4. Correction codes
It has been shown that Second Language Acquisition (SLA,) takes time and occurs in stages (Ferris, 1995). In addition, second language (L2) learners go through various stages of acquisition of different elements of the second language and they may make errors. These errors may be caused by inappropriate transference of first language patterns or by incomplete knowledge of the L2 (Ferris, 1995).
Thus, correction symbols, as many teachers see it, seem to be a useful strategy for second language learners. Riddell (2001) states that teachers can use correction symbols (correction codes) to feedback to students on their writing (2001, p 157). Teachers can underline the errors to signify the mistakes and write the symbols for these mistakes in the margin. Then students can correct the mistakes by themselves (p. 157). Hedge (1988) suggests that teachers can indicate “and error and identify the kind of error with a symbol, e.g. wo = wrong word order” (p.151). This means that teacher can use correction codes when feeding back on writing tasks and the students should find out the errors they made from the symbols and re-write it again with the corrected mistakes. This strategy “encourages learner independence” (Riddell, 2001, p 152), and students become more responsible for their learning. Also it seems that L2 learners can learn better from their mistakes and when they correct their work by themselves (Ferris, 1995). Furthermore, several research studies have demonstrated that errors feedback can help students to improve their accuracy in the short term (Ferris, 1995). For example, it was found that ESL student writers were able to successfully correct errors during revision after receiving teacher feedback. A numbe...
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...e the others in the class to perform better.
As Brumfit (1980) sited, there are a number of advantages in students' correcting their own work after they have undergone certain steps in doing so. Firstly, when learners doing the correction instantly after the written work, this will provide and give more meaningful learning since the points studied are still fresh in the learner's mind (Guenette, 2012). Also, when students correct their classmates written work, they practice to look for mistakes in other students' work. This step enables the learners to identify mistakes in their own work (Guenette, 2012). Furthermore, using correction codes in the classroom is a constructive way for the reason that it encourages the students to become active learners rather than writing drafts and give them to the teacher to correct the drafts for them (Burnett & Mandel, 2010).
... more likely the students will write effectively. When they feel in control of their writing they will gain confidence and be proud of their achievements (Gibbons, 2002).
However, these techniques that I fostered as a child proved lacking when I entered middle school. It turns out that in comparison to my previous writing, I was no longer writing for my own self-improvement or joy; I was now writing to please someone who was grading the work. After many dissatisfying remarks about my writing, the self-conscious feelings I had as a child crept up on me once again. I felt the need to impress and be perfect. For every paper I wrote from then on, there was that little voice in the back of my head telling me that I had to try twice as hard because English was my second language. For a very long time, I was not able to write a paper without scrutinizing it harshly. “The oppressor,” as Anne Lammot states in “Bird by Bird,” kept me from what I truly wanted to write and made me focus on the unattainable goal of being perfect. Perfection is something that “… limit[s] us…[and] keep[s] us from experiencing life” (Lammott 30). The purpose was not to write for me, but for others, and that was my flaw; I was just writing to please. Technicality was my only worry and I did not worry if what I was writing actually had
Writing correctly is something that many people find hard to do! I know this, because I use to feel the same way. I have had many English classes in my time, where teachers would sit next to me, and correct my errors sentence by sentence as I went along. All the while asking me if I understood what why what I did was wrong. I remember saying that I understood, but I really didn't. That was something that I didn't like at the time, but I am now very appreciative of the fact that someone was there. With today's kids, most teachers don't take that needed time and help them to get on track with their writing. Because of this, I find that both Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, and Williams, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace to be very helpful. After reading them, I know that they can both be used as "handy" reference tools for today's writers.
