ERROR CORRECTION

Error correction is often done by the teacher providing corrections for mistakes made by students. However, it is probably more effective for students to correct their own mistakes. But, in many cases teachers are often unsure as to how much to correct, or even how to go about it because it improves the quality of their language, but teachers are afraid that if they correct the students too much, they will become discouraged and stop taking risks in the language.

What to do in these cases? . I found different techniques.

Using fingers: To highlight an incorrect form or to indicate a word order mistake.

Gestures : Using hand gestures to indicate the use of the wrong tense.

Mouthing: This is useful with pronunciation errors. The teacher mouths the correct pronunciation without making a sound. For example, when an individual sound is mispronounced or when the word stress is wrong. Of course it can also be used to correct other spoken errors.

Self Correction: As much as possible try to encourage self-correction. If students can fix their own mistake, it shows that they understand and allows them to feel more confident in their knowledge. Confident self-correction habits lead to students depending less on others (i.e. their coach) and thus speaking more freely, knowing if they make a mistake they can correct it themselves. They will become more confident speaking outside of the classroom, which is the true goal of ESL education.

Repeat up to the Error: good for vocabulary errors, if a student makes an error while speaking, the teacher could say: "Excuse me?" , "Sorry, could you repeat that again?" or he could repeat the student's sentence and stress the error to indicate that it is not correct.

REFLECTION:

 I believe that is not easy to find a way to correct our students but error needs to be corrected for them to develop their speaking skills and to avoid developing bad habits. Also, the teacher’s 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 because students can feel embarrassed and they don’t want to participate in the class anymore.

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CHANTS

Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds and it is use for variety of reasons:

• To teach the natural rhythm, stress and intonation of conversational

English.

• To recall a grammatical point, i.e., present simple, past simple, pronouns,

questions, etc...

• To teach language functions, i.e., asking for information, giving

explanations, etc...

• To develop students' listening and speaking skills.

• To create an interesting, relaxing atmosphere that helps students in

acquiring the new language.

WHAT IS THE CHANT ABOUT?

The chant is about the activities that children have to do and places that they can go using present continuous.

 I’m a kid, I’m a kid

I’m a special kid – I’m a special kid
I have special things that I do
I have special things that I do
Like cleaning my room
Like cleaning my room
And washing dishes
And washing dishes
Going to school
Going to school
And doing my homework
And doing my homework

I’m a kid, I’m a special kid
I have special places that I go.
I have special places that I go.
Like going to the store.
Like going to the store.
And to the mountains.
And to the mountains.
And to the beach.
And to the beach.
And to the park.
And to the park.

I’m a kid, I’m a kid
I’m a special kid – I’m a special kid
I have special people to help me.
I have special people to help me.
The doctor, the doctor.
The nurse, the doctor.
The dentist, the dentist
The firemen, the firemen
The postman, the postman
The teacher, the teacher
The parent, the parent
Hoorah, hoorah, hoorah

I’m a kid, I’m a kid
I’m a special kid – I’m a special kid

REFLECTION:

In my opinion, chant is very useful for students because it builds children's confidence in oral language, offers opportunities for repeated readings, which build fluency and provides a change of pace and mood to improve student motivation.