make them speak!
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
make them speak!
One major problem I've encountered while teaching adults is fear of grammar mistakes.They get stuck in conversation because they are afraid of using the wrong tense and so on. I always try to let them speak as conveying meaning is of utmost importance. Many mistakes will be corrected on the way and as long as a mistake does not hinder communication, it should not be regarded as something serious. I remember one time some one saying "I listen at him". It's well known that the prepositional regime in English is hard even for advanced students. I did not interfere to correct her but I did some noticing activities working on prepositional regime afterwards.
Error correction is a tricky issue, because different cultures respond to it differently. When I was getting my Masters in TESOL, I was taught that correcting errors in class could result in embarrassment, loss of face in the case of Asian students, and a reluctance to participate in future classes because of fear of correction. However, when I started teaching in Germany, my students complained that I didn't correct their errors in class, on the spot! A middle-course solution might be to make a sound or gesture when a mistake is made, or holding up a red flag. This encourages the student to self-monitor and self-correct, rather than being told what to say by the teacher.
correcting
I've encountered the same issue with some of my students. There's a few solutions that I think are useful. If it's a written assignment, you can have them pass their papers to the left and have each other correct their work while you read out the answers (or they can correct their own work while you read out the answers).
Also, aquiring a great listening ability helps you to listen to many people at once catching mistakes here and there. Write those down and the "anonymous" mistakes will be corrected on the board. This takes some time to acheive but it helps.
One at a time stuff is intimidating so pair work and group work where you can evaluate their abilities is best. Hope this helps-I know it's vague.
Rassi.
Also, aquiring a great listening ability helps you to listen to many people at once catching mistakes here and there. Write those down and the "anonymous" mistakes will be corrected on the board. This takes some time to acheive but it helps.
One at a time stuff is intimidating so pair work and group work where you can evaluate their abilities is best. Hope this helps-I know it's vague.
Rassi.