One of the staple questions I get from trainees is this, "What's the proper way of giving corrections?" Before sharing a few notes, let's define some terms first. For this post, let's agree that "class" means "an English class conducted over the phone," and "learner" or "student" refers to a Korean learning English as a second language." In some books and articles, "mistakes" and "errors" are different entities, so are "lapse," "defect," and "slip." In this post, though, "mistake" is interchangeable with "error" and can mean "lapse" or "slip."

If you read books and articles on how to teach English, you'll find lots of tips on how to properly correct a student's mistakes. Jeremy Harmer's "How to teach English: An introduction to the practice of English language teaching," for instance, has a section about giving corrections. The tips presented by Harmer are best for the classroom, though. Those conducting online classes may not find some of the tips useful. (E-mail me for the e-book.)

Now, some notes.

If someone has already told you this, give him credit. If no one hasn't yet, the credit is mine: Giving corrections is an art. That's right. Just like pronunciation, giving corrections is not an exact science. It varies upon the context or situation you're in. It varies upon the level of the student. It varies upon the topic. You should know when, how, and what to correct.

In general, you should correct a mistake. Question now is, should you correct the student everytime he makes a mistake? The answer: Consider the student. Some students find it offensive if you interrupt their speech to correct an ungrammatical sentence. Then again, other students find that all right. Some students want you to focus on grammar and not pronunciation lapses. Others, on the other hand, want you to listen attentively to catch their pronunciation slips.

Next question, what counts as a mistake worth correcting? As already mentioned, some students take offense when you're overly critical with their mistakes, and you don't want to over-correct, lest the student ends up not finishing his thoughts. Remember, students learn from your corrections, but when you include too many of them in class, students can get frustrated. So, sometimes you need to keep your corrections to a minimum. Correct only the major mistakes.

Here's something for further explanation. Say, the student almost always has trouble with the /r/ and /l/ sounds. Everytime he comes across a word with overlapping /r/ and /l/ sounds such as "role," either his tongue trips, or he simply can't pronounce the word right. You don't have to correct every mispronounced word. What you can do is to give one opportunity to work on the /r/ and /l/ sounds just before you end the class. If you do this, it looks like you're just practicing and not correcting mistakes.

I'm sure some of you will disagree with the notes I shared, but isn't that how we described giving corrections, an art? What works for one student may not work for another? So, if you have some creative techniques, why not share?

Again, don't forget to give me due credit. If you don't, my ghost will haunt you and your children's children until you rectify your mistake. (Wink!)

Ande Geronimo, EFL Teacher Trainer: Your guide to online English teaching http://queerenglish.blogspot.com/.