VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST–GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************
BÙI DANH TOÀN APPROPRIATE ERROR-CORRECTION STRATEGIES
IN SPEAKING LESSONS FOR THE 10
TH
FORM STUDENTS
AT HOA LU A HIGH SCHOOL

(Chiến lược chữa lỗi thích hợp trong các giờ dạy kỹ năng nói
cho học sinh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Hoa Lư A) M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Bàng, M.A. HA NOI - 2011 - 6 -
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION PAGE ……………………………………………………………………………………
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………
ii
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
iii
LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS AND TABLES ………………………………………………………………
iv
DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS ………………………………………………………………………………
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………………………

vi
PART I: INTRODUCTION
1
1. Rationales …………………………………………………………………………… …
1
2. Aims of the Study ………………………………………………………………………
1

2.3.1. Grammatical errors ………………………………………………………
6
2.3.2. Discourse Errors …………………………………………………………
7
2.3.3. Phonological Errors ………………………………………………………
7
2.3.4. Lexical Errors ……………………………………………………………
7
3. Error Correction Strategies in Speaking Lessons ………………………………………
8
3.1. Definitions of Error-correction …………….……………………………………
8
3.2. Error-correction Strategies ………………….…………………………………….
8
3.3. Common Approaches to Errors …………….………………………… ………….
9
3.3.1. Behavioristic Approach …………………………………………………….
9
3.3.2. Humanistic Approach ………………………………………………………
10
3.3.3. Cognitive Approach ………………………………………………………
10
3.3.4. Communicative Approach ………………………………………………….
11

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3.4. Timing of Error-correction………………… …………………………………
11
3.4.1. Immediate Correction ……………………………………………………
11

1. An Overview of the Research Site ………………………………………………………
17
1.1. Hoa Lu A High School …………………………………………………………….
17
1.2. Textbook …………………………………………………………………………
17
1.3. Teachers …………………………………………………………………………
17
1.4. Learning Situation in 10
th
Form …………………………………………………
17
2. The Subjects of the Study ………………………………………………………………
18
2.1. The Students ……………………………………………………………………….
18
2.2. The Teachers ………………………………………………………………………
18
3. Data Collection Instruments ……………………………………………………………
18
3.1. Questionnaires …………………………………………………………………….
18
3.2. Classroom Observation ……………………………………………………………
19
4. Data Collection Procedures ……………………………………………………………
19
4.1. For Questionnaires ………………………………………………………………
20
4.2. For Classroom Observation ……………………………………………………….
20

2.2. Getting Insights into Students ……………………………………………… ……
34
2.3. Reducing Error Correction Frequency ……………………………………………
34
2.4. Making Pre-speaking Activities Meaningful ………………………………………
34
2.5. Redesigning Inappropriate Tasks……………………………………….………….
35
2.6. Correcting Errors Strategically …………………………………………………
35
2.6.1. Choosing Errors to Correct ………………………………………………
35
2.6.2. Deciding Time to Correct Errors …………………………………………
35
2.6.3. Diversifying Types of Correction …………………………………………
36
2.6.4. Applying Different Error-correction Strategies ……………………………
36
3. Summary ………………………………………………………………………………
36
CHAPTER 5: APPLICATIONS ………………………………………………………………………………
37
PART III: CONCLUSION
38
1. Summary ………………………… …………………………………………………….
38
2. Pedagogical Implications ………………………………………………………….…….
38
3. Limitations of the Study …………………………………………………………………
39

L1 First Language/Mother Tongue (in this research: Vietnamese)
L2 Second Language/ Target Language (in this research: English)
OUP Oxford University Press
SLA Second Language Acquisition

2. Tables
Tables
Page
Table 1: Students’ judgement on error-correction in their speaking lessons.
30
Table 2: Students’ opinions of effective error-correction methods in speaking lessons.
31
Table 3: Teachers’ judgement on the error-correction in their speaking lessons.
33
Table 4: Teachers’ opinions of effective error-correction methods in speaking lessons.
35
Table 5: The types of errors made and the timing of error-correction.
37
Table 6: The types of correction and the types of correction methods.
38


goal. (Richards, Platt and Platt, 1987, p. 355)
(11) Target Language is the language a person is learning, in contrast to a first language or
mother tongue. (Richards, Platt and Platt, 1987, p. 373)

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

I. Rationales
Nowadays English plays an important role in socio-economic life. Learning English is necessary
for a lot of people. The central of teaching and learning is to perfect four skills of which speaking
is probably the most difficult for learners to develop because it requires them to produce the
language most of the time spontaneously or without enough time to construct appropriate and
correct utterances.

