IN THE CLASSROOM

Correcting
oral errors
Meng Tian focuses on effective feedback.

ommunicative language Factors activities, sometimes called ‘controlled

C teaching has convinced

teachers that in order to get
English language learners
communicating well in the target
language, interaction activities must be
There are many issues which need careful
consideration, including the teacher’s
and learners’ roles in error correction,
what errors to correct and how to correct
practice activities’ are designed to
encourage correct production of newly
presented language or to correct errors
later on, while the goal of
communicative activities is to get the
incorporated into lessons so that they them. In addition, the learners’ level learners to use new language in more
can practise speaking with their peers and attitudes need to be taken into natural communication. This distinction
and with the teacher. However, whilst consideration. Error correction can, helps teachers decide the extent to
communicating in one’s mother tongue therefore, be very complicated since all which errors should be corrected. In
is natural, communicating in another these factors will influence its efficacy. non-communicative activities, teachers
language is very demanding, especially Decisions about how to react to the should focus on accuracy and try to
for low-level learners. The learners’ performance should be based
communication process requires on the following factors:
accuracy and fluency in the target 1 Error categories
If the students
language, while the planning and editing Distinguishing between different types are given appropriate
time is very limited and some necessary of errors can help teachers decide which
language components are likely still to be errors can be self-corrected or peer-
feedback, they will
unfamiliar or even unknown. Therefore,
it is inevitable that learners will make
corrected and which need to be teacher- gradually come to
corrected. Some errors can be self-
errors during the learning process. corrected by the learners completely know the difference
Although errors indicate that the unprompted or with the guidance of the
learners’ grasp of English is imperfect, between correct and
teacher or other learners. Some, however,
there are positive aspects to be are produced regularly and systematically incorrect language
considered. On the one hand, the and can be much more deeply ingrained.
learners are taking part in a challenging The learners might not know what the
interaction, trying to express themselves correct form should be – or may know correct the learners’ errors immediately.
in another language. They are what the correct form should be, but are With communicative activities, it is
experimenting with what they have not able to produce it for themselves. better for teachers to avoid over-
learnt. If they are given appropriate correction and focus the learners’
feedback, they will gradually come to 2 Interaction aims attention on the communication of
know the difference between correct and In terms of the aim of interaction, a ideas rather than specific grammar
incorrect language. On the other hand, distinction is often made between non- points or vocabulary usage.
by noticing and correcting the students’ communicative and communicative But when should teachers correct
errors, teachers can get an idea of what activities. As Jeremy Harmer explains, errors? The options include:
needs to be focused on in future lessons: the former are generally intended to immediately; after a few minutes; at the
errors can reveal how much new ensure accuracy, while the latter are end of the activity; later in the lesson; at
language has been absorbed and how designed to improve language fluency. the end of lesson; in the next lesson; later
much further practice is needed. In other words, non-communicative in the course; never. If the objective is

