17.3.4. The significance of the way we treat mistakes

Teachers have often considered errors as an unpleasant part of the language class. They would feel happy if their learners could produce perfect language from the very first days. This is, however, impossible. Errors can be produced because of the following:

interference from the mother tongue (The my book as opposed to my book);
interference within the same language that causes overgeneralisation (I want not as an overgeneralisation of I am not);
mixed interference of both the mother tongue and the second language (Snow no go instead of It does not snow);
developmental stages of acquisition (developmental errors linked to the process of acquisition that create example of interlanguage as in I no want water).

We should try to keep in mind that errors are often the evidence of a productive phase that children go through. During this phase the children’s ability to create is the basic positive step that confirms their learning in process.

Most children arrive at school with their confidence still intact. They do not expect to be able to do everything immediately, but they assume they can do anything eventually. In other words, for children mistakes and failures are frustrating rather than humiliating. They are normal part of learning to do something. After all, nearly everything they do takes many attempts and takes a long time and even is frequently still not quite right. Unfortunately, one of the things children soon begin to pick up at school is the idea that mistakes are in some way ‘bad’. They begin to be embarrassed and upset when they have difficulty. They sometimes hide this embarrassment by laughing when others get something wrong. Then they start to protect themselves from disappointment and the scorn of others in turn by avoiding situations where they themselves might get things wrong. This shows in various ways. For example, a child does not attempt answers or gives up very easily. Or sometimes we have children in our classes that want to check every single stage of their work with the teacher. This is, of course, an oversimplified description of a complex process, but it is one which teachers of young children often see and the one we must do our best to counteract.

There is a very practical implication for language teachers here. We have to be sensitive enough to become aware of what, when and how errors to be corrected. In other words, it means that the way we correct mistakes is going to be very important. Teachers can inadvertently contribute to the undermining and inhibiting process. For example, in language classes you will often see teachers correcting every single mistake of pronunciation or grammar. By demanding correction or repetition of a word that has just been said, they break into the child’s attempt to construct a whole meaning.

We all perfectly know that real conversation does not wait for us to work out everything exactly. Even if we get our first sentence out reasonably well, there is no guarantee that the other speaker will ‘play by the rules’ and answer as we expect or in words and phrases we know. So real communication demands risk talking. Trying out knowledge when it is still only half formed is part of the process of shaping it up fully. Without risks and mistakes we could not learn anything. Thus, giving priority to attitude goals in principle also affects our practice in another way, namely the way we treat mistakes.

Something similar often happens with written work too. If it always comes back completely covered in corrections of the smallest detail, it can destroy the urge to commit anything to paper at all and certainly to risk something of our own.

Again this constant, overcareful, overdetailed correction happens with the best of intentions. Teachers want children to get things right. But if we have to get everything perfect we will never try anything. Luckily, communication does not demand 100% accuracy. In reality, we can understand someone else speaking our language even if they have a fairly strong accent. Sometimes even in our own language we don’t get our words or structures quite right. If we listen carefully to native speakers, we find that they say some very odd and very ungrammatical things. But that doesn’t seem to stop us understanding and communicating.

This is not to deny the value of correction. It is, however, arguing that constant correction is undermining. There will, of course, be times in lessons when the teacher is concentrating on accuracy. However, there will also be other times in lessons when you will be trying to encourage fluency. Correction is vital in the first and potentially destructive in the second. If one of our priorities is to get children to have confidence, we have to know this and to distinguish these occasions accordingly. This will also help us deal with a practical problem. If we are expected to correct everything the children say, then pair-work with 40 children in the room becomes impossible. If, on the other hand, we know that there are certain activities in which we actually wish to allow for mistakes, then suddenly pair-work becomes much more manageable. We will still want to move round the class to check that most of the children are getting it reasonably right. We will also want to help individual children, or to offer occasional correction. Correction is not forbidden! However, we do not have to run round the room frantically trying to hear everything everybody says.

The following simple techniques are often useful with young learners:

Peer correction. When a child or a group of children are performing an activity, tell the other children that they are going to be ‘teachers’. Therefore, they will have to make the corrections. You will find out that peers are often more precise than teachers. And they will also have lots of fun.

Use your fingers. Be silent and use your fingers to help them understand which part of the sentence was wrong; for example: I have eight years old. Touch your thumb that stands for I, and nod to mean ‘correct’. Touch your middle finger that stands for eight, and nod to mean ‘correct’. Touch your pointer that stands for have, and show with your head and face expression that you disagree - move your head from right to left several times.

Clap and use your lips. Clap when you hear the mistake and say the correct form with your lips until the children understand it.

Listen, note down and say. Observe the children while they are performing an activity, listen to what they produce, note down errors that really bother you. Report the errors to the children when the activity is over. Together with your error report, also make comments on general performance: You sounded self-confident; You looked shy; Your pronunciation was correct; It seemed you were enjoying yourself; etc.

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GOOD JOB

few words should be dwelt on the role of rewards. They are very important in the motivation and school development of younger learners. Give them a reward as often as you can. Use any and all of the illustrative examples given below whenever you have a chance. Ask children to collect their rewards, show them at home as a sign of their progress and check how many they have clocked up at the end of a term and at the end of the school year. The use of the rewards suggested here will also help them enrich their knowledge of reward expressions. R E W A R D S