ELT News Think Tank

This Month's Think Tank Panel

Julian Edge

Marc Helgesen

Peter Viney

Setsuko Toyama

Panelists: Julian Edge | Marc | Peter | Setsuko
Readers Comments: Abdellatif Zoubair | James Corbett
Date: May 2000

Topic: "When and how should I correct my students?"

Setsuko Toyama

Basically, I try not to disrupt the flow of the conversation by correcting. The rapport between the speaker and the listener is very important.

I also try to demonstrate how to really listen as I would in a real conversation. I will occasionally paraphrase or repeat phrases to show my understanding and interest.

My students are false beginners. When they do speak up, accuracy is not my priority. I am addressing to the reality of the students who are not doing English majors but are taking an English course as it is required for credits. In the class, they use the language they have stored during the 6 to 8 years of mostly grammar translation, for the first time, to communicate and to vocalize what they have been seeing in text.

I do not want to correct them at the risk of making them clam up for the rest of the course, or get reluctant to speak up. I rephrase what they said instead:

Student: I enjoyed to ski.
Toyama: You enjoyed skiing? Did you go to Joetsu?
Student: I was exciting of the game.
Toyama: I see, you were excited at the game.
Student: What do you like sports?
Toyama: What sports do I like? I like aerobics.

Most Japanese students have had an incredible amount of correction in all the subjects in their education of 1-12. Some are used to it but some just flinch when they are being corrected. To many students, being corrected means they have failed. It might sound to some of you that I am exaggerating but both teachers and students are so exam-oriented that it is almost their nature to seek for one single correct answer in any task.

I remember clearly a PTA event when parents were invited to observe a math lesson. The teacher explained a new formula and let the children practice. Then she called on a few students. Each had to say Yes, Ms. so and so, pull out the chair, stand next to the desk and recite the answer. When a child made a mistake, the teacher scolded the child, saying, "I told you not to make that kind of mistake, didn't I? Were you listening to me at all?" The humiliated child almost cried and to this day I believe he started to hate math at that moment.

Perhaps this is an extreme example but it reflects the teaching that is being conducted in Japan to some extent. Making mistakes is BAD. Many Japanese teachers correct any mistakes (slips or errors or attempts) in order to help students to be successful in the awaiting exams.

In language learning, making mistakes is a natural step of growth. My students have to get used to this concept and speak more and more without worrying about making mistakes. That is why I do not 'correct' my students.

When the same kind of errors occur in numbers, I prepare an extra handout on that point and spend perhaps 5 minutes on it in the next lesson as a warm-up/review time. When I go through the handout, I tell my students that this is not an attempt to make them native-like speakers but to help them develop awareness about standard English in order to increase the possibility of being understood when speaking English.

Let me show an example to follow up on students who were 'exciting' at games or events. Japanese translation for passive-form adjectives such as excited, bored, amazed, etc, end with '-teiru' form. It is the same ending for present progressive form of verbs, which look the same as adjectives ending with -ing. That is why Japanese students tend to say 'they are exciting, boring, amazing...' when, in fact, they are excited, bored, amazed... I hand out a list of adjectives and ask students to think of a place or an event. Students in pairs tell the partner about the event and how they feel:

Example: I saw Star Wars Episode 1. It was exciting. I was excited. I finally ask the students about the English lesson and we have a good laugh as there's always a volunteer who shoots up his hand and says, It's boring!

Some students do want to be corrected on the spot. Those are eager students who prefer being corrected to being uncertain whether what they said is correct or not. They are also quick learners so I can simply supply a word or two and they strengthen their awareness.

Panelists: Julian Edge | Marc | Peter | Setsuko
Readers Comments: Abdellatif Zoubair | James Corbett

Setsuko Toyama, Toyama English House

Co-author of Journeys: Listening and Speaking & Development Editor of SuperKids

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