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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