Thursday, November 27, 2014

UNIT 11. THE ROLE OF ERROR

UNIT 11.
THE ROLE OF ERROR





This unit thought me that making mistakes is not bad as it seems or people make it to seem instead it is an important and useful factor in language learning. So there are different kind of mistakes people have in foreign languages, the reason of the committing and the part those mistakes play in language learning.


Errors and slips are the kind of mistakes. Errors are the mistakes that students have because it goes beyond their current knowledge of the language. Meanwhile slips are the result of tiredness, worry or any emotional feeling that affects language processing. Also I learnt that there are 2 main reasons we (2L Learners) make mistakes. The first is because of the mother language influence on the second language. The second reason the developmental error is because we unconsciously work out, organize and experiment the new data learnt but it may not be correct.


Furthermore in a teaching situation the teacher has to be aware that students mustn´t be punished because of having errors but instead they are part of learners´ interlanguage however it does not mean that the teacher never correct mistakes, she has to because it helps students to avoid fossilization. So the teacher has to correct those mistakes that really affect the meaning or to convey the idea, also if the mistake is becoming fossilized.



Finally, personally the best my teacher has used to help me overcome some mistakes in pronunciation, intonation or language forms is by repeating the word, phrase or sentence and with a loud tone of voice the mistaken part or by providing me written comments and giving them to me at the end of the class . 




Extra Useful Materials


  1.       Williams, J., & Evans, J. (1998). What kind of focus and on which forms? In C. Doughty, & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 139–155). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    2.      Corder, S. P. 1967. "The significance of learners’ errors”. International Review of Applied Linguistics 5: 161-9.

    3.      Dulay, H., and Burt, M., “Errors and strategies in child second language acquisition”, TESOL Quarterly 8: 129-136, 1974.

    4.      Ellis, R., “The Study of Second Language Acquisition”, Oxford University Press, 1994

2 comments:

  1. Very well done ALEXA!
    This blog shows me the deep understanding that you have about role correction, becasue it is very specific and clear. In addtion , I agree with your comment that students must not be punished for their mistakes because they are important for their learning process and also when you mention that it does not mean that teachers should never correct them.

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  2. I am totally agree with you. The reflection that you show on the topic is very gripping and appealing. I can see the passion you feel for teaching by reading these lines.

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