Correcting Learners & Giving Feedback

1. Correcting Learners & Giving Feedback E. Lowry 2007

2. Correcting Learners E. Lowry 2007

3. How do we correct learners? • We show them something is wrong and that they have made a mistake • We may also show them how to correct their mistake E. Lowry 2007

4. We Correct Mistakes in Many Ways • Oral mistakes • Oral correction techniques • Written mistakes • Written correction techniques • Errors vs. Slips E. Lowry 2007

5. What is an error? • Slip = what a learner can self-correct • Error = what a learner can’t self-correct • Attempt = a guess or when neither the intended meaning nor the structure is clear E. Lowry 2007

6. Oral Correction • Drawing time lines • Finger correction • Gestures and/or facial expressions • Phonemic symbols • Echo correcting (repeating) • Identifying the mistake • Correcting afterwards • Peer and self correction • Ignoring mistakes E. Lowry 2007

7. Strategies for Correcting Spoken Errors • Look at this dialogue (the teacher is practicing daily routine and present simple tense) T: Paul—what do you do in the morning? S: I…am…get up…at half past six. T: Hmmm, that’s not right, is it? I get up—not ‘I am get up.’ I get up. Antoine—what about you? E. Lowry 2007

8. Strategies for Correcting Spoken Errors • What comments can you make about this technique? • What else could the teacher have done? E. Lowry 2007

9. Strategies for Correcting Spoken Errors T: Well, all right, but—I get up. Again. S: I get up at half past six. T: Good. Option 1: The teacher could correct the student in a more positive way, and give him a chance to say the sentence correctly. E. Lowry 2007

10. Strategies for Correcting Spoken Errors T: Yes, okay, nearly. What should it be? I g… S: I get up at half past six. T: That’s right—good. Option 2: The teacher could help the student to correct himself, by showing where the error was in the sentence. E. Lowry 2007

11. Strategies for Correcting Spoken Errors T: Well, nearly. Anyone else? What do you do in the morning? Yes—Pierre? S2: I get up at seven o’clock. T: Yes, that’s it. I get up. Now, Paul—again. S1: I get up at half past six. T: Yes, well done. Option 3: The teacher could pass the question to another student, and then come back to the first student again. E. Lowry 2007

12. Written Correction • Teacher correction • Peer correction • Self-correction • Ignoring the mistake E. Lowry 2007

13. Written Correction E. Lowry 2007

14. Factors that Affect Correction • Correction technique depends on what is appropriate for: • The learning purpose • The learner • The situation • The kind of mistake that the learner made E. Lowry 2007

15. Remember… • We do not correct every mistake our learners make • There is no single ‘best’ technique for correcting errors • Depends on: • Purpose of activity • Stage in the lesson • Seriousness of the mistake • Learner’s needs E. Lowry 2007

16. Remember… • Some correction techniques are more suitable for certain types of mistakes • Finger correction → pronunciation mistakes • Time lines → mistakes in tense E. Lowry 2007

17. Giving Feedback E. Lowry 2007

18. How do we give feedback? • Feedback • Giving information to learners about their learning • Can focus on learners’ language or skills • Purpose is to motivate learners and help them understand their problems and how they can improve E. Lowry 2007

19. How do we give feedback? • Feedback: • May be given to individuals, small groups, the whole class, between learners, etc. • Can be linked to formal or informal assessment • May appear in the form of comments, grades, and marks • May be oral or written E. Lowry 2007

20. Why do we give feedback? • To encourage • To correct errors • To improve performance • To customize explanation for particular issues or students • To reward particular behaviors • To penalize certain behavior • To demonstrate to students that instructors notice what they are doing and care enough to comment E. Lowry 2007

21. Feedback Attitudes Are you a hawk or a dove? Do you strike a balance between encouraging and challenging your students? E. Lowry 2007

22. Giving Positive Feedback • Always look for positive points to comment on, like: • Successful communication • Accurate use of grammar points recently learned • Use of new vocabulary • Good pronunciation • Handwriting, spelling, and punctuation in written work E. Lowry 2007

23. Written Feedback • Remember, you don’t have to correct everything! • How do you decide what to correct in a student’s writing? E. Lowry 2007

24. Oral Feedback That’s it! Good Job! Nice Work Well done Good Great! That’s right! Nice Excellent! E. Lowry 2007

25. Methods of Feedback • The Sandwich Method • Praise • Areas for development • Recommendations E. Lowry 2007

26. The Soap Method Subjective / Objective /Assessment / Plan • S Ask learner for subjective self-assessment: “How did it go? Anything you felt went especially well? Anything you were concerned about?” • O Give objective feedback and encourage reflection: “You seemed to become a bit uncomfortable—can you tell me what was happening?” • A Assess and summarize: “Can you state one or two points to remember from the feedback?” • P Formulate an action plan: “What new things will you try? What will you do differently?” E. Lowry 2007

27. Peer Feedback • Helps train learners in skills they need to become autonomous • Learners who give feedback reflect on the work that their classmates have done • Learners who receive feedback are given information on how they can improve E. Lowry 2007

28. Learner-Teacher Feedback • Learners can give teachers feedback about lessons, activities, and materials • Can say when they like what’s going on and when they don’t like it • They can make suggestions on what to change E. Lowry 2007

29. Keep in mind… • Feedback should be positive • We can give feedback while we are monitoring or at the end of a lesson • Learners will need to be trained how to give feedback to each other • Feedback that is sensitive or personal should not be given in front of the entire class E. Lowry 2007