Originally published in 2012 by Cecilia Lemos Harmer on iTDi.pro<\/p>\n
What is an error, when we\u2019re talking about language learning? According to Paul Lennon (1991) “a linguistic form or combination of forms which in the same context and under similar conditions of production would, in all likelihood, not be produced by the speakers’ native speakers counterparts”. Penny Ur (1991) differentiates errors (consistent and based on a mis-learned generalization) and mistakes (occasional, inconsistent slips) while Jeremy Harmer (2007) differentiates slips (mistakes students can correct themselves once they\u2019ve been pointed out), errors (mistakes they can\u2019t correct themselves and therefore need an explanation) and attempts (when they try to say something but don\u2019t know the correct way yet). Being realistic, teaching as many classes as most ELT teachers do, with as many students, it seems hard to be able to differentiate. Maybe we can notice when it\u2019s an unusual mistake for this or that student \u2013 hence a slip. But in my experience, most language teachers (and I include myself in that!) will react and correct any accuracy mistake. Sometimes we\u2019ll take it easier at oral production \u2013 not to stop the flow \u2013 but most of us are merciless when it comes to writing.<\/p>\n
After some reflection a few years ago, I changed that a bit. I realized my students didn\u2019t have to speak\/write perfect English \u2013 or as a native-speaker. They should be able to communicate effectively. Because Brazilian students are very focused on accuracy, I explain and work with the \u201ccommunication\u201d aspect in class.<\/p>\n
So, sometimes, they make accuracy mistakes and I ignore them \u2013 because these mistakes do not hinder communication, they would still be understood by a native speaker. When correcting writings, sometimes I focus on the accuracy, and some (most) times, I focus on the content and effective communication. And it\u2019s been working so far \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Originally published in 2012 by Cecilia Lemos Harmer on iTDi.pro What is an error, when we\u2019re talking about language learning? …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34938,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"_vibebp_attr":"","_vibebp_dimensions":"","_vibebp_responsive_height":"","_vibebp_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3358],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3369],"class_list":["post-36095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-teaching-methodology"],"yoast_head":"\n