20 • Issue 81 July 2012 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

 can do this by isolating the part of the Statement and question
Giving the utterance that is wrong. So, if a learner The teacher simply points out that there
says ‘My sister come yesterday’ but was an error and asks a question like
learners the chance to means ‘My sister came yesterday’, then ‘How can we make that sentence right?’ or
self-correct is helpful just telling him to try again might be of ‘What’s wrong with that sentence?’ to
no use. involve learners in the correction process.
in establishing an Thirdly, the learner needs to know
what kind of error it is (eg grammatical Expression
atmosphere conducive or phonological). In the example above, When the teacher knows the learners
well, a simple facial expression, such as
to learning the learner needs to know that the
a frown, coupled with a gesture, can
mistake is in the verb come. If he still
can’t correct the error after the teacher show something is not correct.
accuracy, then immediate correction is tells him that the word come is Metalanguage
more likely to be useful; if the aim is incorrect, the teacher will need to give a Teachers can use linguistic terms
fluency, then immediate correction is further hint or supply the correct word. (countable nouns, word order, etc) to let
less appropriate and any correction will Lastly, to make everything clear, the the learners know what errors they have
probably come after the activity has teacher should repeat the correct version, made and get them to think about how
finished or later. Interrupting to correct even when the learners can correct to correct them.
the learners can kill an activity. themselves. This helps the learners to
consolidate what they have learnt. Reformulation
Roles In two cases, the teacher may need to
Recording errors rework the learner’s utterance. One case
Recognising different teacher and learner
is when there are several errors needing
roles in error correction can foster positive In controlled practice activities, correction, and it may be beyond the
attitudes towards correction, involve the correction is usually done during the learner’s ability to self-correct. The
learners in the learning process and reduce activity. However, in freer speaking other is when the teacher feels it is
their dependence on the teacher. activities, for example roleplays or necessary to help the learner produce a
Giving the learners the chance to discussions, it is better not to interrupt. more natural and appropriate utterance.
self-correct is helpful in establishing an As it is not easy to recall learners’ errors As Andrew Cohen points out, it isn’t
atmosphere conducive to learning. The after the activity has finished, many enough for teachers just to focus on
learners will learn how to monitor teachers watch and listen while speaking correcting the wrong use of basic
themselves and become more accurate activities are taking place but at the vocabulary, grammatical forms and
and autonomous. Sometimes they will same time take notes of any common pronunciation. Such evaluation is only
need some assistance from the teacher errors in grammar, pronunciation, etc. partial as it focuses on ‘low-level’
to identify where the errors are and what They also note down things that go well accuracy, but ignores ‘higher-level’
kind of errors they are before they can and times when learners couldn’t make factors, such as appropriate word choice
self-correct. themselves understood. After the and native-like organisation.
Peer-correction is useful, too, but activity has finished, they ask the
must be handled carefully. Pairs or group learners how they think it went, before Oral errors are usually picked up on
members should change frequently to giving their own feedback. when only one learner is speaking, so
avoid giving the better learners a sense If there is recording equipment, correction often has to be done on an
of self-satisfaction and the lower-level teachers can video activities and use individual basis. However, teachers
learners a feeling of inferiority. parts of the recording with the learners should avoid slowing down the pace of
If errors are too difficult for self- to examine any errors. This can be time- the lesson and letting the other learners
correction or peer-correction, the teacher consuming, but it is usually appreciated get bored. To reduce the likelihood of
should stop and explain the right form to by the learners. this, they should involve the whole class
the whole class. The learners should then as much as possible in the correction
practise the correct version. Teachers process and spend less time correcting
should also identify any common errors Techniques for something that is only a problem for
that their learners make and use these correction one learner and more time on problems
to plan subsequent lessons. Jeremy Harmer describes a number of common to the whole class.
efficient ways to give correction:
Stages Issues
Repeating
Correction is usually made up of four The teacher asks the learner to repeat Teachers can become worried and
distinct stages. Whether to follow the what they said by saying ‘Again?’ or impatient when learners cannot use new
stages strictly or not will depend on the ‘Pardon?’ using intonation or facial language perfectly. So it is essential for
level of the learners. expression to indicate that some part of them to have a clear understanding of
Firstly, the teacher should show that what they said is wrong. the nature of errors. Errors are the
something is not accurate by a gesture learners’ way of testing their hypothesis
or (not-too-discouraging) word. Echoing about the nature of the language they
Secondly, the teacher should let the The teacher repeats what the learner has are learning and, as a result, should be
learner know where the error is. They said, stressing the part that is incorrect. viewed with openness and acceptance,

