Advantages and

Disadvantages
of Different Error Correction
Techniques
© 2017 by World Learning. Error Corrections PPT for the AE E-Teacher Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered
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This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
 ERROR CORRECTION IS COMPLEX
The teacher has to make many decisions in a split
second:

• What should I do about the error? (Correct or not

correct?)
• When should it be corrected? (Now, later in the
lesson, next lesson?)
• Who should correct it? (Self-correction, peer
correction, teacher correction?)
• How should it be corrected? (Which technique
would work best?)

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
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LET’S EXPLORE
THESE
QUESTIONS!

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
 TO CORRECT OR
NOT TO CORRECT?
YES NO
• Students benefit from error • It can undermine students’
correction. Research has confidence.
shown that providing error • It can interrupt the flow of
correction while students are conversation.
using the language to
communicate can promote • It can have a negative effect
on motivation.
student learning. (Loewen,
2007) • Students may stop taking risks
and will speak only when they
are sure they can produce a
correct sentence. (Bartram,
Walton, 1991)

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
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 WHAT MISTAKES SHOULD
TEACHERS CORRECT?
• Teachers should help students focus both on
what they say (meaning) and how they say it
(form) during communicative activities.

• Teachers should also encourage students to

express their ideas and take risks in a secure
learning environment.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
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 WHEN TO CORRECT AN ERROR?
Immediate correction
• Teachers tend to correct an error
immediately during activities
which focus on accuracy.

Delayed correction
• When students are involved in
fluency work, teachers tend to
delay correction, or use
techniques that will not interrupt
the flow of conversation.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
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WHEN TO CORRECT AN ERROR?
Immediate correction Delayed correction
Correction doesn’t interrupt student
Error is corrected in context.
communication.
Students get the teacher’s personal
Correction is anonymous; students are
Benefits attention and can ask clarification
not singled out.
question.
Students can work together to analyze
Students can self-correct.
errors and suggest corrections.

Students quickly forget what mistakes

they made and how the teacher
Students may fail to realize that their
Possible corrected them.
mistake has been corrected.
drawbacks
Students may feel embarrassed.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
WHO SHOULD CORRECT AN ERROR?
TEACHER OTHER STUDENTS SELF-CORRECTION

ü Correction is immediate. ü All learners are involved. ü It is possible only when a

ü Students hear the correct ü Students have to listen to student is able to correct
form. what others are saying. him/herself.
ü It is loud, clear, and heard ü It stimulates thinking. ü It is possible only when a
by all students. ü It makes students student knows the rule but
ü It saves time. cooperate. lacks practice in its use.

BUT… BUT…
• It makes the teacher • Incorrect forms may
dominate the class. appear.
• It does not stimulate • A student being corrected
thinking. may feel intimidated, less
• It does not allow the knowledgeable than others.
teacher to understand if the • It may result in conflict
mistake is a slip, an error or between students.
a mistake.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
HOW SHOULD ERRORS BE CORRECTED?
Error correction technique Advantages Disadvantages
Explicit correction
The teacher indicates that a student made It is teacher-centered; does not
It is immediate and quick.
a mistake and offers the correct answer. encourage students to self-monitor.

Recast
The teacher does not directly say what was Students may not notice recasts or
wrong but provides the correct answer, or It is implicit and discreet, fits naturally may not understand that the
simply re-casts/re-formulates what the into the conversation. teacher has actually corrected
students has said in the wrong way. them.

Clarification request It may be perceived as artificial –

students know that the teacher
The teacher signals that the message was It fits naturally into the conversation,
isn’t really asking for clarification.
not clear and that there was a mistake a promotes student noticing and self-
student can self-correct. correction.
It can work only if a student is able
to self-correct.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
 HOW SHOULD ERRORS BE CORRECTED?
Error correction technique Advantages Disadvantages
Elicitation, prompting
Students pay more attention to the
The teacher elicits the correct form from the student. linguistic form and notice the correction. Students have to have some latent
This can be done by pausing and letting the student knowledge of the structure to be
to complete a sentence the teacher started, or by Student self-correction may have a able to self-correct.
asking them to reformulate what they were saying. greater impact on learning.

Metalinguistic information regarding errors

The teacher does not offer the correct answer but Students will notice the correction.
The communicative nature of the
asks questions to help the student see that there was
class may be disrupted.
a mistake (gives comments or information). Such explicit attention to form can be
beneficial for learning.

Repetition
The teacher repeats the student’s mistake but Students understand that they made
It is immediate and quick, students will
changes his/her intonation to signal that something a mistake, but may fail to see what
notice the correction.
was wrong. was wrong with their utterance.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
 CONCLUSION
• When selecting error correction techniques, teachers should take into
consideration a wide range of individual factors (the student’s age,
proficiency level, motivation, anxiety, individual preferences, etc.).

• Teachers should try to incorporate error correction into meaning-focused

activities and retain the primary focus on communication.

• Teachers should use various error correction techniques.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning
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REFERENCES:
• Bartram, M., R. Walton (1991) Correction: A Positive Approach to Language
Mistakes. Boston: Heinle ELT.

• Loewen, S. (2007) “Error correction in second language classroom”. In:

CLEAR News, Volume 11, Issue 2
http://www.clear.msu.edu/clear/files/2514/0329/3290/Fall_2007_Newsletter-
_Error_correction.pdf. Accessed on December 17, 2016.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by

FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning