1 ACCURACY AND CORRECTING MISTAKES Penny Ur 2006

2 A. How important is it to be accurate?

3 What do you think? 1. 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?

4 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

5 And because… … from the point of view of the speaker/writer, inaccuracy may –lower self-respect as a language user –lower prestige in eyes of others

6 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.

7 B.Achieving accuracy (Prevention is better than cure)

8 Research indicates that to achieve accuracy, learners need... communicative language use + some explicit rule-learning + practice

9 There are various theories about how accuracy is achieved 1.Rule-based practice (traditional, e.g. Murphy, 1985) 2.The Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1982) 3.‘Consciousness raising’ (Ellis, 2001) 4.Task-based learning (Skehan, 1996)

10 Probably the optimal answer is a combination of these models: Communicative tasks, with ‘time out’ for focus on form, including practice exercises Rule explanation, leading into both ‘mechanical’ and communicative practice But also time for: Communication on its own Focus on form on its own Language play (songs, chants, rhymes…)

11 C. CORRECTION: WHEN PREVENTION HASN’T WORKED!

12 Various issues: 1.Does it help? 2.What different kinds of correction are there? And which is the most effective? 3.What are learners’ preferences? 4.When should we NOT correct?

13 1. Does it help? Truscott (1999, 1996) claims that correction in both oral and written work does not work: –teachers correct inconsistently, sometimes wrongly –students are sometimes hurt by being corrected –students may not take corrections seriously –correction may interfere with fluency –learners do not learn from the correction

14 But … –teacher intuitions –learners themselves claim it does help (Harmer, 2005) –there is some empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis that learners do learn from being corrected (Doughty and Varela, 1998)

15 2. What different kinds of correction are there? And which is the most effective? Which type of correction, on the whole, leads to better uptake? (Lyster and Ranta, 1997; Lyster, 1998)

16 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%

17 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.

18 Further thoughts Within communicative interaction, we try to make our corrections unobtrusive because we don’t want to disturb the ‘flow’ – so we use quick ‘recasts’, and don’t demand self-correction But many of these may not be perceived as corrections, or even noticed, so may be a waste of time! If we correct, we need to make sure ‘uptake’ has occurred, even if this slows things down a bit.

19 What are learners’ preferences? When I make a mistake in oral work I think it's very good / good / not very good / bad if the teacher... Very Good GoodNot 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.

20 What are learners’ preferences? When I make a mistake in written work I think it's very good / good / not very good / bad if the teacher... Very Good GoodNot 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.

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23 Main points: Learners want to be corrected. Learners feel corrective feedback is valuable (Harmer, 2005). Learners prefer explicit correction (but maybe not adults and more advanced learners, Harmer, 2005). Learners understand the value of repeating / rewriting the correct form. Learners do not, on the whole, like to be corrected by peers.

24 When should we NOT correct? Perhaps we should not correct when a learner is focusing on communicating? Because: –non-communicative, inauthentic! –not appropriate to the aims of the task. –distracting, disturbing

25 But… –Some evidence that learners want to be corrected at the moment they make the mistake (Harmer, 2005) –We need to balance the benefit against the damage: which is more important: preserving the fluent process and communicative nature of the interaction? or providing corrective feedback where it is needed to help learners improve their accuracy?

26 No easy answer to this one! But it is clear that: –there is no absolute ‘rule’ about when not to correct –our decision will involve a lot of different considerations specific to the learner the importance of encouraging fluency the importance of encouraging accuracy the confidence and self-image of the learner the sheer number of mistakes

27 D. Summary and conclusions

28 Accuracy-oriented as well as communicative teaching of language 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

29 Effective corrective feedback If after all this learners are still making mistakes, corrective feedback can help improve accuracy. Corrective feedback may 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.