ERRORS AND FEEDBACKS

When we as teachers decide to correct our students, we have to be sure that we are using correction positively to support learning, because not all errors should be corrected and they are normal during the learning process.

It is important to know that errors occur for many reasons: A learner may make errors when assumes that the target language and the native language are similar, when really they are different; the incomplete knowledge and the complexity of the target language gets confuse to the students; spelling is difficult and teachers don’t keep in mind that the errors of a beginner are different from the errors of an advanced student.

Correct errors make a negative impact on students’ confidence and motivation (affective filter). So, teachers should not correct every error, because it may develop a barrier and students will be afraid of making mistakes and will not speak or study English with pleasure.

We as teachers must establish clear objectives in our lesson plans, discuss the learning process with our students and give feedbacks besides immediate correction. It depends of the activity and we should explain our reasons for not correcting, so that our students have a better understanding of what we do and why we do it, or in the case of correction, why we don’t always do it.

CHAIN DRILLS


Chain drills are exercises that allow learners to practice dialogue, build vocabulary and develop ideas about a familiar topic using repetition as the primary teaching strategy. It was a key feature of audio-lingual approaches to language teaching through oral practices.

Nowadays, we know language learning is a complex process, is more than a list of structures to be memorized…Drilling can be a useful technique in the classroom, if we used it appropriately.

In question and answer drills, the prompt is a question and the response is the answer, as “Can I have a (pen) please?”, “Yes, here you are”. The word in brackets can be substituted during the drill. This example tell us that in all drills, learners have little choices, because there is one correct answer and the main focus is on getting it. But, drills can provide learners with intensive practices in pronunciation, listening and speaking words, phrases and sentences.

Also, drills can help to the teachers in the classroom management and to recognize if the new language is causing pronunciation problems, because most teachers use drilling regularly in the classes and they are focus in the pronunciation, especially in the sounds.

In my opinion, drilling is very useful but for young learners, because it is working without thinking in the natural process of the discourse and it must be developed with some cognitive support.

“This technique can be boring sometimes and students may get upset”.

PROJECT COLOMBIA BILINGUE

The government decided to evaluate the English level of the students through the ICFES and the ECAES, applying European Standards based in the reading comprehension and in the write production.

The idea is that the student’s gets a high level of proficiency, in witch is necessary to learn a second language. It is based in the real context where we are living, as in the globalization, because it demands the English knowledge.

This is very interesting, because learn a second language is necessary in a lot of aspects and we have to consider the importance of the comprehension as the most necessary tool for the learning.

Also, is necessary to focus the attention in the teacher’s preparation, because they have a big responsibility in the education of our country and the teachers have to know how to teach and the students need to know how to learn. For that, some schools are beginning to realize teacher’s actualization in methodologies, visions, history, etc.

This is very important and we should to take advantage of that, because the school education is an experience that is going to live with the students for ever!

So, if we are good teachers, we are going to be proud of good students!!!