You wont learn if you dont make mistakes. Students will always make mistakes in all .

language competencies
Should teachers correct all ?students mistakes ?Should they let it go Who will correct the students mistakes? The teacher?

Although there is a general notion that an error must be corrected, some theories in Second Language Acquisition are against correcting students .mistakes For Against

Thorndike (1932) and Skinner (1957) suggest that learning happens through correction i.e. when a mistake is made, the teacher must correct it immediately and then repeat the correct version to be learnt .by the rest of the class

Walker (1973) suggests in his study that students prefer not to be corrected for each oral and written error because this practice undermines their confidence and forces them to waste so much effort on details that they lose the .overall ability to use the language

This presentation will answer some of your questions and wonders about correction of . students mistakes : It includes five main chapters Different approaches to error- 1 . correction .Mistake categories- 2 . Criteria for error correction- 3

All students errors must be corrected by the teacher. The teacher must give the correct answer to the students if they do not know .it

The teacher applies different techniques to get the students to correct .their mistakes themselves

Students errors are avoidable and not accepted. The teacher needs to make sure that all students are aware of the areas of difficulty, in order .to avoid making any errors

Students errors are natural but the teacher tries to get a self-correction then paircorrection. The teachers correction is the last action to . be taken

Students errors are natural but the teacher will correct only the major mistakes, indirectly. As the students get more advanced, the teacher will correct more . minor errors

Errors are seen as natural outcomes during fluencybased activities. The teacher writes down the mistakes and discusses them with the students after the activities (are done. (Diane,2000

Accidental and trivial mistakes in speaking or .writing The students can correct the mistakes themselves once the teacher draws their E.g: A student says totup of tea a them .attention .instead of a cup of tea .A student writes fro instead of for

Mistakes made by students who have not yet mastered the rules of the .target language
:E.g: A student writes That was the first English film which I .have understood it

Mistakes made by students while trying to say something but not sure of .the simple past and rules yet E.g: A student learnt
.tried to say something using past tense I wish I went my grandmother's house .last summer

Mistakes made through .carelessness

E.g: A student submits an assignment in bad handwriting and full of mistakes when the teacher is sure that the students level is higher than writing . such an assignment

Mistake Category

Should be corrected or ?not

Steps to be taken The students already know their mistakes. The teacher will just .remind them Should be corrected in a certain way The students should be given the chance to try to figure out the .information themselves The students should be

Slips

No

Errors Attempt s

Yes No

Blunders

Yes

Teacher-- 1 Student

Teachers correction is the most common- 1 .type. The teacher is a resource not a judge The teacher needs to make sure to give- 2 .the students the model answers The teacher should not give details while- 3 correcting what is above the students .level

The teacher needs to make the- 3 students repeat the answer, and .rewrite it if it is a writing mistake Corrections must be made- 4 immediately after the mistakes to allow the students to be aware of their .mistakes The teacher explains exactly where- 5

The students get a clear model. 1 . answer from the teacher The students will be more confident- 2 because the answer is from the .teacher The students will not feel humiliated- 3

Teacher-student correction tends to. 1 create a teacher-centered classroom. Students depend on the teacher and wait for her confirmation on every task they do. Some students answer carelessly because they know the

Correction from the teacher- 2 prevents students from noticing mistakes. They will not have the ability to recognize their mistakes by themselves when they are . asked later

Teachers correction of students- 3 mistakes might affect students self.confidence The students may not remember- 4 their mistakes and the correction if theystudentscorrection easily - 5 the The get the will not try to dofrom .teacher on their own . anything

Self-- 2 Correction

The teacher gives an alternate- 1 answer and then asks the students to .choose between the two answers The teacher repeats the correct- 2 answer but stresses on, or pauses, .before the wrong word

The teacher uses facial expressions- 3 or gestures or both e.g: raised .eyebrows, noddingetc The teacher asks short questions- 4 ?like: Was it last week? Tense The teacher gets the students to- 5 check the course or reference book to

The students will remember their- 1 mistakes and the correction for a longer time as they figure out the .answers and correct themselves The student will have higher self-- 2 confidence and will feel more

The teacher can not always rely on- 1 students to catch their own mistakes because students may not be able to . recognize all their mistakes The students will not get the model- 2 .answer

Peer-- 3 Correction

The teacher asks a student in the- 1 class to correct another students .mistakes The teacher asks every two students- 2 to exchange answers and correct for .each other

