PRACTICAL IDEAS

Getting feedback on
your feedback
Mairi Anderson suggests ways of getting your class to understand the role of and
the theory behind feedback.

I t’s rather easy to assume that all our

students want to be corrected when
they make mistakes. However, not all
of them may want feedback the way
QUESTIONNAIRE ON CORRECTION FEEDBACK we’ve been trained to give it without
Name: ........................................................................................................... first understanding some of the theory
behind it.
Feedback on spoken English
PLEASE CIRCLE
One of the hallmarks of a good teacher
YES / NO
1. I want to be corrected when I make mistakes. is the ability to connect with the class
ication YES / NO
2. I want to be corrected when I’m speaking if commun on more than one level. In fact, most
breaks down.
YES / NO teachers tune into more than just the
3. I like it when the teacher circulates and notes down
verbal cues they receive in the classroom
common inaccuracies.
4. I like group feedback.
YES / NO by picking up on changes in student
embarra ssed if the teacher YES / NO behavior, non-verbal signals such as
5. During group feedback I’m
focuses on my mistakes. body language and facial expressions,
YES / NO
6. I like it when the teacher focuses on my mistakes as well as group dynamics. Furthermore,
during group feedback. most teachers would probably agree that
YES / NO
7. I prefer to learn from feedback on other people’s mistakes. we frequently rely on our finely honed
s group feedback (ie. we don’t know who made YES / NO
8. Anonymou skills of observation to evaluate how well
the mistake) is better. our activities or techniques are received
by the learners in our classrooms.
Feedback on written English
PLEASE CIRCLE However, sometimes the way students

YES / NO really feel can be hidden from view,
1. I want to be corrected when I make mistakes.
YES / NO particularly when the issue concerns the
2. I understand the logic of the ‘correction code’/first/final version.
YES / NO minority of the class or particularly shy
3. I like personal feedback on my work.
YES / NO learners, and it is for this reason that I
4. I like group feedback sessions.
YES / NO
5. During group feedback I’m embarrassed if the teacher would like to share what happened to
selects my mistakes. me with other teachers.
YES / NO
6. I like it when the teacher focuses on my mistakes.
other people’s mistakes. YES / NO
7. I can learn a lot from Late one evening, I received an email
from a student who told me that she had
THE COURSE IN GENERAL felt ‘humiliated’ during group correction
YES / NO despite the fact that it had been done
On the whole I’m happy with the course.
Please write any commen ts you may have here: anonymously. To say I was surprised
..............................
........................................................................................................................ would be an understatement as it had
............... ..............................
......................................................................................................... never even occurred to me that the
............... .............................. ..............................
........................................................................... correction techniques I’d learned on
............... .............................. ............... .............................................
............................................. the DELTA might not be appreciated by
.............................. .............................. .............................. ............... ..............................
............... my students. However, once I got over
............... ..............................
......................................................................................................... the initial shock I took solace in the fact
that at least I had succeeded in creating

