Error Correction — When to Speak and When to Stay Quiet
🎙 From the classroom: At The Ivy in Sydney, I managed a team of twelve. When someone made a mistake with a VIP guest, I didn’t interrupt mid-sentence. I waited. I debriefed after. Constant mid-sentence correction destroys confidence — in hospitality and in language teaching.
💡 The Idea
Error correction has two modes: immediate (on-the-spot) for accuracy work like drills or controlled practice, and delayed (after the task) for fluency work like discussions. During fluency tasks, note errors on paper and address them as a class after — without naming individuals.
🗣 Example
🔴 Immediate (accuracy drill): Student says ‘She go to school.’ Teacher: ‘She go? Hmm.’ → Elicits correction.
🟢 Delayed (speaking task): Students discuss in pairs. Teacher circulates, notes: ‘He said work since ten year.’ Writes on board after: ‘I have worked here for ten years.’ Class corrects together.
🎯 Try It Now!
Scenario: Your B1 class is doing a speaking task — talking about their last holiday. You hear these errors:
- ‘Yesterday I have been to the beach.’
- ‘The food was very delicious.’
Should you correct immediately or wait? How?
✅ Check Your Answers
✅ Wait until the task ends (fluency task = delayed correction). Write both sentences on the board anonymously. Ask: ‘Anything odd here?’ Students often spot and fix errors themselves. Then confirm: (1) → ‘Yesterday I went to the beach.’ (2) → ‘Delicious’ already contains ‘very’; say ‘the food was delicious.’
Independent project — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.