Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
ACCURACY AND CORRECTING
MISTAKES
Penny Ur
ETAI Miniconference, Kiryat Ono
January, 2010
2
This talk:
A. How important is it for our students to be accurate in their language use?
B.How can we achieve accuracy?
C. How does error correction help?
D. Summary and conclusions
3
A. How important is it for our students to be accurate in their
language use?
4
What do you think?Would you agree or disagree with the following
statements?
1. It’s not important for students to spell English words correctly, as long as their meaning is clear
2. It’s not important for students to pronounce like a native speaker, as long as they are easily comprehensible.
3. It’s not important for students to use correct grammar, as long as they are getting their message across
If you answered ‘disagree’ to any of the above – can you say why?
5
Accuracy is important because…
…From the point of view of the hearer/reader, inaccuracy, even if it doesn’t affect meaning, is
– distracting
– ‘uncomfortable’
– may lower respect for the speaker/writer
6
And because…
… from the point of view of the speaker/writer, inaccuracy may
– lower self-confidence
– lower self-respect as a language user
7
And because…
…from the point of view of the teacher, professionalism means teaching the language as best we can, not compromising on careless or unacceptable usage.
8
B. Achieving accuracy
9
Research indicates that to achieve accuracy, learners need...
communicative language use
+
some explicit discussion of form or rules
+
practice
10
Probably the optimal teaching model combines these
• Communicative tasks, with ‘time out’ for focus on form, including practice exercises
• Focus on accuracy: rule explanation, leading into both ‘mechanical’ and communicative practice
But also time for:
• Communication on its own
• Focus on accurate form on its own
11
Communicative tasks (fluency)
(on their own)
Language work (accuracy)
(on its own)
12
1. Communication (+ accuracy):
Task-based instruction
The basis of the lesson is a communicative task.
We may teach bits of grammar / vocabulary / spelling before, during or after: but the focus is always on the communicative task.
13
A communicative taskDiscuss how far you agree with the following statements
1.The teacher should correct me when I make a mistake.
Agree …………………………………………….Disagree
2.The teacher should ask other students to correct me when I make a mistake.
Agree …………………………………………….Disagree
3.The teacher should get me to correct myself.
Agree …………………………………………….Disagree
4.The teacher should make me rewrite essays after she’s corrected them.
Agree …………………………………………….Disagree
5.The teacher should not only correct me, but also explain why what I said was wrong.
Agree …………………………………………….Disagree
14
Communication (+ accuracy)Communication / Fluency:
Reading and understanding the sentences and their meanings
Discussing how far we agree.
Coming to a consensus.
(Possibly: rewriting the statements so that we all agree with them)
Then, for accuracy:
Learning the vocabulary (e.g. use of make with mistake, get so.to, make so. do sth)
Work on grammar (e.g. modal should, reflexive pronouns like myself)
15
Comment:
Based on authentic language use
Puts communication first, accuracy as a means to an end
Fashionable (task-based learning)
But:
Difficult for learners who need to feel ‘safe’
May not, in the long term, lead to coverage of the most important language items
16
2. Accuracy (+ communication)
We start with a language point
We do some ‘mechanical’ exercises
We then progress to more communicative work.
17
Grammar practice 1: conventional form-focused
exercisesA. discrete items
1. A car is ……… than a bicycle. (fast)
2. Chinese is …………………. than English. (difficult).
3. A lion is ……………. than a dog. (big).
B. full text
Glenda: I don’t know which dress to buy, the red or the green!
Sally: Well, the red one is …………. (expensive), the green one is much ….. (cheap).
Glenda: yes, but the red one is much ………….. (pretty). Which do you think suits me …………(well)? …
18
Grammar practice 2: Moving towards meaning
Compare the people in this family.
Use the adjectives big, fat, thin, small, big, tall, short, old, young.
1. Alex is taller than Jill.
2. Karen is smaller than ………
3. Jill is……………than Karen.
4. Ben is …………than Alex.
5. Alex is ………………………Karen.
6. Jill is …………………………Ben.
Alex
Jill
Karen
Ben
19
Grammar practice 3: Focus on meaning
Choose one of these pairs of items. How many different ways can you think of comparing them? Use the comparative form of the adjective.
A radio and a computer
A rabbit and a snake
Playing football and reading a book
Harry Potter and Professor Dumbledore
…
20
Grammar Practice 4:Focus on communication
Debate
Debate based on comparison. e.g. discuss the following motions:
‘Computers are better than books’.
Or
‘It’s better to live in the town than in the country’.
21
Comment:
Based on ‘inauthentic’ language use
Old-fashioned (‘PPP’)
Puts accuracy first, communication second
BUT:
Appropriate for learners who need to feel ‘safe’
Based on a systematic language syllabus
22
3. Communication only
Just getting learners to use the language for understanding or conveying messages.
No following language work.
23
Receptively:•listening to stories, •listening and responding, •reading stories, •reading and responding, •watching movies…
Productively:• talking, communication games• exchanging information, • creative or transactional writing…
24
25
Comment
‘Authentic’ and communicative
Often fun and interesting, motivating
BUT
Very variable amount of learning
Virtually impossible to check how much learning has taken place
Some activities are not appropriate for pupils who like clear-cut and structured tasks
26
4. Accuracy only
Talking ‘about’ the language or doing activities that focus on ‘getting it right’:
Examples:
‘Tip of the day’ – isolated language points.