Over a long period, considerable attention has been paid to errors and error correction in
speaking classes (Ellis, 1994). Different authors have different views. Some consider an error as
something natural. They claim that people cannot avoid making errors and even can learn from
them. Making errors is a part of learning, and error correction should be done selectively in order
to have better results in the classroom. Others, however, regard an error as something negative
which must be avoided. As a consequence, language teachers have always adopted a repressive
attitude towards it. They usually hold most authority to correct learners‟ errors automatically,


III. Scope of the Study
Language generated by learners in either speech or writing is considered productive. Errors
occur in either speaking or writing lessons. Due to the limits of time, ability and availability of
the data, the researcher intends to investigate the current situation of correcting errors in
speaking lessons at HLA High School and find out appropriate error-correction strategies for
application in real context. The respondents of this study are limited to the 10
th
form students at
HLA High School, therefore, their opinions of appropriate error-correction strategies in speaking
lessons might not be representative of all students at HLA High School in particular and all
students learning English nationwide in general.

IV. Research Questions
To achieve the aims of the study, the following research questions are addressed:
1. What kinds of oral errors are often made by the students in speaking lessons?
2. Who often corrects oral errors?
2. When and how are oral errors corrected in the classroom?
3. What are appropriate error-correction strategies for speaking lessons?

V. Methods of the Study
To achieve the aims of the study, the researcher reviews the related documents, which is a
method to lay the theoretical background of the study. In the study both qualitative and
quantitative methods are used. That is the data serving the research analysis and discussion are
collected by means of survey questionnaires and classroom observation. Quanlitative method is
applied to analyze the results from data collection of the survey questionnaires on the 10
th
form
students and teachers of English at HLA High School. Besides, quatitative method is employed
to analyze the data from classroom observation forms (COFs). The COFs are then synthesized

th
form speaking lessons at HLA High School and general information
about the study subjects. It also focuses on the data collection instruments and procedures.
Chapter 3, Presentation and Analysis of the Data, gives a detailed presentation and analysis of
the data from the questionnaires and classroom observation.
Chapter 4, Findings, Discussions and Recommendations, consists of some discussions and
interpretations of the findings of the study. This chapter also provides some recommendations
for effective error correction in speaking lessons.
Chapter 5, Applications, engages the practice of error correction in speaking lessons by
following the three-stage model.

Part III, Conclusion, includes the summary of the study and some pedagogical implications for
correcting errors appropriately in speaking lessons. This part also points out some limitations of
the study and provides some suggestions for further studies. - 12 -
PART II: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review will concentrate on error correction in speaking lessons. It will be presented
in one chapter. Following the introduction, the theoretical assumptions as well as the findings
from previous empirical research will be reviewed to discuss the approaches to teaching and
learning speaking. The next section will discuss the overall views of errors. This will be followed
by a summary of the literature related to error correction to examine what appropriate error-
correction strategies in speaking lessons are. Finally, a summary of the chapter will conclude the

researchers and teachers. Practice may emphasize accuracy or fluency. In accuracy work, most
errors should be corrected immediately. Ignoring learners‟ correctness is not advisable as
successful communication depends on a certain level of accuracy. In fluency practice, Hedge
(2000) claimed that it is important not to distract learners‟ attempt to communicate, so non-
immediate correction is preferable to immediate correction. To be concrete, teachers are advised
to leave error correction till the end of the activity.

1.3. Errors in Speaking Lessons
Communicative approach is different from the previous teaching methods even in terms of error
correction. In CLT there is a minimal focus on form, including a lack of emphasis on error
correction. If it occurs it is often dealt with meaning focuses. Errors can be useful in the way that
they help teachers evaluate the learners' cognitive development. And if they are corrected
appropriately, the learners can get improvement in learning. In speaking lessons, it is advisable
to focus on error correction in the later stage of the lesson or in post-activity stage as
communication lessons are characterized by activities in which learners communicate by means
of interacting and completing the tasks or activities with other learners (Hymes, 1972). During
the activities like those, the teacher‟s role is to facilitate and then to monitor, usually without
interruption.

The practice in CLT is not to interrupt a learner to react to an error if she or he is communicating
the message successfully even with the error. When errors hinder communication, Bailey (2005)
suggests dealing with them appropriately. However, from the researcher‟s previous experience in
some contexts as a second language learner as well as experience from class observation as a
language teacher, it has been discovered that many language teachers still confront their students'
errors and make a lot of effort to correct those errors on a daily basis.

