How do you handle error correction? Should you correct every error as soon as it happens? Should you ignore the errors of an ESL student and hope that at some point the students will be able to correct themselves? I don’t think either of these techniques is particularly effective. It is impossible to correct every error even though many students ask for it. Leaving it up to time and the natural process of language learning isn’t usually particularly effective and is quite risky as well.
The answer is finding some midpoint that works for you in conjunction with your teaching style. It’s more of an art than a science but here are some guidelines to follow:
1. Are you working on accuracy or fluency in the lesson or with the student? Correcting errors can impede fluency by forcing the student to slow down and process the language structures which takes their focus away from what they want to say making it less coherent to the listener. Obviously you will give correction more often when more accurate speech is the goal.
2. Consider the error itself. Does it relate to the focus of the lesson plan? If not, you run a risk of sidetracking the lesson into an area you weren’t planning on going. Also, you take away attention from the structure/function you were hoping to cover.
3. What part of the lesson are you in? If you are in the warm up or free practice section of the lesson then you likely won’t want to correct errors. When you are warming up the students you want to make them feel relaxed and excited about participating in the lesson. During the free practice section you should be assessing them for what they can do with the goal that they aren’t making any errors. So most error correction will take place in the study and controlled practice section of the lesson.
4. What are the student’s goals? Do they want to be functional and have the ability to communicate for travel or to talk to friends etc? If so, then you are likely to give less correction. You will be correcting more often if this student will be using their language skills for academic or business purposes where their success might depend on how well they use language.
5. Closely related to the previous point is the question: Is this error impeding communication? A mistake can vary widely according to what the student is doing. A mistake made by a medical professional has a much bigger impact than the same mistake made by a tourist. So the question “can the message be understood?” will have a different answer according to the audience.
6. What will the student’s response be to the correction? Some people have a lower tolerance for correction because of their self esteem related to their language skills. Sometimes students can be shut down by correction. Others thrive on correction. They absorb it and apply it. It’s important to have a good sense of how the student will handle the correction to be able to apply one effectively.
7. Finally, errors are evidence of progress! If a student of less-than-expert efficiency never makes an error then they probably aren’t talking. If they are not talking then often they are not learning.
Thinking about error correction seems like a cumbersome process. It’s a heavy cognitive load to process but similar to language learning, the more time you spend doing it the faster and better you will become.
Thank you Gwen! I think that what you've said is very insightful.
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