Grammar explanations
Learning lists of vocabulary for a test
Dictations
Drills
Pronunciation work
27
CommentInauthentic
May be boring
Leads to ‘theoretical’ knowledge of the language
No direct contribution to fluency
BUT:
Leads to understanding of how the language works
Satisfying for some pupils
Very easily assessed
Indirect contribution to communicative ability
28
Interim conclusions
If we wish our learners to become both accurate and fluent in English, we need to provide
1. both explicit and implicit teaching/learning;
2. both meaning- and form-focus;
3. both unthinking and cognitively demanding language production;
29
And we need to organize these within a balanced methodology that includes
different teaching processes because
1.Learners are different
2.Even the same learner may learn in different ways at different times
3.Language items are different
30
C. How does error correction help?
31
What different kinds of correction are there?
And which is the most effective?
Which types of correction, on the whole, lead to better uptake? (Lyster and Ranta, 1997; Lyster, 1998)
32
Types of correction:
Recast
Elicitation
Clarification request
Metalinguistic feedback
Explicit correction
Repetition
Frequency of use:
55%
14%
11%
8%
7%
5%
Uptake:
18%
46%
28%
45%
36%
31%
33
RESULTS
Simple ‘recast’ was most often used, but least ‘uptake’!
Recasts may not be perceived as correction at all!
The best results are gained from corrective feedback + some negotiation.
34
The correction-during-communication paradox
If we correct during communicative work unobtrusively so as not to harm communication – the correction may be ineffective.
If we correct more effectively using explicit feedback and ‘processing’ – we may damage the communicative value of the activity.
35
What’s the answer?
Professional teaching judgement, taking into account:
•The overall goals of the course
•How crucial / important the error is
•The frequency of the error
•The level of the student
•The personality of the student
•The motivation of the class overall to learn
36
4. What do the learners say
37
A questionnaire-based survey
Population: over 1,000 children learning English in State schools in Israel.
Ages: 10 - 17
38
Learners’ preferences in oral correction
When I make a mistake in oral work I think it's very good / good / not very good / bad if the teacher...
Very Good
Good Not Very Good
Bad
... doesn't correct me at all.
… tells me there's a mistake, but doesn't tell me what it is, so I have to correct myself.
..tells me a mistake and also tells me what the correct form should be.
…tells me there's a mistake, tells me the correct form, and makes me repeat it.
…tells me there's a mistake, and gets another student to correct me.
…corrects my mistake and also explains why it was wrong.
39
Learners’ preferences in written correction
When I make a mistake in written work I think it's very good / good / not very good / bad if the teacher...
Very Good
Good Not Very Good
Bad
…doesn't correct me at all.
…indicates there's a mistake, but doesn't tell me what it is.
…indicates there's a mistake, and gives me a hint what kind of mistake it is.
Indicates there's a mistake and writes what the correct form should be.
Corrects me in any of the ways indicated above, and doesn't make me rewrite.
Corrects me in any of the ways indicated above, and makes me rewrite.
40
Oral mistakes
0100200300400500600700800900
.. doesn'tcorrect me at
all.
… tells methere's a
mistake, butdoesn't tell
me w hat it is,so I have to
correctmyself.
..tells me amistake andalso tells me
w hat thecorrect formshould be.
…tells methere's a
mistake, tellsme the
correct form,and makes
me repeat it.
…tells methere's a
mistake, andgets another
student tocorrect me.
…correctsmy mistakeand also
explains w hyit w asw rong.
yes
no
41
Written mistakes
01002003004005006007008009001000
…doesn'tcorrect me at
all.
…indicatesthere's a
mistake, butdoesn't tell
me w hat it is.
…indicatesthere's a
mistake, andgives me ahint w hatkind of
mistake it is.
Indicatesthere's a
mistake andw rites w hatthe correctform should
be.
Corrects mein any of the
w aysindicated
above, anddoesn't makeme rew rite.
Corrects mein any of the
w aysindicated
above, andmakes merew rite.
yes
no
42
Main points:
School-age learners want to be corrected.
They feel corrective feedback is valuable
They prefer explicit correction (but maybe not adults and more advanced learners)
They understand the value of repeating / rewriting the correct form.
They do not, on the whole, like to be corrected by their peers.
43
D. Summary and conclusions
44
Accuracy-oriented as well as communicative-oriented language teaching
We need to do all we can to make sure that as students are learning new language they learn it correctly; so we should provide opportunities for students to:
learn rules
talk about the language (language awareness), including contrast with L1
practise accurate as well as meaningful production
… as well as lots of communicative work:
exposure to (correct) spoken and written language
communicative speaking and writing tasks
45
Effective corrective feedback
If after all this learners are still making mistakes, corrective feedback can help improve accuracy.
Corrective feedback may sometimes be provided during communicative tasks.
But ‘recasts’ on their own are probably ineffective.
The most effective corrective feedback occurs when learners actively participate in negotiation of the correction, to make sure that there is uptake.
