"Correct me if I'm wrong." Really?

Once we take the plunge into acquiring another language, what we think we want is a patient tutor who will correct everything we say wrong in the new language.  (I'm imagining a Siri-like being who will listen  ad infinitum at the push of a button!) 

Maybe it's an incorrect pronunciation we are choosing, or a wrong word form, or a non-standard grammar usage. If our patient tutor would just let us know when we make an error, we could reach our goal of becoming a fluent second language speaker.  This reasoning makes a lot of sense, right?  Do something wrong, get corrected, do it right the next time. The problem is, with language acquisition, that simplistic formula generally does not have the desired effect.  What, you say?

Let's start with children.  Most parents don't correct their child's grammar. Although they may correct information, like "We are going to Aunt Sally's house, not Grandma Sue's,"  they don't correct form.  As a matter of fact, parents think it is pretty cute when their baby makes an 'error' and says, "Two footses."

Their child is on the way to genius status.  The child has started forming a mental grammar that says in English we put an ending on a word for the concept of plural.  And the child has acquired not one ending, but two, -s and –es!  Soon the little one will start matching the correct plural sounds to words that end in different sounds (like coats and churches).  And at some point the little linguist will realize that adults don’t even use the logical rule for this plural.  Instead, adults use a similar word (feet) with a different sound in the middle, and those illogical adults don’t even attach the ending the baby has so carefully worked out in the brain.  Whew!  Do you see why parents should just let children build their own language in their own brains?  And the good news is, no normal adult that I know still says “footses.”  Children will eventually match their language to that of the surrounding environment.

But how about those of us who are no longer children?  We already speak our native language, we have world knowledge, and we are capable of thinking about language.  Does this mean that an adult second language learner should be subjected to a barrage of error corrections? Wouldn't you like to acquire a language at your own pace, formulating and testing what you think are the grammar rules of that language in your own brain?  If you make some errors along the path of learning your new language, is it the worst possible thing that could happen?  It seems that a sadder scenario would be for the adult learner to become so discouraged by trying to use the language so perfectly at the beginning of language study that the person gives up completely.

How about asking other people not to correct you when you speak your new language?  Tell them you just want to communicate with them, and that you are working out how the language works by listening to their responses.  Your conversation will be much more satisfying as true communication rather than a language lesson disguised as real language use.  Acquiring a new language, after all, should be an enjoyable experience!