ERROR CORRECTION

SUPERVISED BY: SUBMITTED BY:

AMINE SALMI
Lahcen OUSSOUSSE
Saida ENNASERY
Aicha OUNANA
Abdelhamid KBOUCH
 Error and mistake
A mistake is less formal. Learners make mistakes
when they already have knowledge but lack of
concern or attention…So a mistake is something
that Learners can self-correct.
 An error is more formal and it is due to lack of
proper knowledge. By definition learners can’t
correct their errors.
 Error correction

• It refers to the process of identifying and addressing mistakes and

errors made by learners in their language usage, with the aim of
helping them improve their accuracy and fluency. This can
involve providing feedback on grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation or other aspect of language using appropriate tools
and methods to facilitate learning.
 TYPES OF ERRORS

Among the most frequent sources of errors Brown counts :

(1) interlingual transfer,
(2) intralingual transfer,
(3) context of learning,
 INTERLINGUAL TRANSFER

• Mother-tongue influence, causes interlingual errors.They are very

frequent at the initial stages of L2 Learning since the L1 is the only
language system the learner knows and can draw on, therefore negative
transfer takes place. Brown also argues that when one is learning L3,
L4 etc., transfer takes place from all the previously learnt languages but
the degree of transfer is variable.
 INTRALINGUAL ERRORS

Errors that result from L2 itself

James (1980: 185-187) goes into more details. He refers to intralingual

errors as learning-strategy based errors and lists 6 types of them:

False analogy, misanalysis, incomplete rule application, exploiting

redundancy, over-laboration, and overgeneralization.
 INTRALINGUAL ERRORS
• False analogy :

1. It arises when the learner incorrectly thinks that a new item

behaves like another item already known to him or her.
 INTRALINGUAL ERRORS

• Misanalysis:
1. It means that the learner has formed an unfounded hypothesis in
the L2 and is putting it in practice.

• James (1980: 185) gives as an example the situation when the

learner assumes that *its can be used as a pluralized form of it.
 INTRALINGUAL ERRORS

Incomplete rule application:

It happens when the learner doesn't apply all the rules necessary to apply in a
particular situation. In fact, it is the converse of overgeneralization

Exploiting redundancy :
It appears because there is a lot of redundancy in every language, e.g.
unnecessary morphology, and intelligent learners try to avoid those items which
they find redundant to make their learning and communication easier.
 INTRALINGUAL ERRORS

• Over-laboration :

• means that the learner doesn't know that certain words go together with

certain complements, prepositions etc. An example given by James (1998:

186) is when the learner ignores that the verb to enjoy is followed by

gerund and not bare infinitive.

 CONTEXT OF LEARNING

• It refers to the setting where a language is learned, e.g. a classroom or a

social situation.(….

• As Brown explains, "students often make errors because a misleading

explanation from the teacher, faulty presentation of a structure or word in a

textbook, or even because of a patern that was rootely memorized but not

properly contextualized"
Types of error corrections
 • Types of Error Correction:
SELF-CORRECTION :
THE TEACHER MAY HELP THE STUDENT TO
RECOGNIZE HIS/HER ERROR AND MAY ALSO HELP HIM
TO CORRECT IT.
PEER-CORRECTION :
A STUDENT MAY BE AIDED BY HIS PEER IN
IDENTIFYING AND CORRECTING HIS MISTAKES.
CLASS-CORRECTION :
THE ENTIRE CLASS MAY PAY ATTENTION TO THE
UTTERANCES OF STUDENTS IDENTIFYING THE
MISTAKE AND CORRECT IT ACCORDINGLY.
TEACHER-CORRECTION :
WHEN SPOTTING A MISTAKE MADE BY A STUDENT,
THE TEACHER MAY INTERVENE IN ORDER TO
CORRECT.
 When should I correct my students errors

The timing of correcting students’ errors in teaching

English is crucial to your lesson being a success or
a failure.
Error correction has a big impact on your students’
learning process and the right timing will help them
retain new information effectively.
 When to correct errors in fluency based lessons

▣ If you’re teaching a class or activity where fluency

is the goal, try to monitor your students and take
notes of major or repeated mistakes. Don’t
interrupt your students’ speech. This might
discourage them or make them lose the motivation
to speak freely. Save the error correction for the
end of the class.