2. Overview of Errors

2.1. Definitions of Errors
There are a number of definitions of errors. Each researcher gives a definition of errors


2.3. Types of Errors
Learner errors can be categorized in terms of various criteria. According to Burt (1975) errors
are classified into: global errors and local errors. The former refers to errors that hinder
communication and “affect overall sentence organization, such as wrong word order, missing,
wrong, or misplaced sentence connectors”. On the other hand, the latter affects single elements
in a sentence without hindering communication such as errors in noun and verb inflections,
articles, and auxiliaries, etc. On the basis of the linguistic levels, errors can be divided into four
major categories as follows:

2.3.1. Grammatical Errors
Grammatical errors, which stress the need for grammatical accuracy in both speech and writing,
may hinder communication. Actually, the biggest distraction for any language teacher with
regard to error correction has been the traditional focus in ELT on the correction of errors at a
grammatical level. At the global level, morpho-syntactic errors can detract from overall
intelligibility and may have a serious effect on communication. A speaker‟s utterance “I love my

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dog more than my wife” can be very confusing. At sentence level, 'errors' may often reflect
performance 'mistakes' for which immediate teacher correction is not necessarily appropriate
(Lee, 1990). For instance, a speaker said: “I singed English, but I didn‟t feel it is English”.

2.3.2. Discourse Errors
Discourse errors are dependable upon the observance of the rules of speaking and reflect
learners‟ cultural and pragmatic knowledge of language use. An example for this kind is “Now
I‟m learning English news. I like them”. As can be seen, this is an error of cohesive device
misuse because the speaker considered “news” a plural noun.

Hendrickson (1981) points out that pedagogy needs to be related to modes of linguistic
presentation. The approach to correcting errors in the written mode should be quite different

Like morpho-syntactic errors, lexical errors are errors which are habitually corrected by teachers.
On the whole, it is easy for teachers to correct lexical errors as one only needs to pinpoint the
change in meaning and provide the correct word.

3. Error Correction Strategies in Speaking Lessons

3.1. Definitions of Error Correction
A lot of studies have dealt with the issue of error correction. „Error correction‟ is defined as “a
response either to the content of what a student has produced or to the form of the utterance”
(Richards and Lockharts, 1996). Similarly, Chaudron (1986) sees that the concept of correction
is “any reaction by the teacher which transforms a students‟ behavior or utterance”. In a more
practical view, Edge (1989) clearly states that correction does not always mean making
everything absolutely correct but helps learners learn to express themselves more accurately.

In language teaching and learning, the term „correction‟ is used to indicate that the teacher
supplies an appropriate item in response to what is perceived to be an error (Chun et al,. 1982).
In their view, in supplying an appropriate correction, the teacher has to do more than just give
modelling. Clearly, it is advisable to make it explicit to the student on how the right form of
language should be produced.

Allwright and Bailey (1991) state that the word „correction‟ implies a permanent „cure‟, which is
different from impermanent „treatment‟. They argue that even if a teacher corrects an error and
manages to get a right answer, it does not mean that the error has permanently been cured. Since
the focus of their research is to investigate the permanent effects of teachers‟ responses on
learner errors, the use of the term „correction‟ is considered to be appropriate.

To sum up, error correction refers to the assistance provided by either teacher, peer, or self, with
reference to any shortcomings on the part of a language learner in the target language.

3.2. Error Correction Strategies

3.3. Common Approaches to Errors
Over the years, there have been a wide range of approaches to error correction in language
teaching and learning. Researchers and teachers dispute over how to correct errors for a long
period, from the traditional viewpoint to the current approach.

3.3.1. Behavioristic Approach
The behaviorists viewed an error as a symptom of ineffective teaching or as evidence of failure
and they believed that when errors occur they are to be remedied by provision of correct forms.
In this respect, Littlewood (1984) sees that errors are simply the result of imperfect learning, so
errors must be corrected at any cost. According to Skinner (1957) untreated errors would lead to
fossilization and therefore rigid and immediate correction was required to avoid forming bad
habits.
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Behaviorism theory sees that old habits hinder or facilitate the forming of new habits. That is
why errors are unwanted. Since the errors are the result of non-learning rather than wrong
learning, there is a danger of errors becoming habits if they are tolerated, so errors should be
avoided. In this approach, language lessons must involve frequent repetition and correction for
learners to form good habits. Teachers correct spoken errors quickly, in hope of preventing
learners from forming bad habits which will be hardly removed in the future. If errors are left
untreated, it is thought that both the speaker and the hearers might internalize those erroneous
forms (Bailey, 2005).