The students have more self-confidence- 1 when they are asked to correct their .friends mistakes Peer-correction raises the students- 2 learning awareness as they figure out their friends mistakes and in return they avoid . them

Some students do not like to be- 1 corrected by their classmates and . feel humiliated

The students may not accept the- 3 correction from certain students if they .do not get along well with them
Students could miss out on mistakes or- 4 even correct something that doesn't need .correction . Peer-correction can be time consuming- 5

Group-- 4 Correction

With role-plays, presentations,- 1 interviews, debates, or any other type of group activity, students note mistakes in their group and work together to correct each others .mistakes

Using the chain technique is- 2 effective as Jim Sercvner (2000)stated. If student A makes an error, he tries to elicit a correction from student B. If student B also fails to get it right, then . the teacher gets student C to help

Group correction creates a sense of- 1 . support in the classroom The student will have higher self-- 2 confidence .and will be more encouraged to learn

Especially if there is a kind of- 3 competition amongst the groups, the students will try their best to correct each others mistakes within the group .to win Group correction increases students- 4 . talk time

Group correction provides the- 3 opportunity for the students to notice language errors without any help or .interruption by the teacher The students will not feel humiliated- 4 as compared to peer-correction because they will focus more on the

Some errors might not be corrected- 1 or maybe corrected in the wrong way as the students may not give each . other the accurate answer With group correction, the teacher- 2 might miss out on the students' needs

Group correction is time consuming- 3 because the students need longer time to find their mistakes and discuss . them

Correction of oral work

The teacher should not correct the- 1 students while they are still talking. This will interrupt them and lower their . self-confidence The teacher helps students when- 2 they are stuck and can not proceed. For example, when they are searching

If several students make the- 3 same mistake, the teacher should make a note of it and plan an activity for a LATER lesson. She does not interrupt what they are doing, but does

The teacher corrects students when- 4 there is a real possibility for misunderstanding, for example, if a student is talking about a past event but uses the wrong verb tense, which could confuse the listener. You must explain this mistake when it happens,

Correction of written work

The teacher writes the correct- 1 .answer for the student The teacher should not focus on- 2 only the mistakes but praise the talented students for their good .work too

The teacher gives the students their- 3 assignments back after correction and asks them to rewrite them without .mistakes The teacher collects the assignments- 4 again and makes sure the students do .not make the same mistakes again

It is very effective when the- 5 teacher picks some of the common mistakes done by the students while writing, rewrites them on the board and discusses them with the . students

It is better to use codes for written- 6 work. This makes your correction more organized and less threatening to your .students The students panic when they see their assignment back with .comments in red pen
GR = grammar WO = word order Sp = spelling L = Incorrect choice of lexis Omission^ = X = Addition E = Expression

The teacher should not be too strict- 7 while correcting the students writings or write too much comments for the students. This might make the students . panic or lose self-confidence in writing

If any of these correction techniques get overused, the teacher limits their effectiveness. In a typical class, some combination of teacher-to-student, selfcorrection, and peer-to-peer correction provides the utmost benefit. It ensures that you have the chance to point out problems with the language. It also allows students to build confidence and responsibility through self-correction, plus develop language recognition skills while correcting a classmates work. When these techniques are employed together, .teachers produce better English students

:A- Books Diane Larsen-Freeman,2000, Techniques and Principles in- 1 .Language Teaching, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press Peter Watkins, Learning to Teach English A Practical Introduction- 2 .For New Teachers, 4th Edition, Pearson, Longman Ali Hazmah Abu-Ghararah, 2nd Edition, Teaching English as A- 3 foreign Language Producers Techniques and Activities, Tawbah . Library Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching A Guide Book For English- 4 .Language Teachers, Second Edition, Macmillan Jermy Harmer, 2001, The Practice of English Language Teaching,- 5 .Pearson Education Limited Penny Ur, 1991, A course in Language Teaching Practice and- 6 .Theory, Cambridge University Press H. Douglas Brown, 2001, Teaching by Principles An Interactive- 7 Approach to Language .Pedagogy Jermy Harmer,1998,How to Teach English, Longman- 8

B- websites
http://www.teacherjoe.us/TeachersCorrection.html http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/esl1220.html

.http://www.encuentrojournal.org/textos/16.8
http://www.pearsonlongman.com/teaching-tips/3ways-speaking.html http://www.eltforum.com/pdfs/topic3/correc_1.pdf

http://www.headsupenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&tas http://eslsite.com/rd/Error_Correction/correction_techniques.html http://teflbootcamp.com/tefl-skills/correcting-errors-in-efl/