▣ At that time, you can give individual feedback or

discuss the most important errors with the whole
class if your students are okay with that. You could
also prepare a quiz for the next lesson, touching on
the major errors that you noted down while
monitoring your students.
When to correct errors in accuracy based lessons

▣ If you’re teaching a class or activity that aims for accuracy, for

example applying a new grammar rule during a conversation, you
can correct immediately after the mistake has been made,
assuming that it is a mistake about a said rule.
▣ Since you just taught the content, you can encourage your
students to self-correct their error first, or you can ask other
classmates to help. Sometimes a gesture is enough to indicate the
type of error. You don’t need to focus too much on mistakes
students make that aren’t related to the current lesson, since this
can again disrupt their efforts to use the newly learned grammar.

▣ If you notice during the activity that your students are making
the same errors over and over again, you might want to stop the
activity, review the lesson content and resume the practice after
making sure that all your students have understood the new rule.
DOS AND DON’TS
OF ERROR
CORRECTION
 DOS

 • Be sensitive to your students’ needs and

preferences.
 • Be kind and patient in the way you correct.
 • Give your students a chance to self-correct, or
apply peer-correction in your classroom.
 • Use visual cues.
 DON`TS

 Avoid interrupting your students when they’re making an

effort to speak fluently. This can be very counter-productive
and your students might lose their motivation or become
hesitant to use the new language they’ve learned.

 Don’t over-correct every single mistake your students make.

Keep error correction relevant and make sure that your
students benefit and learn from it.
Powerful ways to correct your students` mistakes
without destroying their confidence

▣ Giving effective feedback is an art form that

every top class tutor should perfect.

▣ A student that receives great feedback during

the lesson walks out of the door feeling
confident and motivated to keep improving.
▣ SURE, IT MAY SEEM LIKE A DELICATE
BALANCING ACT, BUT IF YOU
IMPLEMENT THE FOLLOWING STEPS
INTO THE WAY YOU TEACH, YOU’LL BE
DELIVERING TOP- QUALITY FEEDBACK
THAT WILL HELP YOUR STUDENTS LEARN
MORE:
1- praise them, and be genuine about it
▣ Never underestimate just how much of a difference the
smallest bit of praise can make. Sure, some of your
students may act ‘cool’ and indifferent, but – trust me –
they’ll privately remember every bit of positive feedback
you give them.

▣ Praise is a useful tool for every tutor, so it’s important to

use it correctly:

▣ Avoid giving too much praise. If you very deliberately

praise a student at every turn of the lesson, it will become
meaningless and lose its effect.
▣ NEVER praise a mistake or error. Even if your students
may look like they need a confidence boost, praising
mistakes will only hinder them in the long term.
▣ Instead of simply saying ‘good job’, explain why they did
a good job. Just because a student gave you the right
answer, doesn’t mean they know how they got there.
Repeating their process back to them will help them do it
again in the future.
2- Make sure your corrections are educational
▣
sNever be afraid to correct students’ mistakes – that’s why they need your
help!

▣ There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to highlight errors during
the class. Luckily, it’s incredibly straightforward:

▣ THE WRONG WAY: Simply saying ‘no, that’s not correct’s or ‘incorrect’ etc.
This will only leave your students feeling helpless and shamed.
▣ THE RIGHT WAY: Make the feedback constructive and educative! Every piece
of feedback you give must have some sort of educational value. When you
correct an error, explain why it was an error and how to correct it.
▣ In short, every time you give feedback, you are helping your students take one
step forwards. And, over time, seeing habitual mistakes become a thing of the
past is endlessly rewarding, for both you and your students.
3- Consider « sandwiching »
correction
▣ If parents are seeking out extra help for their kids, there’s a
chance it’s because they’re falling behind a little at school.

