Dealing with spoken errorsDealing with spoken errors

Write down 6 words you associate with the word

‘mistake’*

Compare your words with a partner

* Note in this session error and mistake are used interchangeably

“ Mummy I got a B in my English Exam”“That’s good but how many mistakes did you make?”

Error is worse than ignorance (Philip James Bailey)

The cautious seldom err (Confucius)

How do feel about these sentences? Correct or not?

1. Manchester United are the winningest team in English football. 2. As she kissed him loudly on the cheek the mwah rang out across

the park.3. Gareth is wicked, he is the coolest person I know.4. There are less people here than yesterday5. There’s seven cars in the car park.

Types / causes of error

• With a partner, can you think of some common errors made by language learners and then discuss what might be the cause of them.

• NB: It may be that sometimes the teacher (current or previous) is the cause of the error. It could be first language interference.

Teacher’s fault• Unclear presentation of

language • Not giving the students enough

practice of the language • Teacher overgeneralising the

rule (e.g. add s to make a plural, add s in the 3rd person)

• Teacher oversimplifying the rule (e.g. some/any)

• Overloading the students (e.g. too many tenses in one lesson)

• Presenting language to a too low level (e.g. doing the 3rd conditional with beginners)

• Giving the wrong rules

Student’s fault • Too tired, stressed from work

etc• Not paying attention in class /

copying down wrongly from the whiteboard

• Not studying outside of school• Experimenting with the

language• Mishearing the teacher • First language interference

Causes of error

1. T: Are you angry? St: No, I had lunch 2 hours ago2. In street there was man with large dog 3. T: Ask her where she went last night. St: Where you went last night?4. I was a host at a party last night. My best friend was celebrating her birthday5. He gave me some useful informations.6. He gived me useful information.7. My skin is very sensible8. They bought their son a fluffy little pub for his birthday.9. I saw TV last night10. “Hi Sarah, this is John, I was wondering if you would accompany me to the disco on

Saturday?”11. I went to a disco on Saturday even though I love dancing.

The lesson has started, the teacher and students are discussing together, in open class, the answers to the homework exercise that the teacher has set the previous week (on phrasal verbs). There is a knock on the door and in walks a late student. As the student enters he speaks: “I’m sorry I’m late my father has taken to hospital”

To which the teacher replies: “No, not has taken but has been taken.

If and when to correct errors

Things to consider:• The lesson

– Stage– Focus– Time of day

• The student– Level– Existing knowledge– Personality

• Correction– Necessary / beneficial?– Who?– How?

– Time it takes

I must to go to work later I must to go to work later

1. Teachers simply echoing the student’s mistake is not an effective way to correct because…..

2. Teachers verbally interrupting a student can be a bad thing because…..

3. Assuming we want a student to try and self-correct immediately, three ways to avoid verbally interrupting are….

4. However teachers should be aware that some of the disadvantages of self-correction are….

5. A teacher might decide not to correct if …

6. Some ways of dealing with delayed feedback are….

7. Overall, five practical ways of dealing with spoken errors are….

With a partner decide how you would deal with the errors in these situations.Discuss each situation and decide:

Would you correct the error or mistake?How exactly would you correct it?When exactly would you correct it?

Situation 1You are doing a drill to practise the present perfect and past simple. You ask, “Have you ever been to the mountains?” A student responds, “I’ve went to the mountains on France last year.”

Situation 2You are doing a warm up activity with your class. In the activity a student says, “Last week was my mother’s birthday, she is five and fifty .”

Situation 3 Your learners are working in groups; their task is to plan what to do together at the weekend. Several learners in different groups are making the same mistake, saying “We go to the restaurant” or “We go on a trip.”Situation 4

Your class has just been introduced to the function ‘Let’s do something’. You are organising a trip with your class and you are discussing what to do; a learner says, Let go swimming.

Situation 5Your learners are writing a postcard in pairs about their summer holiday to a friend at home. One pair has written, ‘I am go to restaurant every day.’

Adapted from Tasks for Teacher education by Tanner and Green published by Pearson Education

RECOGNITION Has a mistake been made?

DESCRIPTION What kind of mistake? How serious is it?

EXPLANATION What caused it?

REMEDY Should I act? How should I act?

When should I act?

Four steps to error correction