Unit 29: Categorizing learners mistakes

Mistakes are part of learning,  it is important to recognize them so that as teachers we could take actions on them for learners to improve their use and proficiency of language. For instance this blog entry will explain the types of mistakes, and the reason why learners make those mistakes

When it comes to the types of mistakes, they can be errors or slips. An error is the one which is made because the students are using language above their level while a slip is a wrongly used utterance that can be self-corrected.  In addition there are two reasons why students make mistakes, one of them is L1 interference and the second one is the stage of learner´s development.  The reasons mentioned make students have problems with accuracy and appropriacy. Accuracy when it comes to the correct use of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and even pronunciation. For example a student says “My fader live in London” in that utterance a grammatical and spelling inaccuracy can be evidenced, with the verb live and the noun fader, respectively.  While in the phrase “ Give me your pencil” (said to another student) an inappropriately register is evidenced, because it is too informal and that an even sound rude.

What I think is truly important about mistakes is correcting them in a way that students do not lose motivation to keep on using English in the class, using a correction code might help since it will outline their mistakes but they will become aware of the type of mistake thus it will encourage self-correction or clarification while promoting learners autonomy.  

For additional information, please check:

J, Fitikides (19989). Common mistakes in English. Logman. England. Retrieved from http://english4success.ru/Upload/books/681.pdf 
Brook, G (2000) Learning from commom mistakes. Cambridge. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Corpus_PED_LearningFromCommonMistakes.pdf