Lecture notes 3

ELT METHODOLOGY 2
Mistakes and Feedback
HCM University of Technology and Education
Faculty of Foreign Languages
Teacher: TRAN THI NHU TRANG, M.A.
Contributors: Group 5
Nguyễn Như Minh Hiếu 13950037
Đinh Vũ Thanh Huệ 13950040
Nguyễn Thị Thúy Minh 13950053
Nguyễn Minh Châu 1295008

Main Contents
 Students make mistakes
 Mistakes and errors
 Assessing student performance
 Feedback during oral work
 Feedback on written work

Definitions
• A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess
or a “slip,” in that it is a failure to utilise a known system correctly
(Brown, 2000: 218-219).
• An error is “a systematic deviation when a learner has not learnt
something and consistently ‘gets it wrong’.” (Norrish, 1983)
• Mistakes are what researchers have referred to as performance errors
(the learner knows the system but fails to use it) while the errors are a
result of one’s systematic competence (the learner’s system is
incorrect) (Brown, 2000).

Types of Mistakes
Julian Edge (1993) divides mistakes into 3 broad
categories:
 SLIPS: Student can correct themselves
 ERRORS: Student cannot correct themselves
 ATTEMPTS: ambitious language use, by using
structures they have not learnt yet

Causes of Errors
L1 interference
Ex: She is a girl beautiful ( She is a beautiful girl)
You get upstairs in a left (lift)
I met my friend in the model of the square (middle)
Developmental errors
Ex: A cowboy go

Causes of Errors
Overgeneralization
Ex: They plays toys in the bar
She buyed a dress
Interlanguage

Mistakes vs. Errors - What’s the difference?
An error cannot be self-corrected
Mistakes can be self-corrected if the deviation is
pointed out to the speaker
(James, 1998)

Mistakes vs. Errors - What’s the difference?

Assessing Student’s performance
Ignore mistakes/ slips
Encourage risk taking
Praise them
Avoid over- complimenting them
Foster self-assessment
Show genuine interest in their work

Assessing student performance
Teacher can assess students’ performance through:
1. Tests-exams
2. Comments in and outside the class
+ Oral comments: Ex: Good
+ Written comments: Ex: Paragraph two is confusing
because the sequence of events is not clear
3. Marks and grades: if we want to give grades, we
need to decide on what basis we are going to do and be
able to describe to the students

Assessing student performance
4. Reports: at the end of a term or year teacher write
reports on their students’ performance
5. Students assessing themselves: we can ask student at
the end of an activity how well they think they have got
on. Or tell them to add a written comment to a piece of
written work they have completed, giving their own
assessment of that work
Ex: What do you think, can we use this technique in our
classrooms?

What is feedback?
Feedback describes the situation when output from (or
information about the result of) an event or phenomenon
in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of
the same (i.e. same defined) event / phenomenon (or the
continuation / development of the original phenomenon)
in the present or future. When an event is part of a chain of
cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop, then the
event is said to "feed back" into itself.
(Arends, 2013)

What is feedback in ELT?
Feedback is information given to the learner and/ or
the teacher about the learner’s performance through
their actions, attitude and words, which includes
advice, praise, and evaluation.
Feedback is a part of learning process
Feedback is also the final step in the communication.

Statements about feedback – Do you agree?
The fact that the teacher gives feedback on student performance implies a power
hierarchy: the teacher above, the student below.
Very much agree1 2 3 4 5 Totally disagree
Assessment is potentially humiliating to the assessed person.
Very much agree 1 2 3 4 5 Totally disagree
Teachers should give only positive feedback, in order to encourage, raise
confidence and promote feelings of success; negative feedback demoralises.
Very much agree 1 2 3 4 5 Totally disagree

Why is feedback important in ELT?
Feedback is an essential part of effective learning
Basically,
 To tell you what your strengths and weaknesses are
Moreover,
 To develop the students’ understanding
 To improve their performance in the relation to the
standard of the university
 To give them clear guidance on how to improve their
learning

Types of feedback
Feedback during oral work
Asking question Giving comment Shouting
Feedback on written work
Replying an email Writing comment

3 Common Mistakes Teachers Make When
Giving Feedback
Commenting On The Student
Not Offering Help
Waiting Too Long
(Killian, 2014)

Principles of giving feedback
• Give feedback only when asked to do so or when
your offer is accepted.
• Give feedback as soon as possible.
• Focus on the positive.
• Needs to be given privately wherever possible.
• Focus on behaviors that can be changed, not
personality traits

Principles of giving feedback
• Use ‘I’ and give your experience of the
behavior (‘When you said…, I thought that you
were…’).
• When giving negative feedback, suggest alternative
behaviors.
• Be clear about what you are giving feedback on.
• Do not overload – identify two or three key messages
that you summarize at the end.