3.3.2. Humanistic Approach
According to Canh (2004), humanistic approach lays emphasis on the learner‟s internal world
and the individual‟s thoughts, feelings and emotions are considered the most important in human
development. The main concerns of the teacher are with emotional needs and keenness on

Communicative Approach there is a minimal focus on forms. There is also a lack of emphasis on
error correction. If it occurs, it is likely to be meaning focus. Through errors the teachers and the
students can get improvement in language teaching and learning.

3.4. Timing of Error-correction
Correcting errors enables the students to acquire the correct forms of the target language.
However, when to correct is one of the most important tasks in the language classroom. Allan
(1991) states that the teachers‟ failure to correct oral errors at the appropriate time might lead to
a negative reaction to language learning in general and to error correction in particular.

3.4.1. Immediate Correction
Vigil & Oller (1976) see that correcting errors immediately helps the teacher draw students‟
attention to problems while they are still fresh in their minds. However, it interrupts their flow of
speech. Hendrickson (1980) shows that learners hate to be corrected while they are talking
because the correction, to some extent, makes them feel nervous and lose confidence. With the
same view, Hammerly (1991) affirms that immediate correction interrupts learners and can lead
to loss of face which may discourage them to speak. Moreover, immediate corrections may cause
sensitive children to develop aggressive behavior towards their classmates or teacher. Thus,
correction must not be applied unless errors obstruct communication.

It is important for the teachers to understand that every error that deems serious does not need to
be corrected immediately. Actually, it is usually counterproductive to attempt immediate
correction of all errors. Realizing this, teachers should be more tolerant of their learners‟ errors
as it is better to speak with some errors rather than waiting until they can speak accurately. To be
more concrete, communication is important in speaking lessons.

3.4.2. Non-Immediate Correction
Postponing error correction to a future time will be less effective, as time elapses between the
error and correction (Chaudron, 1987). However, this may be necessary, particularly if the error
is common to the whole class (Holley & King, 1971). Teachers may note errors and deal with

incentive as well as hints to correct the error in order to avoid repeating it in the future.

3.5.2. Peer Correction
Peer-correction is provided by a student different from the one who initially made the
error. Cohen (1975) suggests that peer correction may improve the learners‟ ability to recognize
errors. In this respect, Bruton and Samuda (1980) claimed that peer-correction is beneficial in the
language classroom. The advantage of peer correction is to help learners cooperate and involve
in the process of learning. Besides, it also makes them less dependent on the teacher. According
to Bailey (2005), peer correction can be very effective if it is done in a positive and supportive
way. Teachers might as well leave the correction for their learners in the hope that errors can be
corrected through peer work since the language proficiency of the learners in a group varies.
That is what one student cannot correct may be corrected by other students. For the errors that
are out of the range of students‟ language proficiency, it is up to the teachers to give corrections.

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3.5.3. Self Correction
Hendrickson (1978) defines “self-correction is the correction of one's own errors”. Self-
correction is of great significance to language learners. Bailey (2005) stresses that learners may
learn more if they themselves correct their errors. In this way, they may be memorable and could
promote actual learning. According to Carroll (1955), self-correction not only gives learners
more opportunities to improve their speaking ability but activates their linguistic competence as
well (cited in Corder, 1967). However, learners have much difficulty in self-correcting. Thus,
self-correction should be done with the help of other students or teachers. When a learner has
made an error, the teachers or other students are advisable not to provide him or her the correct
form immediately but give him or her a chance to correct it by supplying some necessary hints.

In short, each type of error correction has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is suggested
utilizing the types that are most appropriate in certain situations. Also a combination of error
correction types will make the correction more effectively.


significantly affect intelligibility, that is global errors, and ignore those that do not.

3.6.3. Errors of High Frequency
Allwright (1975) claims that high frequency error deserves special priority attention in error
correction. 'High frequency error' indicates repeated occurrence of the same error on the part of
an individual student. In a broader view, Walz (1982) defines that “frequent errors are frequently
committed by individual learners and by many learners in a class”. It provides a sure source of
information about whether or not an individual learner or group has mastered a rule or not.

Davies (2000) assures that error correction should focus on recurrent errors. In his view, errors
that are produced by learners frequently need to be corrected. Moreover, Doff (1998) suggests
that the types of errors that are the most common and frequently produced should be given
priority and corrected otherwise students may think that they have made correct utterances.

