Best Practice 17: Error Correction

Best Practice 17: Error Correction

Learning English is a lot like learning to ride a bike – it takes time to master (and there are usually a few scrapes and bruises to endure along the way). Make this process easier by doing the following:

1. Let the students make mistakes. Mistakes related to concepts that have not been covered in the course should be overlooked for the sake of building students’ self-confidence.

2. Mistakes on already-covered topics (and especially the topic de jour) should be corrected, but only after the students have had time to realize that they have made a mistake (and tried to correct it themselves).

3. Correct mistakes anonymously. Do this by making notes of students’ mistakes during the monitoring period (see BP25 for further explanation) and putting them on the board later. This gives students the opportunity to correct these mistakes themselves, in pairs, or in small groups. If no one knows the right answer, give it to them, but only as a last resort.

DO: Feel free to disguise errors to make them even more anonymous. For example, instead of “We have been to Mexico last year” try “I have been to France last month.”

DO NOT: Give negative feedback.

DO: Encourage them to correct themselves when they make a mistake. It is good preparation for the real world.

DO NOT: Imitate a student’s mistake.

DO: Make positive corrections.

DO NOT: Jump in immediately to correct them.

DO: Help students learn to listen to themselves. While they may never be able to correct every mistake they make, with time they will be able to correct a lot of them.

Correcting Conversation

Classroom discussions should be seen as confidence building exercises, not pop quizzes. Real-time correction inhibits the natural flow of conversation and should be kept to a minimum. Instead of interrupting and correcting the student, deal with persistent errors or address weaknesses in grammar and vocabulary by writing down any significant or persistent errors or obvious gaps in the student’s language knowledge. At the conclusion of the discussion or class (or both), simply spend a few minutes focusing on these errors in a neutral, non-threatening way. While students appreciate this kind of needs-based approach, teachers can use these gaps as the basis for future lessons.