▣ If this is the case, their confidence may be delicate, so

highlighting errors and mistakes requires a little more
common sense and practical intelligence.

▣ This is where ‘sandwiching’ comes in, which (unfortunately) has

nothing to do with actual sandwiches. It’s a simple psychological
hack that will help students learn from their mistakes AND boost
their confidence. It goes like this:

▣ Praise the student for something they did well.

▣ Highlight and correct a mistake they made.
▣ Praise the student for a second thing that they did well.
▣ The feedback is sandwiched in-between the praise, which will
show your student that they are capable of succeeding!
4-Ask your students to reflect on their own work
first
▣ Asking your students to try and correct their own
mistake before you help them is a great practice for
three key reasons:

▣ It helps students recognize their ‘fossilized’ errors

(mistakes they make without even thinking).
▣ It helps your students to develop their critical
thinking skills.
▣ It involves your students in the learning process, and
gives them some responsibility.
5- Try using visual clues
▣ When a tutor gives feedback, their voice is not their only tool!

▣ Visual clues add a little variety to your correction techniques, and for
some learners, they’re actually more effective.

▣ Visual cues could include:

▣ Raising a red pen when students make a mistake. Give them a moment to
see if they can correct their answer and, if not, help them.
▣ Use post-it notes to keep track of the errors you’ve corrected together. If
an error is repeated for a second time, simply point to the post-it note.
▣ Assign coloured counters to errors that arise time and time again. Every
time the student makes that error, give them a counter. It’ll help them
think more carefully when they answer questions.
▣ Feedback is often underestimated by tutors, because it seems simple on
the surface.

▣ In reality, the more thought that you put towards the feedback that you
give, the higher quality your lessons will be.
 Always keep in mind,
▣ We learn by making mistakes. As children, we learn
how to walk by falling over hundreds of times. As
adults, we learn a new language by making
uncountable mistakes in the use of words, grammar,
sentence structure, pronunciation, and register. The
most important thing for you as an English Language
teacher is to correct your students’ errors effectively
and sensitively. Only then can you help them grow
and develop their newly acquired language skills at
their own pace and in a comfortable and safe
environment.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR ATTENTION
SCENARIOS
1- ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS KEEPS
MAKING GRAMMAR MISTAKES.

AS A TEACHER HOW WOULD YOU

DEAL WITH THIS CASE ?
2- MOST OF YOUR STUDENTS ALWAYS
INTERFER THEIR L1 WHILE SPEAKING
AND WRITNG.

-WHAT ARE THE REASONS BEHIND

THIS HABIT, AND HOW WOULD YOU
FIX THIS ISSUE ?
 3- A TEACHER INSISTS ON
NEUTRALIZING A STUDENT'S ACCENT
TO SOUND MORE "NATIVE.”
- SHOULD THE FOCUS BE ON CLEAR
CO MMU N I C AT I O N RE G A R D L E S S O F A CC E N T, O R
S H O U L D S T U D E N T S BE E N C O U R A G E D TO A D O P T A
MO R E " N AT I V E " A C C E N T ?
4- A STUDENT WRITES CREATIVELY
BUT MAKES NUMEROUS
GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.

- SHOULD THE FOCUS BE ON

ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY OR ON
ENSURING GRAMMATICAL
ACCURACY?
5- THE TARGETED SKILL IN YOUR
LESSON IS SPEAKING;

ARE YOU GOING TO CORRECT

GRAMMAR MISTAKES ?
 6- IN YOUR CLASSROOM, YOU NOTICED
THAT MAJORITY OF YOUR STUDENTS
RELY ON LITERAL TRANSLATION, A
FACTOR THAT CAUSES THEM TO CONVEY
INCORRECT MEANINGS.

-HOW WOULD YOU HELP THEM TO

OVERCOME THE MATTER ?
 7- A TEACHER CORRECTS EVERY
MISTAKE A STUDENT MAKES WHILE
SPEAKING, CAUSING THE STUDENT TO
BECOME SELF-CONSCIOUS AND
HESITANT TO SPEAK.

HOW MUCH CORRECTION IS TOO

MUCH?