Errors are a natural part of learning. They usually show that learners are learning and that their internal mental processes are working on and experimenting with language. We go through stages of learning new language, and each new piece of language we learn helps us to learn other pieces of language that we already know more fully - like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which only make full sense when they are all in place. Developmental errors and errors of interference can disappear by themselves, without correction, as the learner learns more language. In fact, correction may only help learners if they are ready for it, i.e. they are at the right stage in their individual learning process. But experts believe that learners can be helped to develop their interlanguage. There are three main ways of doing this. Firstly, learners need exposure to lots of interesting language at the right level: secondly they need to use language with other people; and thirdly they need to focus their attention on the forms of language. Sometimes errors do not disappear, but get ‘fossilised’. Fossilised errors are errors which a learner does not stop making and which last for a long time, even for ever, in his/her foreign language use. They often happen when learners, particularly adults, are able to communicate as much as they need to in the foreign language and so have no communicative reason to improve their language. These fossilised errors may be the result of lack of exposure to the L2 (second language) and/or of a learner’s lack of motivation to improve their level of accuracy. (taken from The TKT Course, CUP) Language Learning Errors and mistakes Handout 3, Activity 2 Match the statements with the types of mistakes.
Types of mistakes
A.
a slip
B.
interference
C.
a developmental error
Statements: All beginners confuse the tenses in English.
The learner was extremely tired. This made her forget lots of grammar.
The learner was able to correct his own mistake.
The learner’s pronunciation was full of sounds from his own language.
Nearly all the learners, of whatever mother tongue, made mistakes with the word order in English present simple tense question forms.
He was very angry so kept making mistakes.
The learner kept using vocabulary based on her own language.
"I wonder why my Uzbek students make different mistakes from my Russian students”
Show this card to your partner. Ask him/her to read the topic and speak on it for 3-5 minutes. He/she can have 1 minute for preparation and take notes.
After 1 minute, ask your partner to start speaking.
Do not interrupt or comment on your partner’s words.
While listening to your partner take notes of his/her mistakes.
Once your partner finishes the speech, organize your notes and fill in the form below.
Show your notes to your partner and discuss his/her mistakes.
Now be ready to switch roles with your partner.
Speaking topic for Student B Describe a film that you have seen and did not like. You should say:
Show this card to your partner. Ask him/her to read the topic and speak on it for 3-5 minutes. He/she can have 1 minute for preparation and take notes.
After 1 minute, ask your partner to start speaking.
Do not interrupt or comment on your partner’s words.
While listening to your partner take notes of his/her mistakes.
Once your partner finishes the speech, organize your notes and fill in the form below.
Show your notes to your partner and discuss his/her mistakes.
Speaking topic for Student A Describe a festival that is important in your country. You should say:
to let students follow a clearly structured lecture on applying for a job and take notes to let students practice interviewing skills
Materials:
Sanabria K. (2004) Academic Listening Encounters. Life in Society.
Intermediate to High Intermediate. Cambridge: CUP
Activity 1 Qualities of an employee Objective: to introduce the topic of the lesson Time: 10 minutes Materials: Procedure:
Ask students to brainstorm in groups of 3 or 4 what they think are the three most important qualities in an employee in the modern world and why.
Invite groups to share their answers with the whole class.
Activity 2 Listening and summarising Objective: to give students an opportunity to practice note-taking and summarising a lecture Time: 20 minutes Materials: handout 1, CD player, CD (Sanabria K. (2004) Academic Listening Encounters. Life in Society. Intermediate to High Intermediate. Cambridge: CUP) Unit 5, Chapter 9, Lecture: Basic Work Skills Necessary In the Twenty-first Century Procedure:
Distribute handout 1 and ask students to read the questions about the recording and think about what kind of information they will need to answer them.
Play the recording and ask students to listen to the lecture and take notes using the questions as a guide to listen for the important points.
After listening ask students to share their answers with their partners.
Ask students to write a one-paragraph (not more than 50 words) summary of the lecture. Remind that only the most important points of a lecture should be included in the summary.
Invite volunteers to read out their summaries.
Activity 3 Role-play - Job interview Objective: to give students practice in interviewing and being interviewed for a job Time: 50 minutes Materials: handout 2 Procedure:
Tell students that they are going to role-play a job interview.
