Error correction — Connect Lite

ConnectLite

Trainee

Back to the library

Lead-in Watch

Before you watch, read the two questions. Then watch the sketch with them in mind.

What errors do the speakers make?
What do you think of the correction technique?

If the frame stays black, watch it on YouTube.

After watching, compare your answers with a partner.

attitudes

Attitudes to errors and mistakes Discuss

Rank each statement from 1–4 (1 = completely disagree, 4 = completely agree). There are no right answers — compare with a partner afterwards.

the flowchart

The decision flow Order the steps

Part A, the decision flow. Before you correct anything, you make a series of decisions. Click the boxes below in the order you think they happen.

Answer key: the decision flow

Part B, the correction technique. Once you've decided to deal with an error yourself, here's a typical sequence. Click the steps in order.

Answer key: the correction technique

types of error

Match the errors with their descriptions Match & check

Match each error to the type of mistake it represents.

techniques

How to correct: a few ideas Presentation

Click each idea to reveal a short explanation.

practice table, part 1

Facilitating correction of oral errors Part 1

For each utterance, identify the mistake, correct it, name the type of mistake, and choose a correction technique.

practice table, part 2

Facilitating correction of oral errors Part 2

Same task, second set of utterances.

Trainer notes Tutor only

Before

Check the sound for the lead-in film (the Mitchell and Webb sketch, 3 minutes). The two practice tables print from the handout; a printed copy per pair saves the typing.

Running it

Stage	What you do
Lead-in	Read the two viewing questions aloud before you press play. After the film, pairs compare; take one or two answers to each. The errors are small and the correcting is relentless: that contrast is the session.
Attitudes	Each trainee ranks the nine alone, then compares in threes. No key. Draw out the two that split a room: "You will not improve unless somebody corrects you" and "A slip means you’ve learnt it the wrong way".
The decision flow	Part A in pairs on screen; the order is type, deal or not, when, who, technique. Part B the same. Ask which decision they skip in TP: usually "who": the teacher always does it.
Match the errors	Individually, then check. The eight are a mix on purpose: three grammar, three pronunciation, two vocabulary. Ask which ones a student could self-correct if pointed at, and which need telling.
How to correct	Click the twelve as a class. Demonstrate three on a volunteer: finger correction, the echo with a rising tone, the one-word question. They need to see them, not read them.
Practice 1 and 2	Pairs, one table each, then swap and check each other’s. The key is below; the page has none for these two tables, so it is yours to give.

The key: the practice tables

	Corrected	Type	A technique
A	We must leave early today.	Grammar: modal + bare infinitive	Finger correction, take out "to"
B	He visited the museum yesterday.	Grammar: word order	Repeat up to the error, rising tone
C	She’s wearing a hat.	Grammar: article	Finger correction, a missing finger
D	How many bottles did you buy?	Grammar: countable, much or many	One-word question: "Countable?"
E	He walks to work slowly every day.	Grammar: third person -s	Gesture: the S drawn in the air
F	I stayed three days in the hotel last week.	Grammar: past simple	Timeline, or "Last week?" with a hand behind the shoulder
G	Can I borrow your umbrella?	Appropriacy: too formal between friends	"Your friend? Really?" and a raised eyebrow
H	…because I had a cold.	Vocabulary: false friend (constipado)	Tell them, with the smile; then CCQ the two words
I	I’m bored.	Vocabulary: -ed and -ing adjectives	Echo "I’m boring?" and point at yourself
J	…fill the tank on Fridays.	Pronunciation: /iː/ and /ɪ/	Phonemic chart, or draw a full tank
K	…to bake cakes on Sundays.	Pronunciation: the diphthong	Model and drill the one word
L	At the party she enjoyed herself a lot.	Grammar: enjoy is a verb, not an adjective	Board the sentence, let them find it
M	Please bring a chair.	Pronunciation: /tʃ/ and /ʃ/	Minimal pair on the board: share, chair

Watch for

Trainees who correct everything in their TPs the week after this session. The attitudes task is where to plant "not every error, not every time".
The decision flow learnt as a list. Ask for it as a story: "A student says X. What do you decide first?"

Sources. The attitude statements, the errors and the practice tables are made up for this session. The ideas of a decision flow and of correction techniques are standard in teacher training; see Mark Bartram and Richard Walton, Correction: Mistake Management (Language Teaching Publications, 1991), and Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching (Macmillan). Lead-in video: That Mitchell and Webb Look, series 4 (BBC).