The decision-making processes teachers go through in their attempts to treat learners' Oral errors and learners' perspective on oral error treatment

Abstract

Making mistakes is a crucial part of human learning. Together with mistakes, misjudgements, miscalculations and wrong assumptions are indispensable aspects of learning skills and acquiring information. The mistakes one makes are gradually reduced as one learns from those mistakes. The provision of feedback from the environment facilitates the eventual learning. In this respect, language learning is no exception. The points of departure for the present study was to see whether the basic options and features in one such model (Long cited in Allwright and Bailey, 1991) were viable modes of error correction in the classroom. A questionnaire was prepared based on Long's model in an attempt to see if the same decision-making process was followed by teachers in actual learning situations. Likewise, a similar study was also prepared to have an insight into the students' perspective on error correction. The results of the present study (teachers' responses in particular) tend to confirm the viability of Long's model. In conclusion, it has been revealed that it is the teachers' task to value their students' attempts to improve themselves on the interlanguage continuum, be sensitive and receptive to their linguistic output and try his/her best to utilize the optimum way of dealing with their errors.