3.6.4. Learners’ Variables
Learning is a journey taken by learners; thus, teachers should build up a sense of togetherness,
especially in speaking class. Error correction is extremely complex since it depends on many
factors. Among various factors influencing the success of error correction, learners‟ variables
seem appealing. According to Chaudron (1986), learners‟ variables include their language and
cultural background, proficiency levels, learning styles, preferences, personalities, attitudes,
motivation, etc These factors should be taken into consideration for all students as different
individual learner has different variables. However, in classroom practice, it is suggested that
teachers consider the common variables among learners.

For the error correction to be effective, all good teachers always get to know their students and
learn those who are most sensitive to correction. To do so, they must be willing to investigate
their learners‟ variables, change their attitudes toward error correction, and modify their old
habits with regard to the practice of error correction in the language classroom (Hendrickson,
1980). Besides, classroom practice cannot afford to be based rigidly on any standards derived
from the opinions of the teachers alone. It must take learners‟ variables into consideration in

asserts that explicit correction of errors not only hinders the improvement of the communicative
competence but also produces negative consequences in learners.

3.7.2. Implicit Correction
Ferris & Hedgcock (1998) defines that “Implicit correction is indirect correction, which teachers
indicate the presence of an error or provide some clues and leave the students to diagnose and
correct it”. In this way, after showing the error and giving hints to correct, the teachers let the
students initiate a self-correction or ask for peer assistance. Learners have to discover the right
forms or structures by themselves in order to produce the accurate language. Therefore, the
teachers‟ implicit clues are considered to be more useful than explicit correction (Hammerly,
1991). Some detailed cues given by the teachers led to higher ratio of learner‟s self-correction

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and consequently, their linguistic competence would be improved. The type of correction that is
widely encouraged and accepted in CLT is implicit correction as it does not interfere with
communication.

While there is a tendency to recommend implicit correction methods, there are certain cases
where providing the correct forms is more appropriate. Actually, some rule-governed errors can
be corrected implicitly, whereas untreatable errors require more detailed correction.
Consequently, the degree of explicitness of correction must be different depending on the types
of errors to be corrected.

To sum up, there is no single correction method that works effectively for all types of errors
whether it is explicit or implicit correction as each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
According to Vigil and Oller (1976, cited in Brown, 1994) error correction must be optimal in
order to be effective. Thus, language teachers have to use several different types of error
corrections depending on the types of errors, individual learners and the context of language
teaching and learning. Thus, appropriate error-correction strategies are necessary for error
correction.

9 classes. On the average, there are about 45 to 50 students in a class. Most of the students come
from the nearby villages.

The number of students in the 10
th
grade are 420. They are now 16 years of age. The students
learned English as a foreign language for four years at Junior High School and are all learning
English, with three English classes a week.

1.2. Textbook
The 10
th
form students are now using Tieng Anh 10, the standard syllabus, written by Hoang
Van Van et al. It follows two popular approaches, namely learner-centred approach and
communicative approach. There are 16 units in the textbook. Each unit contains 5 lessons:
Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus. Obviously these textbooks focus on
linguistic knowledge as well as skill formation and development. Speaking skill is taught in one
lesson of a unit. Its primary goal is to improve communicative competence, that is, the ability to
communicate in English.

1.3. Teachers
All the 9 teachers of English at HLA High School are Vietnamese, aged from 28 to 40. The
youngest has 3 years of teaching English while the oldest has been teaching English for 13 years.
Five of them are female. Three of them got formal training. The rest are in-service graduates.

1.4. Learning Situation in 10
th
Form
In English lessons, the main teaching aids used are simply a blackboard, textbooks and in recent
three years teachers have been using cassettes in listening lessons. The classrooms are physically

School. They are from two classes, 10B4 and 10B5. In terms of their geographical origin, 95 %
of them come from the countryside, and the rest are city dwellers. They are not the same at
English proficiency level in general and speaking competence in particular. Only some of them
are good and active in speaking classes while the rest remain passive and quiet.

2.2. The Teachers
The 7 teachers of English who are currently teaching the 10
th
form are asked to complete the
questionnaires for teachers. Among them, there are 2 males and 5 females. Their ages range from
28 to 40. They have been teaching English at HLA High School from three to thirteen years.
Two of them got formal training and five got in-service training.

3. Data Collection Instruments
In order to get the needed information, the two instruments are employed. They are
questionnaires and classroom observation.

3.1. Questionnaires
Two sets of questionnaires were designed to investigate how error-correction is carried out and
get the participants‟ opinions of appropriate error-correction strategies. Each includes 13 items to
be responded to answer the research questions. Each questionnaire contains six items using a 5-
point Likert-scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”, (see Appendix 1; 2).