I have said many times that this TTC blog is mainly about switching off
our autopilots. Partially, it is about “defossilizing” our teaching, our
teaching routines and our stereotypes.
Often we keep doing some things repeatedly in the class even
though we know they are wrong.
Possibly, we have done them so many times that they just sound right
to us.
It is probable that we simply learnt these things wrong.
We tend to “make our teaching mistakes” again and again despite
correction.
We can correct what we do or do it differently when focused
or forced (e.g. by an observer).
However, it is high time we changed our teaching for ever!
The same applies to our students´ fossilized mistakes.
What do you think makes a mistake become a fossilized mistake?
What causes the process of fossilization?
What can an experienced teacher do to avoid them or to help students get
rid of them?
Look at this little poem grid and try to complete it. You can adapt it
as much as you wish. Looking forward to your ideas :)
Those ugly fossilized mistakes come to their long-lived life
due to __________,
______________ and the lack of
______________.
Those wicked fossilized mistakes reoccur in our class because our poor
students
need more ______________,
___________________ and ________________.
Those tiring fossilized mistakes! Why don´t we ______________ or
________________?
Let´s fight them from Monday to Friday to free our class :)
Well, now you know all the important things about fossilized mistakes.
Here are my important rules:
- Prevention is more
powerful than defossilization afterwards.
- Teachers
must work with fossilized mistakes in a systematic way.
- “An apple a
day keeps a doctor away,” says the proverb. Working with fossilized
mistakes once a term is not enough!
- Students
must be made aware of the mistakes and take an active part
in the fight.
What do you do when you decide to rid your student of a fossilized
mistake?
It´s Banned
You can draw a “forbidden sign” containing the expression you would like
your student not to use any more, e.g. We was. Any time they make the mistake,
point to the sign. Lower your TTT!
Nowadays, you can use a personalized word cloud to make the
correct version visible to your student. It works great with typical spelling
mistakes (e.g. accommodation) or Czenglish expressions (e.g. on the cottage,
childrens).
Harry Potter had to copy a sentence thousand times using his own blood.
Do the same with your students J Ask them to use
the key phrase or tense in personalized sentences. E.g. ask them to finish
the sentence I have never been to … in at least ten different ways. You
will see that you get a nice English poem at the end.
Fossilized Dictionary
I have realized many times that in order to
recycle vocabulary, I should make my students note down new words. I should
make my ADULT students note down new KEY words. Similarly students must become
aware of the mistake they keep making. Make them make a list of mistakes to get
rid of. Only then can they really succeed.
Snowball fight
Students write three sentences about
themselves using some mistakes from their lists CORRECTLY. Crumple up and have
a snowball fight. Pick up the snowballs. Guess who wrote it.
I Want to Make you Make it
Students look at their own lists of mistakes.
They try to make their partner make the same mistake by creating sentences
using the mistakes. Instead of the mistake, they use the word “banana”. Their
partner has to guess the word and say it correctly/avoid the mistake.
E.g. I am (banana) English.
(good at).
We (banana) in the
mountains last weekend. (were)
Many (banana) are
badly-behaved nowadays. (children)
Use new technologies to help you with the
fossilized mistakes. Launch a wallwisher/padlet wall and your students
can post sentences using the “mistakes” correctly. Or, use a fotobabble.com
to comment on your student´s writing and highlighting fossilized mistakes.
Above all, play games with mistakes.
Make the mistakes visible and the corrections
even more!
Try to use the following prompts and think of
an activity which would help you work with FOSSILIZED MISTAKES:
- Dice
- Board game
- Fly swatter
- BluTack or Post-It notes
- Kitchen timer
- Mr.Bean´s Teddy Bear
- Ball
- A sheet of paper
- Mobile phone
Here is your final task for the following two
weeks. Focus on the fossilized mistakes in your courses. Which mistakes would
you like to help your students get rid of? How? Let us know.
See you soon with the topic of creative
writing.
Katka
One month ago I attended a workshop on multiple intelligences with Herbert Puchta. Here is his tip on mistake correction! Check this link http://www.herbertpuchta.com/resources/page/4/ and look up the "Error correction in speaking" video clip. Wait for 1:50 min for the challenging part and an example of behavioural technique.
OdpovědětVymazatWell, this was not really a mistake but...I corrected it
OdpovědětVymazatJust remembered my ABSOLUTELY experience from Ringier. I teach there 5 people and I noticed that some virus spreads there the word ABSOLUTELY. And my sts use it all the time. Like, yesterday I got absolutely drunk from absolute vodka. Etc.
It seemed to be really deep under their skin. So I told one my student after correcting him a couple of times: "Hey David, one more ABSOLUTELY means one more BEER for Kamil" Plus I drew a picture of beer.(pilsen!). After a few lesson it is enough to say beer and he remembers that.
After 5 beers he started paying more attention to this.
MY TIP: try to use suitable FUNNY CREATIVE PERSONALIZED PUNISHMENTs for really deep soaked mistakes.
Here we are, Kamil. Tricks or treats, punishments or rewards, this is the spinebone of our teaching :) I believe that your list of personalized punishments does not end with beers for Kamil. I appreciate your example addresses more intelligences of the student, auditive and visual, kinesthetic and interpersonal... Personally, I tend to reward students more than punish them but it is high time I made a good business out of their fossilized mistakes :)
VymazatI have a student who has overtaken many "fossils" from German. The one I find most annoying is that she starts all her answers to my questions with the word "So". Me: How did you spent the whole two weeks of holidays? Her: So I was in the mountains. Me: I´ve heard there is no snow at all. Her: So there is some but not much. Me: What did you, then? Her: So we walked and drank wine.
OdpovědětVymazatThis is an example of a case where I think only immediate and overt correction should take place. And obviously, the easiest way was to have a sign with the word SO crossed. And I always smiled when I pointed at the sign. And despite all that, she was always a little offended and in the end she told me that she thinks this isn´t such a serious mistake and that everybody uses some fillers when they speak.
This proves how careful we have to be sometimes when it comes to correction. And guess what, in the end I decided that this "so" is inevitable and it´s part of her English, understand identity (beware, she is quite high level, B2-C1), so I gave up. if she doesn´t want to give up on it, what can I do?
Thanks for your nice example, Zuzka. I agree that immediate and overt correction is important. And we all have students who are reluctant to give up on their beloved mistakes. Sometimes recording the student helps in similar cases since it is so difficult for them to put themselves into the shoes of the listener (which is true about our personal fillers even in our mother tongue, too). Anyway, it is important not to neglect fossilized mistakes completely, it is important not to give up after Day 1 and I think if the student were to give an important presentation in English or take an active part in a job interview in English, a crossed "so" sign would flash in her head :) You did a good job!
VymazatHere is my modest attempt to finish the fossilized mistakes poem:
OdpovědětVymazatThose ugly fossilized mistakes come to their long-lived life
due to laziness, comfy seat and the lack of fight.
Those wicked fossilized mistakes reoccur in our class because our poor students
need more guidance, practice and a beer glass.
Those tiring fossilized mistakes! Why don´t we melt them or freeze their…..?
Let´s fight them from Monday to Friday to free our class :)