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 81 July 2012 • 21

Correcting
wrong! Why didn’t you do enough useful for teachers to remind the
practice?’ will discourage the learners. It learners of any linguistic differences
is better to use comments like ‘That isn’t between English and their native

oral errors
especially during the early stages of
clear; perhaps you would like to revise it.
What do you think?’ and praise, such as
‘Good job’ or ‘You’re making progress’
will boost their confidence and morale.
language. Michael Swan and Bernard
Smith have produced a useful analysis
and categorisation of common errors
made by learners of English from
language learning. As Stephen Krashen It is not hard to find areas of different countries.
points out, errors are inevitable and will improvement in learners’ work. For Encouraging the learners to keep an
be plentiful as learners learn and example, successful communication, error correction notebook (with notes
experiment in using new language. In accurate use of grammar points recently of any errors made and their
short, errors are an important part of learnt, use of new vocabulary, good corrections) can be a helpful strategy.
learning and the feedback teachers give pronunciation, and so on. The use of This will help the learners to monitor
plays a vital role in this process. positive comments will neutralise any their errors and provides a useful
The learners’ response to correction negative emotions created by correction. revision tool and a way of encouraging
should be taken into consideration, too. them to be more independent.
Error correction touches not only the If necessary, teachers should give
cognitive skills, but also the affective
Some learners remedial sessions highlighting any
recurring errors in order to develop the
aspects of language learning, which may have a passive learners’ awareness of common errors.
include feelings and attitudes. Teachers
must, therefore, be careful to avoid attitude toward This is a face-saving technique, as
causing negative reactions when they individual learners will not be in the
correction and will spotlight and those who recognise their
correct. Learners who lack confidence
in their language ability may become expect the teacher own errors in those that are highlighted
discouraged, especially when correction will be consoled by the knowledge that
is given without explanation and they
to identify and correct they are not alone in making them. Just
make sure that no names are mentioned
don’t know what to do with the errors for them when highlighting the errors!
feedback given by the teacher.
Moreover, comments like ‘I don’t
understand what you are saying’ can Strategies

damage the learners’ self-esteem.
Some learners may have a passive Teachers should be equipped with We must all bear in mind that the aim
attitude toward correction and will enough knowledge of the grammar, of correction is to bring about self-
expect the teacher to identify and vocabulary, and so on of the target awareness and improvement, and when
correct errors for them. language to enable them to provide good giving correction teachers should not
lessons without misleading the learners forget to give positive feedback on the
and causing ‘teacher-induced’ errors. learners’ work. If this is not done as a
Implementation While preparing lesson plans, teachers matter of routine, it can be hard to
The effectiveness of any error correction should familiarise themselves with all maintain a positive and cooperative
depends on its implementation. Both aspects of an item of language they are working atmosphere. ETp
teachers and learners have to try to focusing on. The more they know about
replace negative reactions with a the language they are going to teach, the Cohen, A D Language Learning Heinle &
positive outlook. Teachers can help by less likely they are to make mistakes. Heinle 1990
explaining to the learners the purpose of At the same time, teachers should Harmer, J The Practice of English
identify the typical grammatical, lexical Language Teaching Pearson 2007
correction and the techniques they will
use. This explanation can include the and pronunciation problems associated Krashen, S D Principles and Practice in
Second Language Acquisition Prentice
fact that the amount and timing of the with the nationality of the learners. This
Hall 1987
correction will depend on whether the will help them predict the sort of errors
Swan, M and Smith, B Learner English
emphasis of an activity is on accuracy the learners may make and enable them CUP 2001
or fluency, to what extent they intend to to cope with them more easily.
correct errors, how they are going to Language transfer has long been seen to Meng Tian has 12 years
provide feedback and how the learners be a source of learning difficulties and of tertiary English
teaching experience at
can help each other in error correction. errors. Contrastive analysis of Shanxi Normal
This will help to create positive attitudes languages indicates that dissimilarities University, P R China,
and Assumption
towards error correction and a between the native and the target University, Thailand. She
supportive atmosphere in class. language may cause confusion leading is currently taking a PhD
in ELT at Assumption
Positive feedback, acknowledging to errors (negative L1 transfer) instead University. Her research
the learners’ progress, should always be of facilitating the process of second interests include
discourse analysis,
given alongside any correction. This will language learning (positive L1 transfer). fluency and accuracy,
contribute to the learners’ motivation Thus, when teaching particular group dynamics and
and their willingness to improve. structures which cause L1 interference creative writing.

Negative comments such as ‘That’s and when doing correction, it can be [email protected]

22 • Issue 81 July 2012 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •