Correcting spoken errors in English language teaching: Preferences of Turkish EFL learners at different proficiency levels

Abstract

Understanding the process of correcting spoken errors in language classrooms is quite important because there is always the risk of disturbing the flow of communication and the risk of decreasing motivation and willingness of students to communicate in the target language. The proficiency level of language learners is an important factor on their anxiety and self-confidence in oral communication. For this reason, insights about the preferences of students at different proficiency levels will help implementing more successful corrective feedback sessions in teaching any foreign language. This study investigated the preferences of Turkish learners of English about the correction of spoken errors. Data collected from students at two different proficiency levels revealed that both groups of students preferred receiving corrective feedback for spoken errors. However, significant differences were observed between low and high-level students regarding the types of spoken errors, the time, ways and source of corrective feedback. The results obtained were discussed in terms of the contributions to the findings in the field of teaching English as a foreign language.