Giving and Receiving Feedback
Why to Give and Receive?
Additional way of gaining insight about
your own practice and to validate your point
of view.
Should be a learning and growth
opportunity vs. punitive or negative.

Feedback can be conducted three
ways
Asking for Feedback
Receiving Feedback
Giving Feedback

Asking for Feedback
Select a peer who’s opinion you respect and
whose judgment you trust.
Choose someone who is in a similar role as
you.
Alternatively, you could choose someone
who you work closely with who is not in the
same role.

What to do:
Prepare the information you want to discuss with your
peer/colleague.
Select a time and place without distractions for your conversation
Briefly indicate what you would like to cover and why it’s
important to you
Discuss and review some of your practice experiences
Be specific about your abilities, strengths, and areas for growth,
learning and enhancement

Receiving Feedback
There is no point in asking others to give
you feedback unless you are prepared to be
open to it and consider the comments
which differ from your own perceptions.

Feedback Sandwich
 People seem to cope better with the Good News first, then the Bad News and finally ending with more
 Good News. One way to do this is to use the “feedback sandwich [that] has three features:
 • First strengths are identified (praise).
 • Weaknesses (development needs) are identified.
 • Options for improvement are explored. End on a positive note.” (Haines, 2004, p. 20)

Consider These Facets Of Feedback
 • Legibility - can your students read - and understand - your written annotations?
 • Importance - are you giving feedback on the highest priority aspects of the work?
 • Quality - the format, tone and mode
 e.g. it is better if marks and grades are absent if you want the comments to be read and acted upon
 • Quantity - a manageable amount for students to take in (no more than 3 criticisms?) - try using the
sandwich.
 • Timing - frequency: how often? and timeliness of response: how long after the task is completed is
 feedback just too late?
 • Style - types of comments that are helpful and unhelpful.

CORRECTING: (Correction symbols) Many teachers use correction codes to indicate that students have made mistakes in their
written work.

Giving feedback Characteristics:
Be Realistic
Direct your comments toward matters on which they can act.
Direct your feedback toward what is specifically asked for to meet your peers’
needs.
Although your peer requested feedback, be attentive to feelings and non-verbal
cues by each of you.
Be Specific
Generalizations are particularly unhelpful.
Base your comments and feedback on concrete observable behavior or materials.
Be supportive and constructive in your comments.

Be Sensitive to the goals of the person
Just because the other person’s contributions have not
met your goals, does not necessarily imply something
is wrong.
Be thoughtful in your comments and tone.
Listen to what they have to say
Be Timely
Provide time for exchange of comments to create an
opportunity for validating and exploring practice
strengths, needs and ideas.

Be Descriptive
Describe your views
Don’t be evaluative or say what the person should be feeling
Don’t be emotionally manipulative
Be Consciously non-judgmental
Offer your personal view
Do not act as an authority, even if you may be one elsewhere
Give your personal reactions and feelings rather than value-laden
statements by using:
“I feel…..”
“When you….”

Don’t Compare
Treat each person’s work as their own, not some part of a competition
with others.
Be cautious about giving feedback in a context in which comments you
give may be compared to another.
Be Diligent
Check your responses
Is it an accurate reflection of what you want to express?
Have you perceived the contribution accurately?
Nothing is more annoying than to receive feedback from someone who clearly
hasn’t bothered to pay attention to what you have done.

Be Direct
Say what you mean
Don’t wrap it up with fancy words or abstract
language.
Be Positive
Say what you appreciate. Don’t focus on what you
react negatively towards.
Find something that is genuinely felt, rather than being
positive because you feel it is required.

Be Aware
Note your own emotional state before giving feedback
Being anxious or defensive may distort your own comments
Feedback is never the time to relieve yourself at the expense
of the other person
Move to focus on the person to whom you are relating and
their needs, not yourself by responding in any way.

 Characteristics of Receiving Feedback
 Be Explicit
 Make it clear what kind of feedback you are seeking.
 If necessary, indicate what kinds you do not want to receive.
 Feedback from others in entirely for your benefit and if you do not indicate what you want, you may
not receive it.
 Be Attentive
 Take time to listen, understand and consider what is being said by rephrasing and being interested in
the other person’s point of view.
 Ask questions and be curious about how your peer sees you.
 Ask for suggestions on how to enhance your practice and grow professionally.
 Two questions you may want to keep in mind when asking for peer feedback:
 What do I do best?
 Is there some aspect of my practice I can improve?

 Be Aware
 Notice your own reactions, both intellectual and emotional.
Be aware of any reactions of rejections or censorship on your part
 Be Silent
 Refrain from making a response
 Don’t even begin to frame a response in your own mind until you have listened
carefully to what has been said and have considered the implications.
 Do not use the excuse of correcting factual errors to avoid hearing and
resonating with the substance of what has been said
 Don’t be distracted by the need to explain
If you feel you have provide an explanation, do it later after the feedback session.

