ПОЗНАВАТЕЛЬНОЕ

Оси и плоскости тела человека - Тело человека состоит из определенных топографических частей и участков, в которых расположены органы, мышцы, сосуды, нервы и т.д.

Отёска стен и прирубка косяков - Когда на доме не достаёт окон и дверей, красивое высокое крыльцо ещё только в воображении, приходится подниматься с улицы в дом по трапу.

Дифференциальные уравнения второго порядка (модель рынка с прогнозируемыми ценами) - В простых моделях рынка спрос и предложение обычно полагают зависящими только от текущей цены на товар.

Mistakes, slips and errors. Approaches to error correction

123

Mistakes and errors are two different things, though traditional materials may not distinguish them because all deviations from the norm are viewed negatively. The basic difference is that a learner can self-correct a mistake (a slip of the tongue or a slip of the pen). Possible causes of mistakes may be: carelessness; tiredness; lack of concentration; paying more attention to getting the meaning of the message across; environment; emotions; inhibitions etc. Native speakers also make mistakes, often for the same reasons as learners. They may also produce incorrect forms if it is some regional dialect (e.g “we was” in East Anglia) or if they start saying something using one structure and change their mind half way through the utterance to say something else which involved a different structure.

A learner is incapable of correcting an error because they simply do not know the correct way of saying or writing it. Here two variants are possible.

1) The rule/ language material has not been presented as yet (e.g. a learner tries to express original ideas using structures that have not been presented). These errors are not systematic and not so serious. The teacher could tell them the correct form (certainly not expecting the learners to remember it at once).

2) Teacher has presented the material but learners still get it wrong. It may be caused by insufficient practice; by mechanical practice without context and no attention paid to meaning; poor presentation on the part of the teacher; too much practice resulting in overgeneralization; influence of the learners’ mother tongue etc.

If learners have assimilated the rule, they shouldn’t make errors but may sometimes make mistakes. Errors impede progress but mistakes are a normal part of the learning process, learning steps. Mistakes come from within a student, and it is not particularly the teacher’s fault. Errors may be the teacher’s fault if they occur as a result of poor presentation, inadequate practice etc.

One of the fears every person has from time to time is a fear of making a mistake, a social blunder, a cultural ne, hurting somebody’s feelings, making a fool of oneself etc. Making mistakes is a natural part of human life. And proceeding from the fact that our learners are also human beings we should admit that they may make mistakes. And it’s no tragedy. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are stupid or that their teacher is incompetent.

One of the books on mistakes management there’s a story. A student comes late to the lesson and explains: “I’m sorry, my mother was took to hospital”. And what’s the teacher’s reaction? Does she show her sympathy? She asked: “Pardon? Could you say it again using the Past Participle?” The student said: “My mother was taken to hospital”. And the teacher concluded:”Good”. The unnatural character of the communication makes us start thinking about our attitude to correction and correction strategy.

The main principles of correction are nowadays viewed in this way:

· Correction is a guiding tool, helping learners to become aware of the correct form.

· Correction should be done positively and should not be used as an occasion to humiliate or criticize learners.

· Correction should have a purpose: Why is it being done?

· Correction should be done at the appropriate time: and why right now?

· Correction should not necessarily be teacher-dominated.

A teacher who corrects all the time can possibly be described as an over-corrector. A teacher who corrects very infrequently can be described as an under-corrector. Although these are two extreme positions, they can be found in the classroom. What impact can they have on classroom practice?

In case of over-correction teacher dominates the classroom and intimidates learners. Teacher talking time prevails over learners’ talking time. But some learners who are risk-avoiders prefer the “security” of over-correction. For other learners who are risk-takers atmosphere will be too rigid, straitjacket, demoralizing and demotivating. Possibly the teacher’s aim is greater accuracy but this is not guaranteed. For developing learners’ fluency it is impeding as learners may feel inhibited by fear of making mistakes. Knock-on effect with parents and administration may be positive as correction is usually conceived to be a large part of the teacher’s job.

Under-corrector may be viewed as incompetent and not doing the job properly. So some students may feel more relaxed, not afraid to express themselves freely, while some others would like all their mistakes be corrected, see under-correction as influencing the accuracy of their speech (though it may not be necessarily so). So correction strategy will be influenced by learners and teacher’s previous experience which will in turn influence their expectations.

So what factors influence the teacher’s decision to correct?

· The type of activity – is it accuracy or fluency oriented (e.g. drilling a new structure or a role-play)

· The stage of the lesson (practicing or producing, doing communicative task)

· The kind of mistake – error or mistake (slip)

· The level of the students (treat advanced learners’ errors more strictly)

· The stage of learning (if the material has just been presented, learners will make more mistakes. As the material is assimilated, the number of mistakes decreases)

· The number of learners making the mistake

· The frequency of the mistake

· The timing of the lesson (e.g. learners come after PT lesson and feel tired, less attentive)

· External factors which may influence the teacher’s behavior (e.g. the weather, the teacher’s mood etc).

123