Teaching Tips | Error Correction in the EFL classroom – it’s all about balance

There are many problems associated with error correction in the EFL classroom. For example, every student wants to improve their accuracy, but not every student likes being corrected. Another common problem is that students and teachers often disagree on the amount of error correction that there should be in the class. As should be clear from these two examples, for most teachers today it’s not a case of deciding whether there should be error correction, but rather, determining the amount of error correction most advantageous to the individual level, age group, nationality, personality type, learning style, etc. To help with this, below is a list of signs that you might not have the right balance of error correction in your classes and some tips on how to adjust your lesson planning accordingly.

Possible signs that you are correcting too many student errors

1. Students are losing fluency when they speak because they are scared of making mistakes. They don’t get a chance to just speak without worrying.
2. Students keep stopping and correcting themselves.
3. The amount of time you spend on student errors is cutting into the time you can spend on new language.
4. Written work is a mess of red ink when it comes back to students – this is highly demotivating.
5. You give them more corrections in one class than they can possibly learn before the next class.
6. Students show with their facial expressions or body language that they are not open to correction.
7. Students never have a chance to speak or write without correction.
8. Your only idea on how to improve student accuracy is to correct their errors.

Possible signs that you aren’t correcting enough student errors

1. Student accuracy is not improving.
2. Student fluency or use of more complex language is improving much quicker than their accuracy.
3. Accuracy is what is holding the students back from reaching the next level or getting a higher score in an EFL exam.
4. You are standing around doing nothing instead of noting down student errors during pair work and group work. This is a prime time to monitor for common mistakes within the class.

Tips to make sure you use the right amount of error correction

1. Write error correction stages on your lesson plan.
2. Always monitor for student errors and write them down, especially during pair work and group work, when you are freer to do so.
3. Write down your personal criteria for when you will correct errors.
4. Listen to the feedback given during your observed lessons. Read our blog on acing your observed lessons.

Does this all sound a bit daunting? Not to worry!

We cover error correction techniques and lesson planning in detail during our 140-hour TEFL/TESOL courses in Bangkok – Thailand, Bali – Indonesia, and Siem Reap – Cambodia.

If you’ve completed an online TEFL course, but feel the course lacked the practical experience to put your correction techniques into practice, then our ‘Fast Track Job Preparation & Placement Assistance’ program may be right for you.

Looking for more teaching tips for your EFL class?

Read our blog on great tools to use technology in your classroom.

Read our blog on great classroom management tips.

Read our blog on using props in the ESL classroom to keep your students engaged.