Giving Feedback:
Check your reasons for accepting the invitation to
give feedback.
Make sure you are clear on what your peer is
asking for by restating the request in your own
words.

Difference between ACCURACY ( non-
communicative activities) and FLUENCY
(communicative activities)

When should we provide teacher
intervention?
Lynch (1997) Use ”gentle correction”…”the best answer to
the question of when to intervene in learner talk is: as late
as possible”.
Processing language for communication is the best way
of processing language for acquisition.
When teacher intervene to correct or to supply alternative
modes of expression to help students, they remove the need
to negotiate meaning.

Rapport and feedback
Correction builds on the rapport between teacher
and student.
A good teacher “should be able to correct people
without offending them” (Harmer, 1998)

Feedback during Accuracy Work
Two distinct stages:
I. Show a student a mistake has been made.
II. Help student do something about it.

Showing Incorrectness
1,Repeating: Again? Use of intonation and
expression by the teacher.
2,Echoing: Flight 309 Go to Paris?
3,Statement and question: That’s not quite right.
Do people think it’s all right?
4,Expression: facial, gesture, without being cruel
or mocking.

Showing Incorrectness
5, Hinting: Say the word: tense, word, plural. Shared
metalanguage.
6, Reformulation: If I had heard…

GETTING IT RIGHT
If students are unable to correct themselves, focus on
the correct version in detail.
Foster peer correction in a genuinely cooperative
atmostphere.
Techniques must not undermine students’self-esteem.

Techniques:
A) Reformulate what they say:
Student: I am not agree with you
Teacher: I don’t agree with you ….because…
B) Try not to interrupt the flow of the activity, or we may bring
it to a standstill.
C) Recording mistakes: Use chart to categorize
learners’mistakes:
Grammar and vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation,
appropriacy, interactive communication.

Feedback during fluency work:
We need to respond to content and not just language.
Tolerance of errors during fluency sessions should be
much greater than during ontrolled practice sessions.
Gentle correction is necessary if communication
breaks down or if students need prompting because
they do not know what to say.

Workbook
exercises
Creative,
communicative
writing
Responding
Correcting

Responding
How the text appears to us
How successful it has been
-> Suggesting how it could be improved

Responding
- Responding to the draft
- Responding to the final
written product
Some common ways to give
written responding:
- Writing the comments in the
margin
- On computers: editing program,
comments in different colour.
- Separate piece of paper or
computer document comments
- Showing alternative ways of
writing through reformulation.

Correcting
Using correction code to indicate students’ mistakes in
their written work.

Involving students
Self-
correction
Peer-
correction

What are the ways of varying the
amount of marking ?
Selective marking
Different error codes
Don’t mark all the papers
Involve the students

QUIZ
B
a. Repeat the error, with questioning intonation, to
highlight it
b. Activate rules that students already know by giving
a quiet or quick hint to help them correct themselves
c. Use a simple facial expression or hand movement to
show the student is wrong
d. Repeat correctly what the S has said, with no
specific focus on correction
e. Give a comment or question to indicate the students’
mistakes.
A
1.Reformulation
2.Echoing/Repeating
3.Statement and question
4.Hinting
5.Gesture/ Signposting

KEY
1-d
2-a
3-e
4-b
5-c

 Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th edition).
Pearson Education.
 Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching: A Guidebook for English Language
Teachers (2nd edition). Macmillan Education.
 Boud, D. (1991). Implementing Student Self Assessment. HERDSA Green guide
No. 5. 2nd Ed. Retrieved Oct. 15, 2010 from
http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/assessment-futures/glossary/Giving-and-
Receiving-Feedback.pdf
 College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia. (2006). Peer Feedback:
Learning from Each Other. Retrieved October 15, 2010 from
http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/assessment-futures/glossary/Giving-and-
Receiving-Feedback.pdf
References

Horstman, M., Auzenne, M. (2006). The Peer Feedback Model. Manager Tools
Podcast. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.manager-
tools.com/2006/10/the-peer-feedback-model
Arends, R. (2013). Studyguide for Learning to Teach. Content Technologies, Inc.
Retrieved October 15, 2015 from
https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=wiAroLptfLAC&pg=PT215&lpg=PT21
5&dq=Feedback+describes+the+situation+when+output+from+%28or+info
rmation+about+the+result+of%29+an+event+or+phenomenon&source=bl
&ots=Qgf9GhMygz&sig=kijzp-
A5u_pXANYN7U0LX2DI1D4&hl=vi&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Feed
back%20describes%20the%20situation%20when%20output%20from%20%28
or%20information%20about%20the%20result%20of%29%20an%20event%20
or%20phenomenon&f=false
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huju0xwNFKU
References

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