TKT Unit 5

Section 1 : Classroom Language - Teacher and Student Language

A)  Using English in the classroom

1.    Teachers

2.    Students

B)  Functions of classroom language

1.  Functions of students’ classroom language

2.  Functions of teachers’ classroom language

C)  Setting up tasks and activities

D)  Giving instructions

1. Grading and sequencing

2. Other features of good instructions

3. Using gestures to help with instructions

A)  Using English in the classroom

1. Teachers

What balance of the students’ first language and English do you use in the classroom? Which
answer best represents your situation?

1. I use a little bit of English, but I don’t feel confident enough of my own English to use
much more. It is safer to explain things using their first language.
2. I use a little bit of English, but they are beginners and don’t understand, so I have to
use their first language to explain things.
3. use their first language to give instructions (e.g. to find the page), and to explain
grammar and vocabulary, but I use English to give them listening practise.
4. I use English for everything, but usually follow it up with a translation.
5. I mostly use English, although if I need to tell students off or if there is something
particularly complicated to do I use their L1 for that.
6. All the time. English is the language of our classroom and I insist students use it from
the moment they walk in until the lesson ends.
7. I have no choice - I have to speak English all the time. I can’t speak their first
language and/or they are all from different countries and have different languages.

The first language can be a very helpful tool, but it shouldn’t be overused.  Consider some of
the following points:
a)    Students pick up a lot of language incidentally.

b)    Students need as much listening practice as possible (and they have to listen carefully to
the teacher so that they can  follow instructions).

c)    It can be better for students to stay in one language (rather than switching from one to the
other) because they need to practise “tuning in” to the new language for extended periods.

d)    If they can always get by due to L1 in class, how will they manage in real life situations?

e)    Communication between teacher and students, from anecdotes and small talk to giving
and following instructions, is real communication (as opposed to the mechanical exercises
that language lessons often offer). It helps the students, literally, become active learners.

f)     Students’ gain confidence when they realise they have understood and done the right
thing.

g)    If the class is part of a students’ general schooling system, insistent use of English
demonstrates to students that their English lesson is not like other lessons they have. With a
language they are learning a skill, not a body of information.

For these reasons it is generally accepted that on balance and in principle, it is better for
students if the teacher uses English as much as possible, even if teacher and students share a
mother tongue. There will be exceptions if the classes are beginners or young learners, or if
there are discipline problems, but students will benefit enormously if they can hear and speak
English as much as possible.               

2. Students

Do your students speak English in class to each other?

Which of these best represents what happens in your classes?

a)    My students come from different countries so they have to speak English to each other,
even in the break.

b)    My students are studying for written Examinations so they have no interest in trying to
speak English to each other. They never say anything in English other than read out answers
or repeat after me when drilling.

c)    My students speak English when they are doing a speaking task I have given them, but
not for other classroom language such as asking to borrow a dictionary.

d)    My students are beginners so they have little English to use yet.

e)    My students are young learners so provided I carefully teach them what to say first, they
happily use English to talk to each other as they think it is a game.

Students can make better progress if they can speak English whenever possible in their class.
Much of classroom language for both teachers and students is set phrases which occur again
and again and are quite easy to learn and use. We will look at these in the following sections
and at the Saturday input sessions.

If you do not use English all the time with your students, it is a good idea to introduce it
gradually. Teach the phrases at the time they are needed and use gestures to help.

B)  Functions of classroom language

1  Functions of students' classroom language

Look at these examples of students' language. Who do you think the student was speaking
to? 

A teacher?  Another student?  Or either?

Click or Mouse Over to Reveal Answers .

1. Can you say that again please?
2. How are you?
3. I'm sorry I'm late.
4. Can I borrow your dictionary please?
5. Shall we check together?
6. No, I don't think that's right.
7. Sorry, could you say that again, please?
8. Can I use this word for people too?
9. Yes, I think so too.
10 . Have a nice weekend!
11 . Can you write that on the board please?

2. Functions of teachers’ classroom language

Here are some possible reasons teachers might speak to students. Match the reason to the
name of the function it represents.                 

Reason Function
1  Telling a story  A  Instructing
2  Asking learners to give information (e.g. What tense is this?)   B  Greeting    
3  Telling students what they have to do    C   Checking
 understanding
4  Making contact with the class at the start of the lesson      
 D   Prompting
                                                            
5  Telling students you are pleased with what they have done  E   Narrating
6  Giving a student something to help them remember (e.g. the
 F  Eliciting
first letter of a word) or something to help them with ideas
7  Making sure students have followed a grammar presentation
 G   Giving praise
or instructions

Now check your answers:

1  Telling a story   =  E   narrating                                                         

2   Asking learners to give information                                       

     (e.g. What tense is this?)  =   F   eliciting

3  Telling students what they have to do =  A  instructing

4  Making contact with the class at the start of  the lesson   =  B  greeting  

5  Telling students you are pleased with what you have done  =  G  giving praise

6  Giving a student something to help them remember       

    (e.g. the first letter of a word) =  D prompting

7  Making sure students have followed a grammar

    presentation or instructions  =   C checking understanding

C)  Setting up tasks and activities

As part of their role as class managers, teachers will frequently want to tell students to do
certain things in the class as part of the lesson. Which of these functions do you think is most
appropriate for teachers to use to do this?

 to order students to do something (e.g. Open your books! And the intonation will also
indicate that it is an order.)

 to request students to do something (e.g. Could you open your books now please?)

 to instruct students to do something (e.g. Open your books.)

  to politely instruct students to do something (e.g. Open your books please.)

