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Looking
for Ideas about Error Correction? Try One of These!
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"She scream, he scream, and then I
scream!" Omission of the third-person singular "s" is an error that drives
all ESL/EFL teachers insane, along with all those other "little" errors we see
committed repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, whether we teach in Asia, Africa, the
Americas or on another continent. What is the best way to correct students' errors? The
answers are as varied as teaching styles and teachers' personalities. Each of us must
find, experiment with, and then choose the methods that work best for our students. The
following are a few suggestions.
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Develop a signal with your students that tells
them to stop, reflect on the error made, and self-correct before continuing with their
speaking. Karin B. Larsen, an ESL/Spanish teacher in Copenhagen, suggests to simply raise
an index finger silently in the air, as if about to interrupt or make a point. This method
may be particularly appropriate for the omission of the third-person singular
"s."
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While students are working in groups or pairs,
circulate and note mistakes heard (write as much context as possible). Then at the end of
that class or any other time, write the sentences on the board to be corrected as a class
discussion. Variation 1: Have the students correct the mistakes in small groups and
compare their answers with other small groups. Variation 2: Have each small group work on
two or three sentences, and then present and explain their corrections to the class.
Variation 3: Make a worksheet from the mistakes to be used in any of the above ways or
given as homework.
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In this exercise, the teacher transforms herself
or himself from the understanding EFL teacher to the typical person on the street with
whom the students will be required to communicate, as if using their English outside the
classroom. The teacher should ask a lot of questions like, "What? I didn't understand
what you meant" or, "I'm sorry, I can't understand what you're saying."
Also, ask other students, "Do you understand what she or he said?" The idea is
to replicate a native speaker's possible response or confusion to show the students what
is really important to express clearly (e.g., tenses).
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One part of the class is grouped into the center
of the room for a discussion while the remaining students sit around them and listen
silently to the discussion, noting any mistakes they hear. After 10 or 15 minutes, the
listeners put a summary of the mistakes on the board for class correction. Then switch
roles and repeat so all the students get to perform both tasks. The discussion group
shouldn't have more than five or six students. Variation 1: If a hand-held recorder or
microphone is available and the students are conscientious about using it effectively, one
group can play both roles for themselves.
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Use one hand to point to the fingers on your
other hand to indicate the words of a sentence or a question. Stop on or wiggle the finger
when a mistake has been made to focus the students' attention there. This is good for
correcting word order, missing words, subject-verb agreement, and wrong word choice. The
teacher prompts the students' self-correction.
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Crisscross fingers, hands, or be dramatic and go
for the whole arm to show when the order of two words should be reversed. Stay silent.
This is especially good for adjective/noun placement and question formation.
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Use large pieces of brightly colored paper. Put
a big "S" on one to correct third-person singular mistakes. On another piece,
write the word "to" but crossed out with a big X to correct the wrong use of
"to" with infinitive. Hold the signs up as needed.
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Record the students' presentations and point out
problematic areas and words. For advanced levels, give a written evaluation or have the
students do it for their classmates.
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When students make mistakes, give them a
directive to correct the error without giving them the correction itself. For example, say
things like, "Change the pronunciation," "Change the verb," or
"Change the third word."
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Peer correction of first drafts may include
underlining any problems, adding written comments at the end of an essay about clarity, or
suggesting improvements (depending on level of class). This may also be followed by pair
discussion about mistakes found. This works well as a preliminary to first draft
self-editing by the students. This can be done in pairs working on one individual's paper,
in pairs working on a pair-written paper, or individually working on an individual's
paper.
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Variety is the spice of life, and necessity is
the mother of invention. Proverbs are clich‚s, but we all know them because they ring
true. Different correction methods may be appropriate for different student groups and in
varying circumstances. Be flexible and correct.
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- Lopez, M. 1996. Presentation on Error Correction at the AII-ALC TEFL Conference.
Marrakech, Morocco.
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Margaret
Lopez has taught ESL and EFL in the United States, Spain,
Guinea, and Morocco. She currently teaches Spanish in the United
States. |
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