Print this page

Dealing with Student's Errors

Speaker: Jim Lawley
Moderator: Stephanie Taylor (Richmond Publishing)
Date: Wednesday 22 September 1999.

Jim Lawley graduated in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford in 1980. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from Birmingham University. His doctoral thesis in the field of English Language Teaching won a Premio Extraordinario at the Universidad de Educación a Distancia, (Spain) where he currently works. He is co-author of over twenty EFL textbooks.

Much has been written on when and how to deal with students' errors. Based on different theories of language learning, teachers have received different advice about such aspects as the role of teacher and learner in the correction process and the use of comparative analysis. It is a topic which evokes geat emotion! Some teachers are fervent believers that students should never be exposed to examples of incorrect language for fear that they remember and reproduce incorrect forms. Others, including Jim, do not agree? What are your views on dealing with error.

MODERATOR> Welcome to tonight's chat and welcome to tonight's speaker Jim Lawley, who will be giving us his views and stimulating debate on Dealing with Students' Errors.

MODERATOR> Welcome Jim. Where are you at the moment

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Hi everyone! First things first. The title of this session should be "Dealing with students´ mistakes", I think. As you can see, self-correction is the best correction.

MODERATOR> Fine. Would you like to start by defining for us what you consider to be the difference between errors and mistakes?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Sometimes it´s useful to distinguish slips, where students can self-correct errors, where the intended form is clear and the class is familiar with the language item and attempts, where intended meaning and structure are not clear but I think our aim, ultimately, is to make all mistakes susceptible to self-correction.

MODERATOR> Let me start by sending you a question received earlier from Alicia in Madrid.... Using symbol correections to stimulate self correction is accepted practice but does it really work?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I sometimes have my doubts. Correction codes are widely advocated and often used successfully but it´s also true that students sometimes leave errors uncorrected or miscorrected and, speak the truth and shame the devil, it´s also true that they occasion lots of work for the teacher. Really we need to train students to detect their own mistakes.

MODERATOR> Still on the subject of symbols, then what advice would you give Alicia in how best to use symbols successfully?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Make sure the students understand the symbols, perhaps by getting them to apply them to a piece of work, insist on seeing the corrections, take suggestions for different symbols. However, the real problem is that students tend to hand in work for the teacher to correct. We should encourage them to write several drafts and see the teacher´s correction as part of the process. It´s worth reminding students that what is written without effort is generally read without pleasure and that they can learn more from doing one piece of writing properly than half a dozen sloppily.

MODERATOR> A question from the chat room....

Greenleaf> Is it possible to say that miscorrection can be useful

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Well, I suppose it shows what´s going on in the student´s mind and therefore helps the teacher give further feedback but really in these matters, prevention is better than cure and it would help if we could show students how to avoid mistakes.

MODERATOR> Any comments, Greenleaf?

Greenleaf> I suppose miscorrection becomes part of the correction/writing process

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Yes, it could be one of the drafts. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better, and the darkest hour is just before dawn. I´m certainly in favour of encouraging students to experiment and take risks with language.

Greenleaf> Which I see as positive in itself - showing a student is actually thinking about language

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> That´s absolutely right, Greenleaf.

MODERATOR> A related comment from Bego in Navarra. She feels that mistakes are a very positive thing and an integral part of the learning process.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I couldn´t agree more. I feel that mistakes are learning opportunities. Indeed I sometimes favour task-based syllabuses where students stretch their linguistic capabilities and, inevitably, make mistakes. These mistakes are learning opportunities. If we take them, students make rapid progress. I also want to say that students LIKE studying common mistakes. We should harness that motivation since mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process, it helps to bring them out into the open so that students can practise detecting and correcting them.

MODERATOR> Presumably this is easier in a mono-lingual teaching situation?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> When I say, students LIKE studying mistakes, I mean that whenever I´ve shown them for example ten sentences containing common errors, I´ve noticed a surge of enthusiasm as the class tries to spot and correct them. One very enjoyable classroom activity is the "auction", where the teacher shows the class sentences and says that some, but not all, contain errors. Students "bid", aiming to buy correct and not incorrect sentences. It can be great fun.

Greenleaf> I like the idea of bringing mistakes into the "open", but I do find only the very most self-motivated are willing to go through past work to make corrections on their own.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Too true. In that context I believe that leaner dictionaries are an underused resource.

MODERATOR> I have the same comment here from Javier

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> The student who´s written "I enjoy to speak English" can look up enjoy, find there are no examples of "Enjoy" followed by "to", several of "enjoy" followed by the -ing form, and correct accordingly.

Greenleaf> Do you think sts like to study their own mistakes or other people's more?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Good question...

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I think they prefer studying their own on the whole, but it´s also true that many mistakes are common to many students and are usefully studied as a class activity.

Greenleaf> Certainly their own mistakes are more relevant to them, but looking at other people's mistake s may help sts not to feel negative....?

MODERATOR> Are there any non-native speakers in the room, and could they give us their own views on how they felt as younger learners of English?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> That´s true. Another idea is to show students compositions written by other students who, along with occasional mistake, are also making excellent use of limited English. These represent achievable goals and can be very motivating for students in my experience.

MODERATOR> about being(or not being) corrected?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> As a learner of Spanish, I found it very frustrating when I realised people were listening not to what I was saying, but to how I was saying it (grammatical accuracy, correct vocabulary and pronunciation). I think there is a lesson there for all of us.

MODERATOR> Perhaps we could consider oral work for a moment as we've been focussing more on writing so far.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Sure. I think one mistake we, and I include myself here, make is not to give students enough time to plan, prepare, and practise what they are going to say. If we do give them that time, they will make fewer mistakes - prevention is better than cure.

