13.5.3
Correcting spoken errors

Although correction of spoken errors is not central to the concerns of this module, there will be cases where you are inclined to correct student oral production in an assessment (eg an oral), especially if it will help the student to express himself/herself with greater clarity. More frequently, it is a crucial skill in language teaching and it is therefore worth a brief review.

What you need to ask yourself before jumping in and correcting a student is the following:

  • Should I simply ignore this (relatively minor) error?
  • If I intervene at this point to correct, will it interrupt the student's 'flow' and inhibit him/her?
  • Is this an error he/she can quickly self-correct when it is pointed out?
  • Will it be bad for the student if I do not correct the error?
  • Will it be bad for the rest of the class to hear uncorrected forms?

The answers to these questions will depend on the situation, the nature of exchange, the students themselves and other factors such as time constraints. There is thus no easy answer to any of them.

Activity 6

Think back to your own language learning. Did you enjoy being corrected when speaking the FL? Try to recall how your teacher(s) corrected your oral production.

Compare your own approach as a tutor with that of your former teacher(s). Is it similar to theirs?

Another major factor is the tutor and his/her conception of what a good teacher does. As Module 1 suggests, we are very often shaped by our own experiences as learners and how we correct seems to be one area which is especially influenced by our teaching 'apprenticeship', ie the time we spent in the classroom as learners.

Research has indeed shown (Kleppin and Königs, 1991: 273) that tutors have certain set preferences when it comes to correcting students and that they employ these independently of the type of activity (eg grammar exercise or free oral production). To help you become more aware of these preferences, you may like to try Activity 7.

Activity 7

Fill out the following questionnaire about correcting students' free oral work. Be honest: make sure you say what you actually do in class, rather than what you think is the ideal approach:

  1. When students are speaking freely in the FL, do you correct a lot or not at all? Ring the appropriate number on the scale:
    A lot transparent image1 transparent image2transparent image 3transparent image 4transparent image 5 transparent imagenot at all

  2. What do you correct mainly?
     square pronunciation
    square grammar
    square vocabulary
    square content

  3. Who does the correcting in your class?
    square the tutor
    square the learner who made the mistake
    square the other students

  4. When do you usually correct?
    square immediately after the error
    square at the end of the completed utterance
    square in a subsequent correction phase of the lesson

  5. Do you encourage self-correction?
    Yes, very often transparent image1 transparent image2 transparent image3 transparent image4 transparent image5transparent image no, never

  6. If you provide direct corrections yourself, how do you usually correct?
    square I give only the correct form so it is clear what the mistake was
    square I repeat the whole utterance, with corrections, in an incidental way

  7. Which language do you use when correcting?
    square FL only
    square L1 as well as FL
    square I try to bring into my explanations other languages that students have learnt

  8. What tone do you use when correcting?
    square friendly
    square reproachful
    square ironic
    square humorous
    square neutral

(Based on Kleppin, 1998: 75-77)

Now click on 'Commentary' for feedback.

 
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