IH Torun Staff Meeting

Friday 21st October 2022

 ERROR
CORRECTION
& FEEDBACK for oral
activities
Glenn Standish, IH Toruń
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

W
W
W
W
A
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

WHAT
WHETHER
WHEN
WHO
APPROPRIATE
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Decide WHAT kind of error has been made (grammatical,

pronunciation…, is it a slip or an error?)

Decide WHETHER to deal with. (Is it useful to correct it?

Have they met the language before?)

Decide WHEN to correct it (now? End of activity? Later?)

Decide WHO will correct (teacher? The student? Other

students?

Decide on an APPROPRIATE technique.

Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

What issues should we consider with

a particular student in question?
 Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

s t t ime
i s t h e fir s poken
t h a s
Is
t u de nt h
t h i s s e t i m e?
om
for s

p l e vel ?
Could t th e g ro u
h is s t u t i s
badly t
o im m e
dent re
act Wh a
correct diate
io n ?

t re act What i
s this s
s t uden level? tudent’
u l d th is
c t i o n in s
C o c o rr e
y t o
badl f t he
o
front roup?
g
class/ im ited
Does th e l
is stud
en t n ee i s m istak or one
more p d Is th student
ractice de nts
fluency w it h h i s t u
or accu to t e v eral s
racy? s
which king?
a
are m
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

How do you
correct students
in class?
Brainstorm
 Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

On the Spot (Selective)

On the spot can be dangerous to your students’ confidence. Do so with caution
and not too often, and choose an appropriate technique that doesn’t slow down the
pace too much. Be careful not to ‘jump’ on one student for making a mistake.

Echo the Error: Quick and easy, be an echo to your student’s error.

Ask for Repetition: Just say “please repeat” or “please say that again”.

Repeat up to the Error: Echo up to the error; let it hang for students to finish...

Ask a Question: Highlight student’s error by asking a question that will expose the error.

Provide Options: Without stopping the flow of the lesson, write options on the board.

Gestures: Especially useful with phrasal verb and preposition mistakes.

Write on the Whiteboard, Underline: The standard whiteboard technique. Highlight the
error with an underline
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Handout 1:
Correction Techniques
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Handout 2:
How would you correct the
following errors?
 Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Delayed Error Correction (After)

Echo the Error: “I heard ~”

Ask for Reformulation (questions): Can you change this question to get the same
answer?
Repeat up to the Error: good for vocabulary errors, write the sentence on the board up to
the error, have students finish the sentence. This can be done with all students, thus re-
enforcing the correct form to be used by hearing several variations.
Ask a Question: Good for concept checks and getting students to repeat a section where
they made an error, simply ask them a question that will bring up the error. The question
can be directed at any student or all students.
Provide Options: Write the error on the board and provide several options. Have students
choose the option they think is best.
Use a Visual Aid: Draw a timeline, pie chart, picture or other visual aide on the board to
help students to understand the error. Have them self-correct.
Write on the Whiteboard, Underline: The standard whiteboard technique. Highlight the
error with an underline.
Highlight the Issue: Rather than bringing up a specific error, when you notice repeated
errors of the same type, highlight this issue and discuss. If necessary, mark students’ files
and teach the appropriate curriculum item as soon as possible.
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Grammar
auction
1
 I’m not
knowing my
couzins very
good.
2
Water is
boiling at
100°C
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Remember…
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Never get
angry or
patronise
your
students!
Error Correction & Feedback for Oral Activities

Handout: