Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Privateer]

Just wondered what strategies people use to tell students they are wrong without making them feel bad.

For instance, if I overhear an error I sometimes put it up on the board at the end of class and ask what's wrong with it - but I substitute words so that, hopefully, the student doesn't realize it was their mistake that drew my attention.

I also find I try to avoid asking questions the students can't answer, but that doesn't seem right somehow.

What strategies do you all use?

[edwardcatflap]

Depends on the individual student's age, level, how well I know/get on with them, the activity type, the aim of the activity, the stage of the lesson, the type of error etc... etc...

[iggyb]

Unless the students are very touchy, I wouldn't worry about it. I've never had a problem with error correction, and I've taught all levels and ages.

The books say you shouldn't spend much time with error correction anyway.

How much experience do you have? Over time, you get a sense of what the most common errors are for the level you are teaching or for a particular mixed-level class you might be teaching. (You can also try googling this to see what the most common and critical mistakes are for each level (low-beginner, high-intermediate, and so on)).

Then, when you hear or see one of those common mistakes, you can point it out and write it on the board and maybe give 1 or 2 similar target sentences using that point.

I do informally correct mistakes by fairly frequently repeating what they say to me with small corrections. I tell the classes at the start of a semester to pay attention to when I repeat what they say, but I don't spend class time on it if it isn't a common mistake for the class' general level.

I've found that the older the student is in Korea, the more they want you to correct their mistakes, and this is the only time I've had a problem with it, because I've had an occasional adult class get unhappy when I won't correct their mistakes. I explained it isn't as efficient use of class time compared to practicing communicating with each other - that self-error correction comes the more practice they have in using the language - and I've even brought in articles from TESOL journals that mention this - but Korean high school drills into their head error correction and the need to be perfect, some can't break free from that mentality.

[drydell]

Koreans have spent too long in classes where making a mistake is not ok. This is one of the main reasons they fear speaking English. A good ESL class should try to make them comfortable with openly making mistakes...

Your concern for them and discretion is well intentioned but maybe not the best approach for this reason..

[iggyb]

Because I spent so much time teaching in Korea, I always hang a sign in my classes, regardless of level or where I'm teaching, that says, "Don't worry about mistakes! Mistakes are GOOD! You learn from mistakes. Practice, practice, practice!!!"

I also do this because I know why I have failed so miserably learning Korean: I can't break free from the habit of worrying about mistakes or comprehending each word... I learned from my own failure...

[nathanrutledge]

My students are very quiet when speaking, so I often repeat what they say. I just say it correctly, followed with a "right?" or "yeah?" for them to confirm that's what they meant. In my experience, they generally speak MORE when I do that, and sometimes, when I restate it, they'll tell me "no, that's not what i meant." Then they try again to say what they meant.

This really only works if there are not major, glaring errors in what they say. Number/tense errors, awkward word choice, basic things like that. If you run into glaring grammar/syntax things, I wouldn't do this.

As others have said, correcting students in a SPEAKING class isn't the best thing to do. They have grammar classes, and reading/writing classes to deal with fixing mistakes. Plus, when they actually start to use the language, they'll fix their mistakes naturally. Personally, when I study Korean, I KNOW I make a lot of small, stupid errors. But, if the teacher kept correcting me, I wouldn't be comfortable speaking. I sound like a total moron, a five year old child, AT BEST, but I can communicate what I need to, when I need to. That's really the key.

[koreatimes]

My first approach is to tell the person that it's ok and that we will work this out together (this is for students who fear making a mistake). If they already made a mistake, I don't personally worry about addressing the mistake actually. They already know we are native speakers and that we should know the answers. If one student doesn't know the answer, it's likely there are other students who also don't know.

So, I write out the formula that they didn't follow and make the rest of the students correct it. Sometimes, the student who made the mistake will say, "Oh, it's ____" and correct themselves. This is the ideal situation. You are presenting something to the class and giving them an opportunity to see and fix a mistake. It becomes a learning opportunity.

I teach classes of 45 students, and it is not easy getting 1 student to come up in front of a class. One approach is to get 2 or 3 people. They help each other. If it is just 1 student and the class ends up laughing at the student's mistake, I determine if that student is taking it as a funny incident or embarrassed. If they are embarrassed, I confront the class not the person. I tell them we are here to make mistakes and learn how to correct. That student can't build confidence to do better if they don't try and just sit watching others.

[WadRUG'naDoo]

I crouch down in front of the student's desk and scream the correct way to say it at the top of my lungs. After all, time is money.

Seriously, though. In my classes, the students hear the correct way to speak enough times without me correcting that they get it for the most part. Of course some students have different learning curves. Sometimes you correct them and give them praise either way afterward.

[iggyb]

Self-error correction comes the more communication is done - more so when a student speaks (or writes) more and more as well has an opportunity to listen to others or read.

Korean adults are so obsessed with mistakes and having errors corrected after their high school experience. It is extremely hard to get them to focus more on quantity over quality. It just doesn't compute for them based on how they have been taught before. They don't have faith in the idea that quality with increase over time with quantity.

I also tell them reading lots and lots and lots and lots is the best way to make up for being in an EFL environment. Reading contemporary material provides adequate input and then practice output as much as they can.

