Making mistakes is normal. Every human being on this planet makes mistakes, and that is as natural as not making them. At AllGenius, this is our culture. We know this, collaborators and geniuses.

 

We know that nobody wants to make mistakes, and we know how frustrating it is because we do it daily. But we know how important it is to be comforted when this happens.

 

That's why here at AllGenius we don't judge.

 

Mistakes are opportunities to grow and serve as an example to other people, so we have more time to explore new things and make new mistakes.

 

Errors are an important part of any process. Care when dealing with mistakes made during the language acquisition process is essential!

 

It is necessary to point the right path in an objective, academic and thoughtful way. Time and place must be taken into consideration when correcting an error. Here we have correction techniques used at each of the different times in the class; they are written, oral, individual, group, general, simple, cultural or grammatical.

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We have several correction techniques:

 

Class correction

Class correction is used when we are talking to everybody in the classroom at the same time. Whenever we are explaining vocabulary, the main structures of a class, general concepts, or something that concerns everyone in the classroom, we use classroom correction.

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Example: A sentence is misused, or a specific mistake showed up, we stop and ask everyone to take a look at what we are correcting.

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Transcript:

-What is missing in the following sentence? Does someone know?

 

Self-correction

Self-correction is used when the student already masters a specific topic, we repeat his sentence until the moment of the mistake, so he sees where the mistake is and can think of a solution by himself. This technique shouldn't be used in conversation, but rather in moments where we are discussing grammar so that we focus on accuracy and don't interrupt natural speech.

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Example: The student mistakes the present tense of the verb "go" with its past tense, "went". So we repeat the same phrase up until the point where the mistake was made, and wait for him to realize what his mistake was.

Once again, it is fundamental that the student already knows the structure; otherwise, he wouldn't possibly be able to answer that question.

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Transcript:

-Yesterday, my father and I go to the park.

-Yesterday, my father and I...

-Went. Yesterday, me and my father went to the park.

 

Recasting

Recasting is a technique used to show the correct way to say something without interrupting a conversation. It is used when students are producing and a mistake shows up, but the conversation itself is flowing perfectly.

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Example: The student mistakes the present tense of the verb "go" with its past tense, "went". We acknowledge what was said, keep the flow of the conversation, and we repeat his sentence correcting his mistake but add some new information.

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Transcript:

-Yesterday, my father and I go to the park.

-You and your father went to the park? How nice! Which one? What did you guys do?

-Yes! We had an amazing day at Central Park. We had a picnic!

 

Note-taking + feedback

Note-taking + feedback is used when the teacher decides it's better to gather lots of examples first, take note of things that were produced, check what has to be corrected, and then give general feedback after everyone has finished producing. It is usually used in presentations, seminars or to pinpoint common mistakes.

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Example: The students make some mistakes during their presentations so, at the end of everything, the teacher talks about everything at once.

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Transcript:

-OK, based on what you produced, I'd like to make some comments.

-First, the structure used is always "Auxiliary verb + Verb -ING". Second, when using continuous forms, the auxiliary verbs changes to past tense, not the main verb.

 

Filling the blanks

Filling the blanks is used to correct written production. It is used when the student has already mastered whatever grammar topic he committed a mistake in. Remember: Students can not notice mistakes nor correct things we have not given ground for them to understand or produce, only use this if you are sure your student knows how to appropriately use said structure.

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Example: A student sends the following text in the chat:

-I had a amazing day! Me and my father went to the park and we have a picnic! I tried starfruit for the first time at my life!

The teacher would send his text back with blanks on the places where mistakes were made so that the student can identify the place and think about the mistake.

I had __ amazing day! __ and my father went to the park and we __ a picnic! I tried starfruit for the first time __ my life!

 

Group correction

Group correction is used in moments when different independent groups are producing in class, and we want to correct a mistake from a specific group without disturbing their peers.

Imagine a group of three students is producing a presentation based on a grammar topic. Groups one and two are working, while group three calls the teacher to help. The teacher approaches the group and talks to them without addressing the rest of the class, since the group's mistake has nothing to do with the rest of the students who are focused on something else.

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Example: Three different groups are in a class, and the teacher is checking overlooking them, as he approaches one of the groups, the student says:

-We were writing this down, but we're unsure if the correct past participle tense of the verb to get is got or gotten.

-Both are correct, the difference is that gotten is usually used in the US while got is considered British English.

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Circles and marks

Circles and marks are used when the teacher notices mistakes that are either known by the student or caused by lack of attention. Instead of explaining a concept then asking for the solution, the teacher circles or marks the mistakes and may or may not briefly comment on it before leaving.

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Example: While walking around the class, the teacher notices that a student wrote down "I am work in a restaurant". The teacher circles the word "work" to show the student that there is something wrong, without interrupting his thought process or current production.