Effective Error Correction

Outcomes= trainees will understand the key factors when dealing with errors
Key concepts= errors, correction-teacher/self/peer, reformulation/recasts, intermediate vs
delayed
*It would be useful if trainees could collect errors from previous lessons/observations.

WARM UP

1. Give trainees some different viewpoints on error correction. Get them to decide which
person they most agree with. Compare their opinion with their partner/group.

Viewpoints=
● Errors need to be corrected because otherwise learners pick up bad habits and
won’t improve.
● Errors are a natural part of the learning process. They can be useful to use as
teaching material.
● I don’t like correcting my students’ errors. It is judgemental and makes me feel
bad.

2. Trainees discuss their own language learning experiences- did their teacher correct
them? How did they feel?

TYPES OF ERROR

1. Trainees match typical errors with classification of error:

She lives in the same house for years = problem with choice of verb form.
I fell over and damaged my leg = problem with choice of vocabulary
It’s a nice day, isn’t it? = problem with intonation
My shoes are so comFORTable = problem with word stress
Where is sleeping the dog? = problem with word order

2. Feedback with group- raise awareness that not all errors are grammatical.

3. Have trainees’ students made any similar errors? Do they fit in with the aforementioned
errors or are they different?

WHEN TO CORRECT

1. Trainees read some short extracts from lesson transcripts. For example one extract
could be from a group work situation, another from a student giving an answer in front of
the class, etc.
 Trainees decide what the teacher should do about the learners’ errors:
a) The error should not be corrected.
b) Correction should be delayed until feedback session at the end of the lesson.
c) The error should be corrected immediately.

2. Trainees compare answers in pairs/groups before class discussion. Take into account all
viewpoints as there is no correct answer. Trainees need to be made aware of immediate vs
delayed correction for accuracy vs fluency focus, take into account learner level and
preferences, whether meaning is compromised through the error and so on.

CORRECTION STRATEGIES

1. Give trainees an error such as “I go to the cinema yesterday”

2. Give trainees a selection of different ways that this error could be corrected by teachers.
Trainees compare the different strategies with their partner.

Example strategies:
Teacher 1: Yesterday, you….. (repeating the utterance to elicit self-correction)
Teacher 2: You went to the cinema? What did you watch? (recasting utterance)
Teacher 3: Doesn’t say anything but at the end of class writes the error on the board and
elicits correction (delayed correction)
Teacher 4: Yesterday? Go? Think about your grammar (prompting learner to self-
correct)
Teacher 5: You GO to the cinema? (Emphasising go = prompt learner to self-correct)

3. Trainees think about and discuss lessons they have observed.Which strategies did the
teacher use to error correct the learners? Were they successful?

4. Trainees complete an exercise writing the advantages and disadvantages of each error
correction strategy.

DEMONSTRATION

1. Give each trainee a card with an error on, eg. Where is going John?
2. Get each trainee to read the card as it is. Teacher should respond to the trainee as if
they were a student, i.e. error correct the trainee. Use different techniques so they can
see them all in action.
3. Trainees could write down how each error was corrected.
4. Repeat the activity with more errors.

CLASSROOM APPLICATION
 1. Trainees roleplay an error correction situation. Give each group a set of cards with
various different errors on, eg. I had gone to the pub yesterday/ I going to Brno next
week etc. Working in groups of 3- first person reads out an error, second person corrects
the error, and third person comments on the effectiveness of the error correction.

2. Trainees could use errors they have observed in their teaching practice/observations to
extend the role play activity.

REFLECTION

1. Trainees reflect on what they have learnt in the session:

Types of error: verb forms/word stress/intonation/word order/vocabulary choice/register
etc
Strategies for error correction: recasting/prompting self-correction/repeating utterance
until the point of the error etc