One of the problems with error correction in class is --- it takes time away from practicing. It influences the whole class, because people listening to a non-native speaker speak learn from their mistakes and what else is said.

The students only have a limited opportunity to practice each day.

[tortugaverde]

Although I don't have much experience in Korea, I have years of language/esl teaching experience.

My advice would be different based on the age of your students. Adults often want to be corrected beacuse they KNOW they are doing something wrong and they want to fix it. However, I would only correct them if we are doing a structured lesson. Just casual chit chat, no... unless requested.

Younger kids are not going to care if they make mistakes and that is fine. They will self correct as they get older. If you do feel like they need corrected, just repeating the phrase works well. Example would be student says "I go store" you repeat, "I go TO the store" and then continue with the conversation. As kids get older they start to understand they are being corrected and will generally correct themselves by saying "yes, I go to the store", younger kids not so much.

Over correcting can lead to students being scared to make mistakes, which you do not want. As long as you make a general statement like "I am hearing this mistake _____________ made often so I am going to write the correct phrase on the board"... works fine!

[PastorYoon]

What do Koreans do when you make a mistake while speaking Korean? They can barely hold back the laughter (or blatantly laugh in your face), in my experience. I wouldn't worry about it. Just correct them.

[Ya-ta Boy]

(I teach adults who are highly motivated to learn...)

It is true adults want to be corrected. It is also true that 'mistakes are good' IF there is someone who will correct the mistake. If no one corrects the mistake, the student can do nothing to fix the problem.

Korean students also know the grammar rules. One of the biggest helps a teacher can offer is to alert the student when they have broken a rule.

My method: (I choose one common mistake a week to focus on...with continuing reminders of past points of focus.)

For example, a very common mistake is 'He have' and other subject/verb agreement problems. They know the grammar rule. On the very first day, after our get-to-know-each-other' stuff and we start the first formal lesson...when a student screws up and says 'He have'...I make a noise like a buzzer...then pause. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. I ignore that and nod for the student to go ahead. He repeats the mistake and I make that same sound again and I make a kind of shuddering movement. Invariably, one student will say, "He HAS...".

Each time a student makes that mistake I make the same sound. Very quickly, they become conscious and aware of that particular grammar point. After a few days, when the number of mistakes has declined but someone makes that mistake again, I pull my hair and make a higher sound. A few days later, I cover my ears and say it hurts me when they make that mistake. The students laugh...but the number of mistakes declines very very quickly.

I don't usually have to explain a grammar rule. I find it is helpful to just alert them that a mistake has happened, then pause and let them check their own grammar. Once they have been sensitized to that mistake, they begin to self-correct and rather quickly eliminate that particular mistake.

My students like it that I correct them and they think I have a funny method of cueing them in to their problems. My system seems to work. A few semesters ago we started a speech contest and so far, my student has been #1 each time.

There is an art to knowing when and when not to correct a student's mistake. And obviously you can't correct every single mistake in every single sentence a student utters. Conversation would stop because confidence would plummet. The trick is to correct them by alerting them to their problem and reminding them when they forget, until the correct form becomes automatic and you can move on to the next common mistake. I should mention that I don't do this during fluency practice--that's the time for them to build speed and fluency. (It's also important to be very supportive and build their confidence.)

I'm sure there are other methods that work for other teachers, but this works well for me and my students.

PS: In my experience with adult Korean students, it's perfectly OK to threaten to punch them in the nose if they repeat a particular mistake again.

[kingplaya4]

I think it's a lame excuse that they already "know" the grammar or that the Korean teacher will teach them. I work with highly qualified Korean teachers, and some of the stuff I see written on the whiteboard that they probably spent half the class teaching is laughable.

Once a mistake is repeated without correction, it will become ingrained. Maybe the TEFL journals disagree, but I've experienced this multiple times. Just make it clear to the class that laughing at the mistake isn't okay, or if it's a young fun class, then make fun of one of the bully's own prior mistakes to keep things light. I don't just correct the mistake, I make the student repeat it back to me and sometimes it takes a few times for them to get it right, and I make it clear to them that we're in no hurry and to take their time to get it perfectly.

I don't know the Koreans you guys encounter, but most Koreans I know of around age 30 and under are very comfortable if not proud of their ability to speak English with a foreigner, however mangled the grammar may be. While I usually can understand what they're trying to say, a typical American or Canadian who had never set foot in Korea probably wouldn't.

[jeremysums]

Give em a treat after you tell them. Im kidding.

[kimchi_pizza]

I never "publicly" correct a student but in pair conversation practice, if I hear an error like, "I have a cold because I need to see a doctor." Then I'll lower my voice and speak to them privately in such a manner as to stress the error, "I have a cold because I need to see a doctor?" Then the nearly automatic response from the student(s), "Ah, 'So!' I have a cold, so I need to
see a doctor!" Self-correction is, for me, the absolute best route. They already know the error, just gotta nugde'em in the right direction sometimes.

But I wanna say, that I'm really impressed with a lot of the great responses from all the posters in this thread. Cool~

I take that back...almost never..ha! Sometimes a teacher can't help him/herself!