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Error Correction
Submitted 5 years 8 months ago by admin.

One of the main dilemmas for teachers giving conversation

groups is error correction. Its always tricky to know when
and if to correct students and how to go about it.

The danger of over-correcting is that students will lose motivation

and you may even destroy the flow of the class or the activity by
butting in and correcting every single mistake. The other extreme is
to let the conversation flow and not to correct any mistakes. There
are times when this is appropriate but most students do want to
have some of their mistakes corrected as it gives them a basis for
improvement.
So, the question is; W h e n a n d h ow s h o u l d yo u c o r re c t yo u r
students?
Every teacher will have different views on this and different ways of

T h i s s i t e u s e s c o o k i e s t o h e l p m a ke i t
m o re u s e f u l t o y o u .

B
Byy ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg ttoo bbrroow
wssee tthhee ssiittee w
wee uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhiiss
iiss aacccceeppttaabbllee ttoo yyoouu.. LLeeaarrnn aabboouutt m
maannaaggiinngg ccooookkiieess..

1 of 4

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17/06/2016 20:39

Error Correction | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/error-correction

This sounds obvious but it can be easily overlooked. Talk to your

students about error correction and to find out from them how
they like to be corrected. Often students have clear ideas about
how they would like you to correct them. With large groups you
may have to go with the majority, but if you have a small group
you can cater for individual needs.
One way to give students a choice on how much they want to be
corrected in a particular class or activity is for them to make a
traffic light to put on their desk. A strip of card with three circles
(one red, one orange and one green) folded into a triangle with a
bit of sellotape does the trick. Students point the circle towards
you to indicate whether or not they want correction:
o Red = dont correct me at all (they may have had a rough
day or be tired!)
o Orange = correct things which are really important or
things I should know.
o Green = correct as much as you can, please.

A re y o u w o r k i n g o n a c c u r a c y o r f l u e n c y ?
Before you begin an activity, bear in mind whether you are
concentrating on accuracy or fluency. For a class discussion for
example, fluency would be appropriate. The important thing is
that students are expressing themselves and thinking on their
feet. However if students have had time to prepare a role-play and
are then going to perform it you may want to encourage
accuracy. Be clear of the aims of the task and make sure students
are aware of what you expect from them. Dont present an activity
as a fluency task and then pick them up on every single mistake.
S e l f c o r re c t i o n / P e e r c o r re c t i o n
The first port of call when correcting can be the students
themselves. Students can often correct themselves when they
realise theyve made a mistake. Sometimes the mistake is simply a
slip and they are aware of the correct version. Give students a
chance, and time, to correct themselves. Often by just raising
your eyebrows or repeating the mistake students will know what
you mean and back track to correct the error themselves. Some
teachers create all sorts of hand signals to indicate the type of
error. Pointing behind you is a classic to indicate to students that
they should have used a past tense. If these work for you and
your students, go ahead and create your own correction
indicators.

T h i s s i t e u s e s c o o k i e s t o h e l p m a ke i t
m o re u s e f u l t o y o u .

B
Byy ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg ttoo bbrroow
wssee tthhee ssiittee w
wee uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhiiss
iiss aacccceeppttaabbllee ttoo yyoouu.. LLeeaarrnn aabboouutt m
maannaaggiinngg ccooookkiieess..

2 of 4

Yes, I agree
No, I want to find out
more
17/06/2016 20:39

Error Correction | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/error-correction

C o r re c t i o n s l o t s
One way to focus on students mistakes is to take time out of an
activity and look at mistakes as a group. When students are doing
a speaking task in pairs or groups I often monitor the students
and listen in on what theyre saying. Students will get used to you
hovering around them although if its not your usual monitoring
style they may wonder what youre up to at first! I make a note of
the mistakes that I hear; whether they are pronunciation,
grammatical or lexical. I collect a selection of their errors and
then stop the activity. I write a selection of the mistakes on the
board and ask students to correct them. If students are working in
pairs and you have a left over student, why not assign them the
role of assistant teacher? They can have a notebook and pen and
make notes of mistakes they hear. If they do their job well they
could even run the correction slot with their mistakes instead of
you. Usually most of the mistakes can by corrected by the
students themselves.
O n t h e s p o t c o r re c t i o n
Correcting mistakes the second they are made has the advantage
that you dont have to bring the activity to a stop as is the case
with a correction slot. Students often appreciate instant
correction. Think about what type of activity it is before deciding
whether or not its appropriate to correct on the spot. You dont
want to destroy the flow of the task by butting in. Students can
also be responsible for on the spot correction if they are
encouraged to pick up on each others mistakes.

N e w m i s t a ke s o r t h e s a m e o l d o n e s ?
I always remind students that if they are always making new
mistakes its okay. New mistakes are usually a sign that they are
exploring new uses of language or experimenting with new
vocabulary but if they are always repeating the same mistakes its
not such a good sign! By noting their mistakes students have a
record of their progress and can avoid repeating the same
mistakes time and time again. Its a good idea to have a set space
in their notebooks to write down their errors and the correct
version. One way of doing it is to divide a page into three
columns:
Mistake

Correction

T h i s s i t e u s e s c o o k i e s t o h e l p m a ke i t
m o re u s e f u l t o y o u .
B
Byy ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg ttoo bbrroow
wssee tthhee ssiittee w
wee uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhiiss
iiss aacccceeppttaabbllee ttoo yyoouu.. LLeeaarrnn aabboouutt m
maannaaggiinngg ccooookkiieess..

3 of 4

Note

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No, I want to find out
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17/06/2016 20:39

Error Correction | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/error-correction

For - For periods

Sometimes its a good idea to have little tests based on the classic
mistakes students make in class. It encourages students to look
over their notes and try to learn from them.

Conclusion
Whichever way you go about correcting your students, try to keep
the experience positive for the learner. Being corrected
constantly can be a really de-motivating, as every language
learner knows. As you are listening out for your students errors,
make sure you also listen out for really good uses of language
and highlight these to the group too. In the case of language
learning I really do believe the classic saying, you learn from your
mistakes.

Useful links:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/error-correction-1

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/errorcorrection-1)
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/error-correction-2

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/errorcorrection-2)
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/correction-codes

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/correctioncodes)
By Jo Budden
First published in 2008

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T h i s s i t e u s e s c o o k i e s t o h e l p m a ke i t
m o re u s e f u l t o y o u .
B
Byy ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg ttoo bbrroow
wssee tthhee ssiittee w
wee uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhiiss
iiss aacccceeppttaabbllee ttoo yyoouu.. LLeeaarrnn aabboouutt m
maannaaggiinngg ccooookkiieess..

4 of 4

Yes, I agree
No, I want to find out
more
17/06/2016 20:39