The answer may depend on cultural considerations, the age of the students and what the
students expect.

However, to order students would certainly not be appropriate for adult paying customers.
Teenagers in some countries may expect it, but to order someone to do something is seen as
very aggressive in English-speaking culture and is therefore uncommon in everyday
interaction. Students would get a distorted view of English-speaking culture if their English
lessons were conducted in this manner.

To request is probably not a good idea either as students could choose to say “No, thank
you!” This has actually happened in teaching practise classes at Language Link London.

So, to instruct students clearly and firmly but not aggressively is generally accepted as the
best way. Intonation is very important here; it should be warm and polite.

D) Giving instructions 1. Grading and sequencing

We saw in the previous section that it is better for students if teachers speak English to them
as much as possible during their lessons.

However, if the teacher talks too much, the students will not follow the stream of sound and
may “switch off”.  The teacher should choose language carefully and keep it simple, polite
and to the point.

So what is wrong with the following instructions for a listening?

These are very bad instructions!  There are two main problems:

1. The language is not simple enough. The language is not graded. The students would
be confused as there are too many words and the modals are unnecessary.
2. The instructions are not in the same order as the tasks the students have to do. There is
therefore a problem with sequencing.

Much better instructions would be:

“Look at the picture. Who are the people? [wait for replies and then confirm].  They talk
about their plans for the weekend [indicate the cassette player]. Look at the questions
[students read the questions]. Listen and write the answers here [indicate the appropriate
section on the handout, while holding it up].”

Now the language is simple (graded) and the instructions are in the same order as the
students do the tasks (sequenced).

2  Other features of good instructions

What other advice would you give to new teachers about giving instructions to students?
Think of some ideas first, then compare with the following advice.

Advice for giving instructions

1. Keep your language simple, that is grade, it.

2. Do not say more than you need to.
3. Give instructions in the same order, that is, sequence them.
4. Make instructions definite and clear.
5. Always give the instructions before you give out the materials. Otherwise students
will read the materials and not listen.
6. Make it clear if you want them to work individually, in pairs or in groups.
7. Give students some idea of how long they have to do the task.
8. Always check the instructions but ask specific questions. What are you going to do?
is not  a good check.
9. Never tell students something is going to be difficult or not enjoyable!
10. Don’t invite students to do something – tell them. “Would you like to stand up?” is
an invitation and students may say “No thank you”.
11. Be polite to your students.

Based on David Riddell’s advice in Teaching English As A Foreign Language (Teach

Yourself series) 2003.

Task

Now look at these poor instructions and decide which of the pieces of advice in the yellow
box above they do not follow. Some of them ignore more than one.

a)    Have a little chat with your partner and see if you can have a few ideas about what might
happen next in the story. You can write it down if you want to.

b)    Look at the gap-fill task which I have just given you. Put one word in each gap

c)    Now if you would like to move over here, and Maria would you work with her?

d)    With your partner, write some sentences about what you can see in the picture. Take as
long as you like.
e)    We’re going to play a card game to practise the verbs and infinitives but you might not
like it because you have to think of your own opinions.

f)     We are going to do a mingle to practise this use of would and you are going to see if your
ideas about other people in the class were right but first you have to make some predictions
about your classmates using the ideas on this sheet I am going to give you. So what are you
going to do?

g)    Read the text and say whether the statements are true or false. Justify your answers with
reference to the text.

h)   You! Stand up!

i)     Now I think we had better do this in pairs-no, perhaps not, perhaps you should do it on
your own first and then check with a partner. What do you think?

3. Using gestures to help with instruction

If you are teaching lower levels or introducing instructions in English to a class for the first
time, gestures can be a very useful guide to meaning. After all, in normal conversation, many
people use their hands to help get their meaning across.

Consider what gestures you personally would use to indicate the following. There are no
‘right’ answers; as long as students understand them, any gestures can be used but some are
perhaps more obvious than others.

1. Work in pairs
2. Work in groups of three.
3. Get into a circle.
4. Stand up.
5. Sit down.
6. Listen.
7. Read.
8. Write.
9. Speak.
10. Tick/check the right answer.
11. Think about….
12. Look at me.
13. Great.
14. Almost right/correct.
15. Past tense.
16. Now.
17. In the future.

Practise using some gestures for these.

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:
instructing    prompting     narrating     greeting   eliciting    

giving praise   checking understanding      apologising     

suggesting      asking for repetition  asking for clarification    

to grade language      to sequence instructions      a gesture   

 Reflection – pause the audio after each question and reflect

1. Assuming you use English to give instructions, what are your instructions like?

     Are they simple? Well graded?

     Clear? Well sequenced?
     Could they be improved?
     Do you ask simple questions afterwards to check students have understood (e.g. Are
you going to speak or write? Are you going to work alone or with a partner?)  
     Are there ever any problems because of your instructions?

2. Do you ever use gestures to help your students with the meaning of instructions?  
3. If you have the facilities (and you are brave enough!) tape record yourself giving
instructions. Are they as good as you thought?
4. Listen to the language your students are using when they are doing an activity. Do they
speak English or use their own language?

     When do they use their own language?

     Is there any simple language you could give them so that they would not need to use
their own language?  If so, try it!

5. Do you have signs on the walls, perhaps above the board, to remind students of useful
phrases in English? If not, and your school will allow you to, put some up (you could get
students to make them).

Section 2 : Classroom Language - Categorising Mistakes

1.  Categorising Spoken Errors

2.  Categorising Written Errors

Section 2:  Classroom Language - Categorising Mistakes

1. Categorising spoken errors

Many student errors are noticeable to native English speakers but the listener can still work
out the intended meaning. Some errors, however, give a different meaning which may be
misinterpreted or at the least sound very odd. Look at these examples of student errors which
English people might find funny. Can you explain why? All are spoken errors.

1. A: Can you tell me the way to the station?

B: I’m sorry, I can’t.  I’m strange.

2. My friend was stolen yesterday.

3. I came to England on a /ʃiːp/.
4. Teacher to class:   Good morning everyone.

Elementary student to teacher:  Hello darling. 

Explanations

1. French has only one word for strange and foreign, not two as in English. The student
intended to say I am foreign (I’m a foreigner).  
2. Spanish has only one word for rob and steal. The student meant to say My friend was
robbed but chose the wrong one of the pair.

These are both lexical (vocabulary) errors.

3. A famous error; the student wanted to say I came to England on a ship. One vowel
sound makes a big difference!

This is a phonological error.  These first 3 errors are examples of inaccurate

language.

4. Students in London often hear and notice shopkeepers and bus conductors addressing
female members of the public as “darling” as a friendly term. Students mistakenly
think they can use it to any female. It is far too informal for a teacher, even one the
student knows well.

It can be said that this language is accurate.  However, it is not appropriate for the situation
and the relationship between the speaker and the listener. 

The other kind of inaccurate language use is with grammar. Look at the following
examples of spoken grammatical errors. What area of grammar is each error in? Slide mouse
over sentences to reveal answer
1. I'll do it in the weekend.
2. Every day he is going to the casino.
3. Sorry! She just has left.
4. He gets a lot of information from internet.
5. Many people in England has a garden.
6. I can't stand to wait for buses.

2. Categorising written errors

Of course, many of the same kinds of errors can be found in written language.   

Many teachers use a correction code, which highlights different categories of error, for
correction of written mistakes.  The purpose of this is to give students the opportunity to
correct themselves.  Here are some common symbols that are used:

 WW = you have used the wrong word here

 VF = you have used the correct verb, but it is in the wrong verb form
 P = wrong punctuation
 WO = the word order is incorrect
 Prep = wrong preposition or preposition missing
 Sp = this word is spelled incorrectly
 / = the crossed out word doesn’t belong
 / = missing word
 ? = I don’t understand this

If we do use a correction code, it is very important that a) students understand what the
symbols mean and b) that they have time to make their corrections and check with their
teacher.

Not all teachers use a code. Which of these reasons not to use a code would you agree with?

So what is the value of using a correction code as opposed to the teacher correcting all the
student’s errors? Think about it first and then see if you agree with the suggestions on the next
page.

Suggested reasons for using a correction code

a)    It gives the student the opportunity to think for himself and correct himself. As this is an
active process, it makes him less likely to make the error again. For this reason alone it is a
good idea to use a code, even if it takes longer.

b)    Students will understand the code if there is a poster in the room explaining it or they are
given a photocopy of the symbols.

c)    The teacher should only use the code for errors which are in language which has been
covered in class or which a student of that level could be assumed to know. Errors above the
level might be better ignored or explained in a note.

Should we correct every error?

Probably not. It would be very demotivating for students if we corrected every error they
made.

How can we decide which errors to correct and which to leave?

Errors which arise from ambition, that is, the student is trying to say something above the
level he can function at, could be ignored. For example, if a pre-intermediate student writes
when describing the mountains, “I was appealed by the majestic mountains,” he is probably
trying to say something like, “I was impressed by the majesty of the mountains,” but this
vocabulary is above pre-intermediate level and would not be very useful for the student
generally (he is not likely to want to say it again.)  It could be ignored.

A good idea is to choose one of the following approaches for each writing task you have
students do:

1. Highlight inaccurate language use that is persistent with that student in general.
2. Highlight inaccurate language use that is persistent in that particular piece of writing.
3. Before starting the correction, choose 2 or 3 correction code ‘symbols’ and only
highlight errors directly related to the chosen symbols (e.g. only highlight  preposition
(Prep) and spelling (Sp) mistakes).
4. Highlight inaccurate language related to language that has been introduced and
practised in the 4 most recent language lessons.

Of course you might also like to combine two or three of these methods.  For example, a
combination of 1 and 3 can be quite useful, and would involve correcting only 2 or 3 types of
mistake in general, but allowing yourself to highlight persistent errors for some students if
you think it will be particularly helpful for them.

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms: 

error       slip      accuracy       appropriacy      a correction code     

punctuation     agreement      to categorise    Reflection

1) If you already use a correction code for writing with your students, what symbols do you
use?

2) If you do not use a correction code, try one. Be sure students understand what each symbol
means, perhaps by putting a poster on the wall with the symbols and an explanation of each.
You also need to give students time to correct their errors and then check with you again.
Sometimes they are not able to correct themselves.

