Learning a language is a complicated activity. A lot of research has been done in to how to make learning effective but, as yet, it remains surprisingly difficult to say with certainty what methods are truly more effective than others. There is a lot of theory, and even a lot of evidence, but it remains largely inconclusive.In addition, however, there remain a great many prejudices. Most people - whether they are language teachers, parents, or language students - have strongly held beliefs about how they should learn and, equally strongly, about how they should not. Unfortunately, many of these beliefs are exactly that - beliefs and not facts. They may be strongly held, but they have no firm basis. One of the subjects upon which most people have strongly held beliefs is the role played by correction. Many years of working with language teachers - experienced and inexperienced, native speakers and non-native speakers of English, traditional and progressive, employed in State schools and private schools, has shown me that one certain way to rouse a group of language teachers to heated discussion is to question their attiutude to correction. A simple remark such as ‘Most language teachers probably correct their students too much’ can easily provoke aggression, anger and many other unhelpful attitudes. The fact is, the question of the teacher’s attitude to mistakes and correction is probably the single most important issue in a language teacher’s professional development. In many ways, it is also central for students. The kind of activities the teacher encourages in the classroom, and the kind which the teacher avoids or minimises, will be strongly influenced by the teacher’s views of the role of mistakes and correction in learning.
Many factors need to be taken into account - age, situation, purpose, previous learning experience etc. It is difficult to be dogmatic. But it is surely reasonable to say that the teacher’s attitude to correction should be based on mature reflection on certain issues, and accurate observation of what actually happens in his or her own classes. That is precisely what the authors set out to achieve in this book. As they themselves openly admit in the first pages of the book, the very act of writing the book changed their attitudes to some of these questions. I know that my own attitudes have changed over the years. In general, for myself, it would be true to say. that the longer I taught, the less I corrected. That is, I suspect,
the general direction of the authors’ own thinking. The purpose of this book, however, is not to impose that attitude on readers. It is, rather, an invitation to think about your own attitudes and your own teaching. The authors provide a long sequence of questions which they invite the reader to consider. While they are not afraid to give their own answers to the questions, they are equally unafraid to admit that there are other attitudes and other possibilities. The book represents very clearly something of the authors’ own journey towards a wider and more balanced understanding of the role of correction, and of various practical possibilities for its effective implementation.Some years ago a teacher in a seminar I was conducting
observed ‘Of course I have to correct, that’s my job’. He placed a heavy stress on the word ‘that’ . In a world of uncertainties, we
can be certain of one thing - that particular teacher had too narrow a view of his own role as a teacher. However successful he was in what he did, there were many things he could have done, which he had not yet discovered. Yet he was probably
much more typical than teacher training departments and course tutors would like to think.
Many language teachers see correction as an area where they can be certain in the uncertain world of language teaching. This book invites them to follow an intellectual and personal journey. At first they may find it disconcerting, because the role given to correction is much more ambiguous than some teachers would like. At the same time, the authors provide many opportunities for readers to deepen and widen their understanding of language, of learning, and, equally excitingly, of the teacher’s own role. It is this which, for me, makes it worth thinking about the role of correction. Too often a narrow attitude to that issue prevents teachers from a wider and more fulfilling role for themselves, quite apart from providing their students with richer and more rewarding learning experiences.I believe this book, while in many ways inviting teachers to a more student-centred approach, also promises teachers the prospect of real personal and professional development.