Nourozian, R., & Farahani, A. A. K. (2012). Written error feedback from perception to practice: a feedback on feedback. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3, 11-22
There are many theories on how a person acquires a language. One can see that technology has influenced the way we input information as well as how we gather data based on these Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories. For example, today’s technology has helped us study the way the human brain works, and this is what our theories of SLA are based on. So it is evident that many of the SLA theories are based on the way the human brain works and how it develops. Moving on, this case study is based on two Spanish speakers who are English Language Learners (ELL) and how they were led to determine the SLA on the subject of their speech. The two Spanish speakers that are analyzed during this investigation are Elizabeth, a five-year old girl, and
Johnson, J. S., & Newport, E. L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of instructional state on the acquisition of english as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21, 60-99.
Most students learn effectively through both positive feedback and a boost in academic confidence, or through negative feedback and the chance to fix and improve your literacy mistakes. In my experiences, I have grown into the writer I am today due to both positive and negative feedback through the education system. Positive ways have made my writing skills feel validated in their worth, as well as created a desire to continue in striving for the best. Negative ways have helped my ideas and structure grow stronger, and also encouraged me to do better. Embracing my writing while truly believing it to be superior in fourth grade and accepting my sloppy writing skills while learning how to improve my mediocre papers in
Punctuation errors in writing have hunted me ever since I can remember. They are my worst enemies when it comes to writing sentences in an essay. From my view punctuation errors are not only easy to make, but they are very hard to find in my essay’s after my sentences have been wrote. I can perform the punctuation errors and not even know I even made it. It drives me crazy, because I be having so many punctuation errors in my sentences when my English professor grades my essay’s.
In the beginning of English 101 I was what you call a novice writer a person who only wrote what they felt was required. However, certain techniques that I learned in English 101 made me realize that writing was not about filling requirements; it’s about speaking out, exploring and proving a point. “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” (Trimble, 17) In John Trimble’s quote he tries to point out that writing is something that you grow with and learn as you go along. I believe this growth was achieved with a technique that was introduced to me by my professor called repetitive revision. What I found out was that revision of your essays helps in recognizing your mistakes and enhances the flow of your essays. By providing me...
It is commonly assumed that where there are differences between L1 and L2, the learner's L1 will probably interfere with the L2 (negative language transfer), whereas, when L1 and L2 are similar, the L2 will assist the L2 learning (positive language transfer) (Ellis, 1994). Therefore, we tend to believe that most of the errors are account of negative transfer. This is partly true according to many empirical studies of errors which have showed that many errors are common to different linguistic backgrounds. The L1 is, therefore, one of various sources of errors, and there might be other reasons which should be considered (Krashen, 1988).
As a student, I feel that I have many writing weaknesses. I know that on my own, and because teachers have told me so. Some of the complications I face with writing is not using enough body paragraphs, forgetting a thesis statement, lack of word choice, punctuation errors, and etc. I am unaware at times of my mistakes, but I always try to correct them.
Nancy Sommers directs her attention to the student-teacher comparison of writing. Sommers lecture, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers” explains the different point of views students, the unskilled writers, and the professors, the well-skilled writers point of view of revision strategies. For instance, the way teachers explain revision strategies are by their form and engagement throughout their writing. On the other hand, students believed rewording was the finest way
It is important to identify a clear definition of peer correction before discussing any further issues. Peer correction, It is also called peer review, peer response, and peer evaluation (Liu and Hansen, 2002).It remains a popular source of feedback in the English second language/English foreign language (ESL/EFL) classroom. It is defined as the “activity in which students gain assessment from their classmates” (Sheen, 2006:12). Also, peer correction is defined by Bartels (2003:34) as “the process in which students learn each other’s’ papers in order to receive assessment and correction”. Hansen and Liu (2005:31) describe peer correction as the process in which students are utilized as the sources of information and interact to comment
Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W.Ritchie and T.Bhatia (eds.) Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (San Diego, CA: Academic Press), 413-68.
According to (Wisniewski, 2007), second language learning process differs from first language acquisition, with the latter taking place usually from infancy in a community using a specific language and affected mainly by neurological developments in the brain (McCain, 2000) while the former taking place usually in schools or later in life and affected by age and associated characteristics (McCain, 2000).