3) Whether you use a correction code or not, try to photocopy one or two pieces of marked
students’ work from one of your classes and the same from another teacher’s class.  What
differences are there in your approaches to correction? 

4)  Do your students systematically file their written work to see if the same errors keep
occurring? This is a particularly good idea with examination classes.
Section 3 : Classroom Management - Teacher Roles

Section 3:  Classroom Management - Teacher Roles

1. What is meant by a “role”?

2. Possible teacher roles in the modern ELT classroom
3. The role of the teacher at different stages of the lesson

TKT Examination practice task: Teacher roles

Section 3:  Classroom Management - Teacher Roles

1. What is meant by a “role”?

This is Bill. He works as a mechanic. When he is at work he is a colleague and an employee.

When he is with his family he is also a brother, a   husband, a father and a grandfather. At
home he is a neighbour too. All these are Bill’s roles in life and he behaves differently in all
of them. How many roles do you play in your life?

What about the roles a teacher can play? A teacher needs to manage the class and behave
differently at different stages of the lesson. The teacher will also have a role before and after
the lesson. How do you see your role?

Which of these statements about teacher roles do you agree with?

 The teacher holds the power in the class

 The teacher is the most important person in the class
 The teacher needs to maintain control over the class
 The teacher and the student are partners in the task to help students learn
 The teacher acts as the guide to the students
 The students should speak more than the teacher
 The teacher should relate to the class as individuals and as people
 The students hold significant power in the class

These statements move from the traditional view of the teacher’s role to a more modern one
in ELT. However, the role of the teacher may vary with the age of the students. Teachers may
feel they should behave differently with a small class of paying adult customers than with a
large class of teenagers in school or with a class of young children.

By now you should have a clear idea of the meaning of the terms for the teacher roles. To
consolidate this, answer these questions yourself, then check the answers below.
1. Which roles would the teacher play before the lesson?
2. After the lesson?
3. Which roles would be most important when teaching young learners?
3. The role of the teacher at different stages of the lesson

We have looked at the role of the teacher in general terms but the teacher’s role can change a
great deal even within one lesson.

What are the teacher’s roles in the following activities?   Perhaps do this one with a
colleague if you can as more than one answer is possible.

Reveal Answers (Click or Mouse Over)

1. A presentation via pictures at the board
2. Choral drilling
3. A mingling activity
4. A debate
5. Chatting to a learner in the break

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:

planner   diagnostician     informer    monitor     

involver     manager    resource

Reflection

1) Make three lists: Which roles do you think your students expect you to play? Which
teacher roles would you like to play? Which roles do you actually play in your lessons? You
may find you list roles other than those in this section.

2) Do you think you take the role more of a teacher who keeps control of the class or of a
teacher who gives the lesson to the students? There is no one ‘best’ answer to this but do think
about the justification for each approach.

Section 4: Classroom Management - Organising Groups and Interactions

Section 4:  Classroom Management - Organising Groups and Interactions

A)  Approaches to pair and group work

      Task: Approaches to pair and group work

B)  Using pair and group work in the classroom 

 1. Planning pair and group work

      Task: Planning interaction patterns

      Grouping students

             a)   Who works with whom?

             b)   Practical considerations with pair and group work

TKT Examination practice task: Pair and group work

Section 4:  Classroom Management - Organising Groups and Interactions

 A) Approaches to pair and group work 

Here are 5 general approaches to pair and group work that teachers have taken over the last
100 years.  Which one is closest to your own approach?
There is no pair work. Students work individually on language tasks or reading, or the teacher
addresses the class as a whole.

a)    Students do work in pairs to practise dialogues but do not exchange information or
express opinions.

b)    After the teacher has presented language by giving students commands to follow (e.g.
Give me a blue book), the students practise by giving each other commands in pairs.

c)    The students work as a group to learn language from the outset, sitting round a tape
recorder.

d)    Pair and group work is an essential and constant feature of the lessons because this
makes students communicate with each other, and it is by communicating that they learn to
speak.

With the rise of English as an international language, most students nowadays want to speak
English, as opposed to doing it as an academic study, and so many teaching methods are
broadly communicative. Learners need someone to communicate with so they communicate
with each other, either in pairs or groups.  Pairs can be either closed or open. What do you
think the difference is?

If learners work together in pairs but no-one else is listening to them it is called closed pairs.
If two students work as a pair but the rest of the class listen, it is called open pairs.

However, pair work is still not a regular feature of some traditional classrooms. Reflect on
these comments about pair work from teachers.  What would you do in their situation?

1. When I do pair work or group work with my students they mostly speak L1 so there is
little point doing pair work.
2. The desks in my classroom are fixed to the floor so it is impossible for me to do group
work.

3. My students are accustomed to sitting quietly and listening to the teacher. They are not
used to doing pair work.

4. My students think I am not doing my job properly if I do not “teach” them all the time.

5. My class is very large. It is too noisy to have so many students speaking at the same time.

6. Many of my students feel that other students have poor pronunciation so they cannot learn
from other students in pair work.

7. My students are young learners and their parents want them to have what they consider to
be traditional teaching. 

B) Using pair and group work in the classroom

Overall students working together is a good idea and can generally be arranged in most
classrooms.  So how do we do it?

1. Planning pair and group work

In a good lesson plan there is usually a column where the teacher notes whether the students
are working together as a class (open class), in pairs, in groups or individually. This gives
the teacher an easy way to see how much of the lesson is focused on the teacher and how
much time the students spend speaking.  These different kinds of groupings are called
interaction patterns.

Interaction patterns are usually shown on the plan using symbols to save time and space. In
the following table:  T = teacher, S = student, SS = the whole class.

  Kind of activity Interaction pattern

 1 Teacher talking to the whole class T → SS

 2 Teacher talking to the whole class and
also students responding (also
T ↔ SS
called ‘open class’)
 3 A student talking to the whole class
S → SS
(also called ‘open class’)
 4     Students working in pairs S↔S
 5 Students working in groups S↔S

↕  ↕
 S ↔ S  
 6 Students working individually S
2. Grouping students

a) Who works with whom?

Once the teacher has decided that the students are going to work in pairs, does it matter who
should work with whom? Who decides? Sometimes the students may choose their own
partners but generally the teacher should decide. Why? See if you can think of some reasons
of your own first.

Now decide whether the following statements are true or false. Slide mouse over text to
reveal answer

The teacher should decide because

Some students always sit next to the same students and need to be split up so they
1.
concentrate and also hear a different voice.
Students have different personalities and not all students work well together. Sometimes
2.
tactful grouping is needed.
Some students are dominant (always talking, and stopping others from taking part, often
3.
because they are over-enthusiastic) and others are shy.
For some activities it is better to have all the shy students together and all the dominant
4.
students together, while at other times it is better to mix them up.
Most classes are mixed ability. Sometimes stronger ones can help weaker ones but at other
5.
times the stronger ones are better together going at their own pace.

b)  Practical considerations with pair and group work

What are your answers to these questions? Sometimes more than one answer may be possible.
Sometimes it may be that there is a “best” answer or the answer may be “It depends”.

1. What should the teacher do if she wants to do pair work but there are an odd  

    number of students?

    a)    Work with one student herself

    b)     Make one student work individually

    c)     Have one group of three

2. How should the teacher get the students’ attention again at the end of a pair or          

    group activity which was quite noisy?

    a)    Raise her voice

    b)    Indicate to the students nearest her that she wants them to be quiet and let the quietness
spread

    c)    Make a noise, such as clapping or gently knocking on the board

    d)    Bring in something to make a noise, such as a tambourine, a triangle or some maracas.

3. What should the teacher do while students are working in pairs or groups?

    a)    Have a rest

    b)    Prepare the next bit of the lesson

    c)    Join in with a pair/group who seem to be having trouble

    d)    Monitor carefully but only help where absolutely necessary

4. In a multi-lingual class, is it best to

   a)    Mix all the nationalities

   b)    Mix the nationalities but have those from the same region (e.g. Europe) together

   c)    Have students from the same language group together

Answer

1. It is best to have one group of three. If the teacher works in a pair she cannot effectively
monitor and listen to all the students, and a student left to work alone may feel left out.
(Note: if there is often an odd number, alternate who works in a group of three).

2. All of these ways of stopping pairs or groups can work well. Younger students often like
the idea of something that makes a noise (e.g. a tambourine).

3. The teacher should monitor to check how they are doing but only interrupt if
communication actually breaks down and students cannot continue with the task, so the best
answer is d).  However, at the start of the task, once students are settled, the teacher may well
want to check the materials (e.g. the tape recorder) and the plan for the next part of the lesson
which will follow this activity. 

4. This is an “It depends” answer. In multi-lingual classes it is generally better for students
from different language groups to work together because then they have a genuine need to
communicate in English (answer a). However, occasionally it is nice for students with the
same language to work together, for example to discuss how an item of English would
translate into their language or to do a piece of writing on a festival in their country or give
advice about the best regions to visit in their country (answer c).

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:

interaction pattern     pair work  group work    individual work    

mixed ability            a dominant student     to monitor          

open class         open pairs     closed pairs

 Reflection

1. Think now about the very last lesson you taught. What were the interaction patterns in it?

  Was there a good variety?

 For what percentage of the lesson did you speak? For what percentage of the lesson
did the students speak?
 How many times did each student say the Target Language? (If there was any). Were
you satisfied with this?

Note the same things for future lessons and see if you can improve the amount of student
talking time.

2. Think about the students you have. Are there any particularly dominant ones? Any
particularly shy ones?

 What do you do about them?

 What do you do to restrain dominant ones and involve shy ones?
 Do you plan in advance who will work together?

3. Do you have problems with your students trying to speak L1 during pair or group work?
What do you do about it? Try some new techniques and see if they work. 

Section 5:  Classroom Management - Error Correction

A)   Correcting errors in class 

1. Introduction
2. When should we correct students?
3. Options for correcting in class.
4. Techniques to get students to correct themselves.

B)   Making use of students’ errors in class 

TKT Examination practice task: Dealing with errors in class

Section 5:  Classroom Management - Error Correction

Introduction

Look back at the section on the role of error in  Unit 3 Section 3.

Here are some questions about students’ errors for you to think about. Try to answer them
now.

   1. What kind of errors can students make?

   2.  Which kinds of errors are specific to speaking? And to writing?

   3. Should teachers correct every error they hear/see?

   4. How can we decide which errors to correct?

   5. What techniques do you know for correcting spoken errors?

   6. What is the best way to correct written errors?

   7. Can we make use of students’ errors to promote learning in class?

Suggested answers to all these questions will be given in the following sections.

