UNIT 11                                           THE ROLE OF ERROR

When learning a language making mistakes plays an important and useful part because trough them learners cab be aware and learn more about the target language. The mistakes are divided into two groups: errors and slips. Both occur when the learner is being exposed to the target language slips are result of tardiness and errors are result of interference of the mother tongue. But even though we as teachers would like our students to speak perfectly they will make mistakes and we have to correct them in a good way so that they do not suffer any consequence in their learning process.

There are many reasons to make mistakes one of them is the interferences of them mother tongue, another is the overgeneralization, which means that the learned can apply a rule for all the cases in the target language. However, to manage a language learners have to achieve accuracy and also be conscious for improving the language.  

Examples:

• When a learner has made an error, the most efficient way to teach him the correct form is not by simply giving it to him, but by letting him discover it and test different hypotheses.
• Many errors are due to that the learner uses structures from his native language. What I can do as a future teacher is to teach the learner the false friends or maybe the intonation patterns if it is the case. 

References:

Corder, S. P. 1967. "The significance of learners’ errors”. International Review of Applied Linguistics 5: 161-9.

http://www.antimoon.com/how/mistakes-in-learning.htm