68 www.modernenglishteacher.com n Volume 24 n Issue 3


a classroom environment in which the
student felt comfortable enough to speak
to me about such a delicate matter.
The logical response was to try and find
out how many other learners felt the
same way, so I created a questionnaire,
and the results were quite unexpected:
one fifth of the students in the class
claimed to feel embarrassed when their
written or spoken mistakes were selected
for correction in a group situation.
“I have learned a
valuable lesson
some 14 years
into my career and
that is never to
rely too heavily on
intuition when it
comes to student
perceptions of the
techniques and
methods that we
are encouraged
to deploy.”
After some deliberation I decided to
extend the research to more of my
classes (IELTS Academic and Academic
Writing), but this time I followed it up
with a dual function lesson designed
to explain some of the theory behind
correction as well as focus on the
construct and overall layout of a piece
of semi-academic writing. The following
text and related task sheet were the
vehicle for the information I wanted to
convey as well as the basis for my lesson,
which in this case was academic writing.
The questionnaires were distributed and
collected first so as to avoid influencing
the data collected in any way.
n Volume 24 n Issue 3 www.modernenglishteacher.com 69
PRACTICAL IDEAS
Almost everything that happens in the language classroom is designed
to help language
learners assimilate and become fluent in the language they are studying,
and the overall
aim is always to improve. One technique in particular has been known
to cause some
controversy among learners and that is ‘error correction’. Whether the
learner dreads it,
views it as a necessary evil or welcomes any feedback enthusiastically
largely depends
on personality traits. However, regardless of the feelings it provokes, learners
must
acknowledge the inaccuracies they produce before they can work on
them to improve.
The exact approach to correction will vary according to your teacher, level
and the
composition of the group. At higher levels and in larger groups of 20+ students
it is
impossible to receive personalised feedback from the teacher on every
utterance. Because
of this the teacher will normally circulate during communicative activities
and take notes
on ‘errors’ as well as ‘slips’. The former are usually related to a gap in language
knowledge,
while the latter are the mistakes learners make despite having already studied
Many teachers choose to focus on the aforementioned examples of inaccura
the rules.
te language
at the end of the lesson rather than interrupt learners in the full flow of
because this would compromise fluency. The reason for this is that if these
conversation
inaccuracies
do not impede communication, it is not deemed necessary to intervene
the teacher will only interrupt if communication has broken down.
. As a general rule,
The importance of being corrected has been illustrated by many studies
‘fossilisation’, which is the process of inaccurate language being repeated
on
so often
without correction that it becomes ingrained and ultimately impossib
This phenomenon can be seen in immigrants, for example, who arrive
le to remedy.
in the host
country as adults and never receive formal lessons or feedback on their
they cause a complete breakdown in communication. This may be
errors unless
due to the fact that
outside the classroom environment it is often seen as rude to correct
says, especially if you don’t know them very well.
what someone
Fossilisation can take place in writing too, but the teacher will usually employ
different
techniques. One such technique, which not only helps the learner to focus
their own errors, but also encourages them to be more autonomous learners,
and correct
is the use of
a ‘correction code’. This involves the student writing a first draft of a piece
of written work
which is then corrected using symbols or abbreviations – such as GR (gramma
(spelling) – rather than the teacher simply scoring out incorrect parts of
r) or SP
the text, inserting
words and phrases and attempting to bridge gaps where the text loses coherenc
way learners are forced to search for answers using tools such as the BNC
e. In this
concordancer,
the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Wordreference.com or even
a result, the learners become more autonomous and the final version of
simply Google. As
the text is nearly
always an improvement on the first draft. Furthermore, learners who have
focus and notice inaccuracies are less likely to make them again than they
been forced to
would be if the
teacher had simply handed it to them on a plate the first time.
PRACTICAL IDEAS
In this case a written text was selected,
but it would be equally feasible to do a
live-listening with lower levels whereby
students are required to listen to the
teacher and complete a table on the
theory behind correction techniques
(table headings). The students could
work in groups to discuss why they think
they are employed in a group scenario
and then listen and check before
discussing them in groups.
I have learned a valuable lesson some
14 years into my career and that is never
to rely too heavily on intuition when
it comes to student perceptions of the
techniques and methods that we are
encouraged to deploy. However, by
finding a way to explain what we do and
getting learners to engage with it and
discuss it among themselves I succeeded
in changing these perceptions even
among the most skeptical and shy
members of my groups.
Mairi has an MA in Italian from
Edinburgh University, a CELTA, Delta,
and is in the second year of an MEd in
TESOL in EAP. She has worked at the
British Council in Spain, the University
of Barcelona and currently teaches at
Bologna University. She is particularly
interested in helping students improve
their writing skills and plans to do a PhD
in Applied Linguistics in the future.
where the text loses coherence. In this way learners are forced to search for
as the BNC concordancer, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Wordrefe
simply Google. As a result, the learners become more autonomous and the
is nearly always an improvement on the first draft. Furthermore, learners who
focus and notice inaccuracies are less likely to make them again than they
had simply handed it to them on a plate the first time.
Now check with the original text.
70 www.modernenglishteacher.com n Volume 24
Task 1: discussion in groups
How do you feel about being corrected? Do you feel the same or differentl
y?
Do you think it’s important? Why? / Why not?
Task 2: reading
A) Quickly skim the article. What’s the writer’s stance on error correctio
n? Is it the same
as yours?
B) Now read it again in more detail and answer the following compreh
ension
questions.
1. Why, according to the writer, is error correction important for learners?
(2 points)
2. Which techniques are mentioned in the text and what do they involve?
(3 points)
3. What is the theory behind each of the techniques mentioned? (3 points)
C) Work with a partner to think of an appropriate definition for
the following phrases.
1. dread something + verb (ing) (Para. 1)
2. impede something from + verb (ing) (Para. 2)
3. deem something + adj (Para. 2)
4. hand something to someone on a plate (Para. 4)
D) Write another example for each (1–4) then compare your sentence
s with your
partner and check with the teacher.
Task 3: text analysis
What is the main purpose of this text?
How would you define the style?
1. Paragraphing
In English most paragraphs contain a ‘topic sentence’ (statement) as
well as supporting
sentences, and these add further information related to the topic sentence
.
i) Can you highlight the topic sentences and locate the supporting sentence
s?
ii) Are the sentences longer/shorter/about the same length as they would
be in a text in your
language?
iii) Are paragraphs in academic writing usually constructed in this way
in your language?
2. Rhetorical devices
In English we prefer to discuss a topic over a series of interconnected
sentences which are
linked together using cohesive devices such as ‘An example of this is
…’ that refer back to
something previously said (anaphora) and ‘linkers’ like Moreover, …
etc.
i) Look for examples and note them here:
3. Key noun repetition
It is a good idea to use pronouns instead of repeating the key noun each
time. Look at
paragraph 4 below. In this version the key noun ‘learner’ is simply repeated
again and again.
Read the text (without looking back at the original) and change them
to pronouns where
possible. The language has been underlined to help you.
Fossilisation can take place in writing too, but the teacher will usually employ
different techniques.
One such technique, which not only helps the learner to focus and correct
the learner’s own errors,
but also encourages the learners to be more autonomous learners, is the use
of a ‘correction code’.
This involves the student writing a first draft of a piece of written work which
is then corrected using
symbols or abbreviations – such as GR (grammar) or SP (spelling) – rather
than the teacher simply
scoring out incorrect parts of the text, inserting words and phrases and attemptin
g to bridge gaps
answers using tools such
rence.com or even
final version of the text
have been forced to
would be if the teacher
n Issue 3