A)   Correcting errors in class

1. Introduction

Do your students make errors when they speak in class? They probably do! What do you do
about it?  Do you correct every error you notice?

Possible answers:

     a)     I correct every single error

     b)     I correct errors connected to the language we are working on at the time but I do not
correct the student if the error is above his level or if we are working on fluency.

     c)      I never correct any errors.

If you answered a) you may be in danger of demotivating your students and inhibiting their
fluency. If you answered b) you are probably following standard, modern teaching practice on
error correction. If you answered c), it is very unusual! Are your students happy with this?

2. When should we correct students?

With speaking, when students are doing controlled speaking practice and the emphasis is on
accuracy, they need correction as this is their opportunity to get the language right early on.
However, when they are doing fluency work, that is practising expressing themselves at
length, say in a discussion, correcting them would interrupt the flow and is probably better left
till the end of the activity.

3. Options for correcting in class

Let us assume that a student makes the following error in class and the teacher notices it: -

                                  If I am a millionaire, I buy a Ferrari.

What should the teacher do? What are the options?

1) Ignore it.  When is it best to do nothing?

 i) If it is above the student’s level correction is unlikely to help. A pre-intermediate student,
for example, probably has not learned this language (second conditional) yet.

ii) When the student is very shy. If he hardly ever says anything, it might be better to
encourage him by not correcting the error.  

iii) When the students are engaged in social conversation (e.g. during a warm up, or during
the break). It would not be appropriate to correct them in this situation, whether they are
talking to each other or talking to the teacher

2)  Make a note for future work. When is it best to delay the correction until later in the
lesson, or another day?

i) When the focus of the lesson is on fluency not accuracy. The students are practising
expressing themselves without hesitation and to correct them would interrupt the flow. The
students still need some feedback on their speaking to help them improve, and also to know
that the teacher has been listening carefully, so they need some feedback but not straight
away. At the end of the activity the teacher could write the errors on the board for the students
to self-correct.

ii) Where a teacher has some control over lesson content, she may decide that the class needs
a full lesson on a point that comes up.  Rather than doing a brief correction, she can prepare
proper materials and practice tasks and focus in it in another lesson.

3)   Reformulation.  When is it best for the teacher to repeat the sentence correctly?

Apparently, this is how parents “correct” their children’s speech without actually drawing
attention to the error.  For example, the teacher could reply Oh, if you were a millionaire,
you’d buy a Ferrari, would you? This approach is useful when the focus of the lesson is on
information rather than language, for example during feedback from a warmer or when
checking answers after a reading or listening.

4)  Decide to do something about the error. When is it best to ensure the error is
corrected?
If students are doing controlled practice of language this is their opportunity to get it right
and errors should be corrected at this stage. The emphasis in controlled practice is on
accuracy.

 The benefits of self-correction

At the controlled practice stage, the student should know the language but may need to be
reminded of it as it is not yet well established. It is therefore a good idea to get the student to
correct himself as in that way, he will be less likely to make the same error in the future. The
student will have thought about the error and been involved in the correction. (In other words,
the language gets processed).

4. Techniques to get students to correct themselves

         The first thing to do is to convey to the student that an error has been made. Of course,
this could be done by saying   “No!    That’s wrong!” but that would be rude. It would be
upsetting for the student and is unnecessary.   More tactful and supportive ways are available.
Each teacher will have to find which ways are more comfortable for them, but they include: 

1.  A facial expression showing doubt (e.g. a frown) or a hand gesture

2.  Asking the student to try again or asking Are you sure?

3.  Saying the kind of error e.g. Tense? or Word order ? (often combined with a frown). This
draws the student’s attention to where the error is, and stops the student changing something
which is right. 

4.  Asking a question to focus the student on the meaning e.g. Do you think you really will be
a millionaire? (No) So which tense do we use?

5.  Drawing a quick time line can be enough to remind the student of a tense.

6.  For an error of pronunciation, pointing to the symbol on the phonemic chart or showing
the position of the mouth. For Example, if the student says bath as /bas/, you can point to /q/
to get them to say /baq/.

7.  Also for pronunciation errors, showing the shape of the mouth can elicit a correction to a
sound (e.g. showing rounded lips if the student cannot pronounce /əu/).

8. Using finger highlighting (indicating one word per finger) and stopping at the one where
the error was made.

9. Some teachers repeat the error with rising, questioning intonation. This is called echo
correction. It is perhaps not the best way to deal with the error as the student often thinks the
teacher has not heard and says the sentence again, thus repeating and reinforcing the error.

10. Some teachers are able to indicate an error by making the kind of noise made on television
game shows when a wrong answer is given, but not all teachers feel able or confident enough
to do this! 
As we have said, the purpose of all this is to allow the student the opportunity to correct
himself if possible.

 If the student cannot correct himself, what should the teacher do? One option is to ask the
other students if they know. Peer correction is very powerful but students are not always
very tactful! The teacher will have to use judgement as to whether peer correction will work
well with each particular class.

Of course, if all else fails, the teacher can correct the student himself. This might well be
quicker but is not as effective.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of self correction, peer correction
and teacher correction? Try to discuss with a colleague.

Making use of student’s errors in class

Do you do any activities in class which use students’ errors to help them eliminate them?

