Error Correction
One famous proverb says, “He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing”. I think it’s true. If you make no mistake you have no progress. If you learn English and make mistakes there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It means that you’re taking risks with the language in your efforts to communicate. Of course, there’re different causes of learners’ mistakes and different ways to correct them. Let’s consider some examples.
• (During a vocabulary exercise you hear:) "I have a compromise to meet him at 6:00 this evening" - “Compromise? If we want meet somebody, how do we call it in English?”-“I have an appointment at 6:00 this evening”-“Exactly!” I think it’s more related to false cognate usage. And in this case I’d correct this mistake immediately.
• (During a discussion you hear:) "I go ski next weekend". After discussion I’d say: “I go ski… next weekend” (I’d indicate with my voice) – “Skiing”- “Right, now say the full sentence” – “I go skiing next weekend” I think this student just confused forms. In order not to interrupt the discussion I’d correct this mistake after it.
• (During a role play you hear:) "Give me one glass of water, waiter!" After this activity I’d ask my student: “Do we say ONE glass of water or a glass of water?”-“A glass of water” In my opinion, this mistake is more related to L1 vocabulary/grammar. And I’d correct this mistake afterwards.
• (During vocabulary practice you hear:) "Mexico City is the greatest city in Mexico with almost 15 million people" – I’d correct immediately: “The largest city”. This mistake is more related to false cognate usage.
• (During a group class activity you hear:) "She leaves in a small house in town." – I’d write this sentence with the error on the board and after the exercise I’d ask to correct. “She lives in a small house in town.” This mistake is more related to L1 pronunciation.
• During a debate you hear:) "He can´t play football because of his damaged leg." I’d wait until after the debate and I’d ask if it’s
• (During a vocabulary exercise you hear:) "I have a compromise to meet him at 6:00 this evening" - “Compromise? If we want meet somebody, how do we call it in English?”-“I have an appointment at 6:00 this evening”-“Exactly!” I think it’s more related to false cognate usage. And in this case I’d correct this mistake immediately.
• (During a discussion you hear:) "I go ski next weekend". After discussion I’d say: “I go ski… next weekend” (I’d indicate with my voice) – “Skiing”- “Right, now say the full sentence” – “I go skiing next weekend” I think this student just confused forms. In order not to interrupt the discussion I’d correct this mistake after it.
• (During a role play you hear:) "Give me one glass of water, waiter!" After this activity I’d ask my student: “Do we say ONE glass of water or a glass of water?”-“A glass of water” In my opinion, this mistake is more related to L1 vocabulary/grammar. And I’d correct this mistake afterwards.
• (During vocabulary practice you hear:) "Mexico City is the greatest city in Mexico with almost 15 million people" – I’d correct immediately: “The largest city”. This mistake is more related to false cognate usage.
• (During a group class activity you hear:) "She leaves in a small house in town." – I’d write this sentence with the error on the board and after the exercise I’d ask to correct. “She lives in a small house in town.” This mistake is more related to L1 pronunciation.
• During a debate you hear:) "He can´t play football because of his damaged leg." I’d wait until after the debate and I’d ask if it’s