MODERATOR> a comment from Maite, received this morning. She believes we should not correct students' attempts at expressing themselves...

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I tend to agree with Maite, it´s important to respond to students as people. However, we can also make a mental note of mistakes and bring them up later in another phase of the lesson.

Armellini> I think that attitude does not apply only to Spanish speakers towards Spanish language learners...

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> No, I agree with you Armellini (glad to see you by the way). It´s sometimes just too tempting to point out a minor grammatical error rather than respond to what someone is trying to say. But if we do that, we make students think that the more they say, the more mistakes they will make and of course in fact, the biggest mistake they can make is to say nothing at all.

Greenleaf> Doesn't the 'prevention is better then cure' theory rather go against taking risks - I think most people agree is important in learning?

Derek> Yes

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Good point Greenleaf. I meant really that students should try to correct their mistakes while they are still at the drafting or rehearsing stage but not that they should limit themselves to simple bland English.

Greenleaf> Over preparation may run the risk of hindering fluency in speaking.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Rather it hinders spontaneity, but it may in fact foster fluency as it enables students to marshall their thoughts and prepare their arguments.

Crisba> Prevention and risks can go together. Shouldn't we aim at both?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I think we should aim to encourage students to stretch their language and to accept that that will involve the risk of making mistakes and to try to discover the lexis and structures which will enable them to say new things.

Derek> What effective techniques do you suggest we can use to stretch students' language?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> As I said earlier Derek, before you logged in, I think, I´m in favour of task-based syllabi where students are encouraged to use the language at their disposal to perform tasks and to get things done. The inevitable result is that they will make mistakes. The problem is that in many classrooms it´s logistically difficult for the teacher to detect these errors and so many learning opportunities are lost. However, at least in the case of written work, software is becoming available which will help students detect and correct their own mistakes. This could make an enormous difference to language teaching in the new millennium.

Greenleaf> Yes, I take you point about spontaneity vs fluency. I also agree with Crisba . as ever there is a constant struggle to find a balance between accuracy, fluency, risk taking and inhibition. I used to have a new phrase of the day, week, month, etc while I was learning Portuguese, which I would try to get into as many conversations as possible just after I learnt it! Great fun!!

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Greenleaf, yes I do that myself in English and I find it helps.

armellini> Well, software hasn't made a significant difference in the current millennium in this respect, but things could change...

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Armellini: I couldn´t agree more. Software has been very disappointing. Largely I suspect because technology advances very quickly and we take a long time to realise its full pedagogic potential, but I think this is going to change. Software which can tell students where there are mistakes or I should have said, help them to find mistakes, could have a big impact. For example, it will make self study much more feasible and relieve teachers of the burden of routine correction. My article in "English Teacher Education in Europe" published by Peter Lang 1999 (sorry to blow my own trumpet) gives more details on how this could work.

armellini> That has been the promise for over 10 years, no decent results yet. Or because people want to learn from people as opposed to a PC. It will make self-study more feasible but it will not relieve teachers of anything in the foreseeable future.

Derek> Doesn't software diminish the role of the teacher?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> No, Derek, I think it changes the role of teacher. Certainly I don´t think we can get rid of teachers. There are things software will never be able to do//

CRISBA> Using computers will be using a different tool, but the same pedagogic method.

Greenleaf> Yes, I think one of the key factors will be in helping sts to see that often they are their own best 'teachers'. They then need to learn how best to use software and teachers to their own advantage. Motivation will also be a crucial factor, as ever.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Yes, that´s my view too Greenleaf. Going back to Armellini´s point, it´s also true that students may feel more comfortable when their mistakes can be corrected in the privacy of their computer screen.

armellini> The PC will not replace the teacher but teachers who can't use the technology are more easily replaceable than those who can put it to good educational use, don't you reckon?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I think, and I speak as somebody who is very low-tech, that we have no option but to embrace the new technologies and after all, all of us who are in this chat are doing something that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.

Greenleaf> I have also found that using hi-tech itself motivates many sts.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Yes, but as teachers, and I don´t want to sound like a wet blanket, we have a duty to make sure that the use of the new technologies is time-efficient and fostering purposeful learning.

Anthony Lee> It has been there for quite a long while, at least about 2 to 3 years

CRISBA> Does hi-tech motivation last long?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Well, Crisba, I think that the technology is not static, but constantly changing and therefore liable to maintain interest but what really motivates students I feel is making rapid quantifiable progress and if a new technology helps, great.

Anthony Lee> I think one gets bored after a while

armellini> True, I 've also experienced that hi tech itself motivates.

Scott> Apropos Greenleaf's comment about overpreparation hindering fluency, Peter Skehan has assembled evidence to suggest that task planning can show gains in terms of accuracy, fluency, and complexity. But it needs to be carefully calibrated - too much planning time and fluency goes out the window.

MODERATOR> a response to the point about our relatively small global event. to close.........

Greenleaf> Armellini, well, the rest are just waiting for the millennium to avoid the bug before buying a computer!!!!

MODERATOR> And on that note, thanks to all of you, and thanks to Jim. Let's get together again soon?

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> It´s been great fun..

MODERATOR> Bye Jim

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> and let´s meet in cyber space again before too long. Thanks to everyone who´s been here.

MODERATOR> Please go on chatting in the chat area - on high tech - or on student error! (or anything else, come to that!

armellini> Cheerio from Montevideo, everyone!

Anthony Lee> it has been a nice experience

Scott> Great - sorry I was late. Speak to you soon.

Greenleaf> Thank you! See you all agin - has been great fun and interesting.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> I second all these remarks.

CRISBA> It's been my first chat and I've enjoyed it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_Jim_Lawley> Crisba, thanks for your very interesting questions and comments.