Here are some ideas.

Error race

The teachers writes errors from a speaking activity in the previous lesson on a sheet or
overhead transparency and students work in pairs to see who can correct them fastest.

An error dictation

The teacher takes a selection of errors from homework and corrects some of them. She
dictates each sentence and the students write. If the sentence is correct they write the correct
sentence. If the sentence contains an error, they correct the error. This is followed by
feedback.

A grammar auction

Students work in pairs or groups and are given a sheet with sentences, some of which are
correct and some of which contain errors. Students are also “given” some “money” to play
with. Together they decide which sentences are correct and how much money they want to
spend to buy them. The teacher then conducts an auction for each sentence in turn and the
students decide whether they want to bid for them or not. Each sentence goes to the highest
bidder. The winners are the ones with the most correct sentences. (This is more fun if students
are “given” a fairly large amount of money e.g. $10,000.)

Grammar bets

This is a variation on a grammar auction but the teacher does not need to be an auctioneer.
Students are again “given” “money” to play with (say, $50) and sentences, some of which are
wrong and some of which are right. Pairs decide which are the correct sentences. The teacher
then takes bets (say, a maximum of $5) on each sentence and notes the bets on the board. If
the students are right, they double their money; if they are wrong, they lose it. The winners
are then the ones with the most money.
Shout when you hear an error

The teacher creates a text containing typical student errors. He reads it aloud and students
either shout or hit their “buzzers” on their desks when they hear an error (e.g. a wrong tense
or an article omitted). This can also be a competitive activity.

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:

self correction          peer correction  reformulation      a time line          

echo correcting        to ignore an error      finger highlighting/correction

Reflection

1. Which do you use most in class teacher correction, peer correction or self-correction?
What approximate percentage of each do you use? Why? What percentage of errors do you
think you choose to ignore? 

2. In what ways do you correct your students’ spoken errors in class? Try out some new
techniques (e.g. finger correction, if it is new to you) if possible. Note which are most
successful.  

3. If you think it is suitable for your students, ask them how and how often they would like to
be corrected. Another idea is to give students a red card and a green card. They put the green
card on the desk if they want to be corrected and the red card if they are having a bad day and
would like to left in peace. 

4. Try establishing a system for dealing with students’ habitual errors. For example, if
students habitually omit “s” in the third person present simple (e.g. She like instead of She
likes), put a picture of a snake on the wall and silently point to it to elicit a correction.

5. Do you do any of the activities suggested which use students’ errors?  If so, which ones and
how successful do they seem to be? If not, try some and see if they are effective. Do you
know any other activities for making use of students’ errors? 

Section 6 : Classroom Management - Giving Feedback

    A)   Teachers giving feedback 

1. What do teachers give feedback about?

2. How should teachers give feedback?
3. Cultural considerations

    B)   Teachers giving positive feedback 

1. Written work
2. Spoken language
   C)   Some other thoughts about feedback 

1. Historical and modern approaches to feedback

2. What are your attitudes to feedback?
3. Students giving feedback to students
4. Students giving feedback to the teacher

    TKT  Examination practice task: Feedback

A) Teachers giving feedback to students

1. What do teachers give feedback about?

As they study, learners need to know whether the work they produce is right or not and
whether they are making satisfactory progress. The information that teachers give to students
is called feedback.

What may teachers need to give feedback on, more precisely? Which of these should the
teacher give feedback on:

 the learner’s accuracy in using language

 the learner’s fluency in using language

 the learner’s competence in skills work

 ideas expressed by the learner

 the learner’s behaviour in the classroom

 the learner’s attitude to learning

 the learner’s general progress

The teacher will probably have to give feedback on all of these at some point.

Sometimes the teacher will have to give feedback to the whole class, to pairs or groups or to
individuals.

There is also the possibility that students could give feedback to other students and even that
students could give feedback to teachers. We will consider each of these in turn.

2. How should teachers give feedback?

Which of these of these adjectives do you think should apply to feedback given by
teachers to students?

 clear
helpful

critical

honest

supportive

tactful

direct

accurate

friendly

encouraging

personal

constructive

Most teachers would probably agree that feedback should be clear, helpful, accurate,
encouraging, supportive and constructive (that is, the student can learn something positive
from it).

By and large it should also be honest, though a teacher may want to give a weak student a
little more praise than is really deserved in order to encourage them.

The other adjectives may depend on the age of the learners. Teenage learners in school may
be accustomed to direct and critical feedback, particularly on behaviour, from their teachers
in other subjects and may perceive their English teacher’s tact as weakness.

However, being personal, in the sense of criticising the person rather than the error, is
probably never a good idea. Saying “You are very bad at grammar,” criticises the person,
whereas “There are seven errors of tenses,” is a statement of fact and is not personal. If it is
essential to give negative feedback (that is, tell someone something is wrong), it is also much
better to tell the learner what precisely they should do to improve. In the previous example on
tenses the teacher could add “Look at the back of your course book for the grammar section
on past perfect and past simple.” This would be supportive and helpful.

3. Cultural considerations

Directness of speech is also a cultural issue. Many British people perceive foreign visitors as
rude simply because they say directly what they mean.

