Mistakes and Giving Feedback

Presented by: LEANG Tola

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 Content
1. What is a mistake?
2. How many kinds of mistakes are there?
3. Why do students make mistakes?
4. What are sources of mistakes?
5. How can teachers give feedback/correction?
6. Q&A

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 What is a mistake?
1. 'slip' (mistake which Ss can correct themselves
once it has been pointed out),
2. 'error' (mistake which Ss can't correct
themselves - and which therefore need
explanation- the most concerns for teachers)
3. 'attempt' (mistake which Ss try to say something
but do not yet know the correct way of saying it
and may well provide chances for opportunistic
teaching)
(Julian Edge 1989)
 How many kinds of mistakes are
there?
1. Correct Grammar, Wrong meaning

2. Correct Grammar, Wrong use (impolite use)

3. Wrong Grammar, Correct meaning
4. Wrong Pronunciation, Wrong meaning
 How many kinds of mistakes are there?

1. Correct Grammar, Wrong meaning

The speaker A wants to ask about right now.
Mistake A: Where do you go?
B: Home.
Correction A: ...................................................?
 How many kinds of mistakes are there?

2. Correct Grammar, Wrong use (impolite use)

The speaker B wants to respond to the speaker A
politely.
Mistake A: Thank you.
B: Never mind.
Correction A: .........................................
 How many kinds of mistakes are there?

3. Wrong Grammar, Correct meaning

The speaker B answers the speaker A correctly because
the meaning is still clear.

Mistake A: She come yesterday?

B: Yes. At about 5 o’clock.
Correction A:................................................?
 How many kinds of mistakes are there?

4. Wrong Pronunciation, Wrong meaning

The speaker A is a waiter and wants to get the
customer’s attention.

Mistake A: Excuse me.

Correction A: .......................................
 Why do students make mistakes?
It is useful for T & Ss to accept that mistakes
are an inevitable and natural part of the
learning process.
It is through learners’ mistakes that we can see
what they are struggling to master, what
concepts they have misunderstood and what
extra work they might need.
 What are sources of mistakes?
1. Interference from the mother tongue
2. Developmental error—Phenomenon of
over generalization
3. Translation
4. False friends
5. Sound system
How teachers give feedback / correction?
1. Finger Correction
2. Question Mark
3. Alternatives
4. “S” Card
5. Prompt
6. Student-to-Student Correction
7. Modeling (Teacher-to-Student)
8. Indirect Correction
1. Finger Correction
missing contraction
missing word
too many words
2. Question Mark
Use a question mark, in your voice and/or in
your face.
Eg.: S: I go yesterday.
T: Teacher turns face to the side a
bit and frowns “go”.
S: Oh. Yes. I went yesterday.
3. Alternatives
Eg.: S: He go to the market.
T: He go or he goes?
S: He goes
T: Say it again.
S: He goes to the market.
4. “S” Card
Eg.: S: What this?
T: shows the “S” card.
S: What’s this?
T: Good.
5. Prompt
Eg.: S: I’ve been here since two years.
T: Point at the word “for” on the board.
S: Oh! Sorry! I’ve been here for 2 years.
6. Student-to-Student Correction
Eg.: S1: I can football.
T: Uses finger correction to elicit “play”.
S1: I can football.
T: Point to S2 and then to S1. Help him.
S2: I can play football.
S1: I can play football.
7. Modeling (Teacher-to-Student)
8. Indirect Correction
CORRECTION: THE STEPS
Correction Steps Order
Praise the student.
Isolate the mistake.
Come back later in the lesson and
get the students to say it again correctly.
Don’t look angry. Be encouraging.
Say nicely “No, not quite right.”
Use one of the techniques
to elicit the correction.
Get the student to repeat the whole sentence
correctly without your help.
How teachers give
feedback/correction
Some ways of showing incorrectness:
Repeating: here we can ask the student to
repeat what they have said, perhaps by
saying again?
Echoing: pin-pointing an error
Expression: simple facial expression or a
gesture.
Hinting: activate rules they already know.
Reformulation: repeat back a corrected
version.
 Q&A
Making mistakes is a sign of positive
learning process.
Personalized language with extension
activities.

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