Importance of Error Correction in Teaching Language :

In the article “Errors: Windows  into the Mind”, Ann Raimes beautifully explains that writing is the ideal situation to learn the errors and get it right, as it provides an opportunity to monitor, reflect and make changes. Teacher’s response on a student’s paper is potentially an influential text in writing class.  Teachers’ feedbacks play a vital role in building the students learning process.  I don’t agree with the research of Cohen and Cavalcanti which describes that students report only “making a mental note” .They glance briefly at the paper which a teacher spent half an hour marking and then they put it away. It’s not always the case with every student. Some students really look for feedback on their papers from their professors.

I was a little surprised while doing observations in the first and second grade classrooms. I checked students’ writing notebooks and saw some students with same spelling mistakes over and over. There is a lot of controversy on how the teacher should respond to these errors. But I believe that pointing out students’ mistakes and commenting on their work at this level not only help them to learn the correct sentence structure, but also prepare them to enhance their writing abilities for college level. As many errors are due to the fact that the learner uses structures from his native language.

I agree with the fact that teacher should not only point out the mistakes but should also encourage the use of correct grammar and spelling in their work. This helps the students to gain confidence in their work and satisfies their feelings of achievement. If a student’s work is encouraged and appreciated, He puts more effort and time in his work. Repetitive corrections are likely to decrease motivation; it is reasonable to accept that students who lack self-confidence will be "stigmatized" to a greater degree than confident students. Personally I have seen the impact of these teacher’s appreciative responses on students’ work.

 As an immigrant, English is not my native language. Being an undergraduate in Computer information Science, I was always reluctant in writing and literacy. At the first day of this class, I was so nervous .When we started talking about “The Burning of Paper Instead of Children” by Adirenne Rich, I saw how the professor was appreciating and encouraging the students to pick up an excerpt that speaks to them. Every student was allowed to give his feedback to the reading. Different students picked up different sentences that speak to them. The way professor made every student feel that reading the same topic can generate different point of views among readers. And there is no criterion for right and wrong. It gave me a sense of relief and releases the burden off my shoulder. It lifted a confidence level in me and showed me a way to treat my students in future.

Moreover, I agree with the fact that Students should be advised to submit the draft first and then assigned them to re-write their papers with all the corrections. This helps the students guide to the proper direction of English Language and Literary writing. Sometimes Proofreading and checking the work carefully by the students enables the students to point out the unconscious mistakes and errors by themselves. Ann Raimes focuses on some techniques and strategies that help the students make correction in their papers, For instance reading aloud to others and some other student read aloud the paper will help to revise their paper with critical eye.

Another important criterion that must be considered by the teacher is individual students' needs. Each student is different and thus may react differently to error correction. Making an error is not mistake but not learning from the mistakes is an error.