Outline:
1- Error & Mistake
2- Sources of Errors
3- Perspectives on Errors in Language Teaching
4- Types of Error Correction
5- Practical Strategies to Error/mistake correction
1- Error & Mistake :
A mistake is a temporary lapse in language production, often due to fatigue or inattentiveness. Learners typically recognize and self-correct their mistakes upon reflection or with minimal prompting from a teacher or peer. For example, if a student accidentally says, “She go to school every day” but immediately corrects it to “She goes to school every day,” this is considered a mistake.
In contrast, an error is a recurring issue that indicates a learner’s incomplete understanding of a language rule. If a student consistently says, “She musts go,” it suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of modal verbs rather than a simple slip of the tongue. Unlike mistakes, errors usually require explicit instruction and correction.
2- Sources of Errors :
Research in second language acquisition has identified three primary sources of errors:
A. Interlingual Interference (First Language Influence):
Errors often stem from interference between a learner’s first language (L1) and the target language (L2). Learners may apply grammatical structures from their native language to the second language, leading to incorrect usage. For instance, Moroccan students may say, “I have 17 years old” instead of “I am 17 years old” due to the influence of Moroccan Arabic or French.
B. Intralingual Interference (Overgeneralization)
As students internalize grammatical rules, they may apply them too broadly. For example, a learner might say “informations” instead of “information” because they have learned that plurals are formed by adding -s to nouns, failing to recognize that “information” is an uncountable noun.
C. Context of Learning
The learning environment, including textbooks, teaching methods, and teacher explanations, can contribute to errors. If a teacher provides unclear or incorrect explanations, students may internalize these errors. Classroom materials that oversimplify rules may also lead to misunderstandings.
3- Perspectives on Errors in Language Teaching :
We have now looked at the sources of errors. Now let us see how some teaching approaches/methods consider mistakes or errors.
| Audiolingualism | Communicative Language Learning |
| Errors or mistakes are bad habits that should be avoided by students. Students, who make mistakes/errors, must be penalized. | Errors are tolerated Mistakes/errors are part and partial of the learning process. They should be used as the basis to constructing knowledge |
4- Types of Error Correction:
There are multiple approaches to correcting students’ mistakes, each with its own advantages:
A. Self-Correction :
The teacher encourages students to identify and correct their own errors by providing subtle hints or asking guiding questions.
B. Peer-Correction :
A classmate helps the student recognize and fix their error, promoting collaborative learning.
C. Class-Correction :
The entire class participates in identifying and correcting errors, reinforcing awareness and collective learning.
D. Teacher-Correction :
If students fail to recognize an error, the teacher steps in to provide the correct form while ensuring that the correction process remains constructive and encouraging.
5- Practical Strategies to Error correction :
A. Repetition:
Used primarily for pronunciation errors, the teacher repeats the incorrect utterance with the correct form. For example:
- Student: “I know him” (incorrect pronunciation)
- Teacher: “You know him” (correct pronunciation emphasized)
B. Reformulation :
The teacher rephrases a student’s incorrect sentence into a grammatically correct one:
- Student: “I like to playing soccer.”
- Teacher: “Oh, you like to play soccer.”
C. Non-Verbal Cues (Body Language & Facial Expressions)
Believe or not, body language and facial expressions can help students realize their mistakes. A look of confusion coupled with hand gestures can make students aware of their mistakes.
D.Students’ repetition :
The teacher asks the student to repeat their sentence and stops them at the point of error for immediate self-correction.
E. Note-taking for Remedia Work :
Another useful technique for correcting language blunders is by noting them down. A teacher may take a notebook and write down the recurring mistakes/errors of his/her students so that he/she can, later on, devise a remedial activity to correct them.
F. Self and Peer-correction:
Teachers can prompt students with questions such as:
- “Do you think it’s pronounced like this?”
- “Do you agree with this answer?”
Conclusion
Error correction is an essential aspect of language learning. Effective teachers use a combination of self-correction, peer feedback, and teacher intervention while maintaining a supportive and encouraging learning environment. By understanding the sources of errors and applying varied correction strategies, teachers can enhance students’ language proficiency and confidence.
