To
correct or not to correct?
By Jeremy Harmer
'A
good teacher,' said a student I once interviewed, 'should
be able to correct students without offending them,'
thus highlighting many of the issues that surround this
aspect of a teacher's skill, a skill that is perhaps,
an obligation that comes with the job.
Or does it? For while many people see correcting and correction
techniques as central to the role and skill of the good
teacher, others worry that correction is unnecessary, unpleasant,
and ineffective.
Yet students say they expect and want to be corrected when
they make mistakes. They think that in this way they will
gradually be able to sort out the chaos of the language
they are learning, and that they can thus perfect their
own use of it. What they clearly do not want, however, is
to be corrected harshly or insensitively. They do not want
to be offended, just as the student above suggested.
What we need to consider, therefore, is whether or not we
should correct at all, and, assuming we feel that on the
whole we do wish to perform this function, how we should
do it and in what situations.
Has this made you think about how you responded to the Correction
survey? Read on for my tips on How
to correct.
Read
the transcript from the Live Forum session on the 11th
July.