British culture has a long tradition of being polite by “softening” language, so that instead of
saying “That’s wrong” it is far better to say “ That’s not quite right”.
There is a nice task to teach students this in the course book New Headway Intermediate
(Soars and Soars, O.U.P. 2000) in which students read a passage entitled ‘My Aunt Emily’.
The writer describes her aunt as ‘not very tolerant’, which is a nicer way of saying her aunt is
‘intolerant’, which is negative. Students then go on to find a tactful way to describe someone
who is:

a  rude  (=not very polite)                 c  mean  (=not very generous)                 

b  boring (= not very interesting)      d   ugly (=not very good-looking)                   

Of course, we cannot say ‘not very right’ as ‘right’ is an absolute adjective, so we have to say
‘not quite right’ to convey the same idea.

 Students are also taught about this polite “softening” in functional language when they learn
that ‘Give me some paper’ is too direct and they need to say ‘Could you give me some paper
please?’ and ‘Could you tell me where the post office is?’ is more polite because it is less
direct than ‘Where is the post office?’ Students can learn this way to be polite and courteous
in class if their teacher uses this kind of “softened” language.

B)  Teachers giving positive feedback

In the section above we considered giving negative feedback, that is, telling students that
something is not right or not good (note the choice of words!)

However, giving feedback also includes giving positive feedback, that is telling students that
they are doing well. In what ways do you give positive feedback?

We will now look at some possibilities.

1.  Written work

In the section on categorising errors (TKT Unit 5 Section 5 ) we saw how a correction code
can tactfully draw attention to students’ errors. We also saw that it is better not to correct all
errors so as not to demoralise students.

However, we did not mention what to do about good use of language or good content.

It is a good idea to also give praise in the form of ticks ( P ) or other symbols the teacher
chooses, for well controlled language or wide vocabulary. A summarising comment which
contains something positive will also be more motivating for the student (even if it is followed
by ‘but’).

 2.  Spoken language

What is your policy on praising students’ spoken English? We saw in the Audio-Lingual
approach that praise was very important to reinforce good language habits.

Do you agree with this? Even if you do not agree with Audio-Lingual theories, perhaps we
could agree that the classroom is a happier place if students receive some appropriate praise.
C) Some other thoughts about feedback 

1. Historical and modern approaches to feedback

We saw in previously that different teaching approaches and methods had different attitudes
to error correction and giving feedback generally. From this and the above language tasks it
can be seen that feedback has moved from being a criticism of the learner, as many older
people may remember it from school, to being a way of giving information but in a
motivating way with the idea of helping the learner to improve. Feedback should be clear, yet
tactful and sensitive.

As Penny Ur puts it in A Course In Language Teaching (CUP) 2003:

 “….that mistakes are a natural and useful part of language learning; that when the teacher
gives feedback on them, the purpose is to help and promote learning; and that ‘getting it
wrong’ is not ‘bad’, but rather a way into ‘getting it right’.”

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TKT Unit 5
Section 6 : Classroom Management - Giving Feedback
2. What are your attitudes to feedback?

In the same book, Penny Ur gives a task to stimulate thought about feedback which is given
below. If possible print this out so that you can mark your opinion with a cross and show
another teacher. If this is not possible or you do not have a colleague to compare with, just
think about it yourself.
 STATEMENTS ABOUT FEEDBACK

1. The fact that the teacher gives feedback on student performance implies a power hierarchy:
the teacher above the student below.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

2. Assessment is potentially humiliating to the assessed person.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

3. Teachers should give their students only positive feedback in order to encourage, raise
confidence and promote feelings of success; negative feedback demoralises.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

4. Giving plenty of praise and encouragement is important for the fostering of good teacher-
student relationships.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

5. Very frequent approval and praise lose their encouraging effect; and lack of praise may
then be interpreted as negative feedback.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

6. Teachers should not let students correct each other’s work, as this is harmful to their
relationships.

Very much______________________________________________________ totally

agree                                                                                              disagree

From: A Course In Language Teaching by Penny Ur  C.U.P. 1996

3. Students giving feedback to students

This is certainly a possibility but, as we saw in the section on error correction, students are not
always tactful towards each other! Learners may need training in giving feedback to each
other, just as teachers need training in giving feedback to students.

 4. Students giving feedback to teachers

If students are adult paying customers, then perhaps they have a right to give feedback on the
tuition they receive and many schools do ask students to fill in feedback forms. However, the
teacher could also ask the class what activities they enjoy, what kind of material they would
like to use and what language areas they would like to cover. There is bound to be some
difference of opinion, but often some kind of agreement can be negotiated

Review and Reflection - Classroom Language

For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:

positive feedback     negative feedback   peer feedback     

constructive feedback        tact       tactful

 Reflection

1. Think about the last pieces of student writing that you marked.

i)             Did you mark it in red or another colour? Does red have any particular
significance in your culture? Does marking look more tactful in another colour? (e.g.
blue if students write in black and black if students write in blue?)

ii)            Did you give praise and indicate good use of language as well as indicate
errors?

iii)           Did you mark all the errors?

iv)           Did you comment on the ideas expressed or only on the language?

2. Make notes on how you gave negative feedback in your last lesson. Was it supportive,
tactful and constructive? Or was it direct? What do your students expect? Note
examples of any particular language you used.
3. Note also how much praise you give and when (and in what language!)
4. Do you ever ask your students for feedback on a) the content of your lessons?   

          b) the kind of activities you do? If so, how often and what do you do with the
feedback you receive?  If not, why not?