusion,
and also to correct any misinformation. In this way, it is unnecessary to
correct the task with the whole class, and you can move more seamlessly on to
the next task.
3.
Self-Correction When a learner can
correct him or herself, you know that the learner has arrived at the most
desirable level of error awareness: self-correction. There is nothing more
satisfying than to hear your learners self-correct errors that, at one time,
were frustratingly common every time they opened their mouths or put pen to
paper. Getting to this stage, however, may take a while; especially for certain
deeply-ingrained errors such as article omission, tense confusion, or word
choice.
Be patient and
gentle. Allow learners to finish talking. Don’t jump on the error. As soon as
the learner has completed talking, draw their attention to the problem by
asking them to repeat some part of what they said. If they repeat the error,
gently indicate that there is a problem. If they are unable to self-correct,
simply model correctly and have them repeat it.
REFLECTION!
