Do you want to be corrected when you are speaking a foreign language? If I ask a group of adult language learners that same question, the majority will vote yes for receiving correction. And many learners are absolutely adamant that they need and want correction. How else will they ever learn to produce error free speech, they plead. It sounds so logical, doesn't it? Make a mistake, get corrected, say everything right the next time. Step 1, step 2, step 3. Too bad learning a foreign language is not that straightforward.
Here is the argument against error correction.
When you are participating in a conversation in a foreign language, your mind is extremely busy, trying to pronounce sounds, choose words, and put phrases and sentences together. Your goal is to communicate meaning. If someone (generally with the best of intentions) corrects your language, in most cases your mind cannot process the information. Your personal grammar making machine located in your mind can't absorb the information quickly enough to make your language more correct in the future.
If you are still with me, thinking through this thorny issue, the next logical question is, "Okay, if correcting my language errors does not lead to a more accepted version, how will I ever improve my language skills?" And most people, given the choice, really do want to speak more correctly. The solution is for the learner to listen to and read enough standard language that the brain begins to compare your evolving second language with the more standard pronunciation, word choice, and phrase and sentence structure of native speakers. Complicated? Not really, Children learn their first language by this method all the time.
Now, that being said, I was reflecting recently about the role of error correction in my favorite online language learning program, Duolingo. When I make an error, Duolingo definitely brings it to my attention by a bleeping sound, an X , and the correct solution.
And I believe that I do indeed profit from the correction of my errors, because when I'm given another chance by the patient computer program, I often can produce the correct response. That realization led me to consider the difference between language learning on Duolingo and face-to-face conversations.
The first difference that comes to mind is that on Duolingo, I am not hurried. I can carefully consider my error, read other people's comments about the question, or even defend my answer by reporting a problem to Duolingo. Therefore, I can internalize the information much better than in a conversational exchange where I have to consider the presence of another person, keep the conversation going, and even possibly overcome my embarrassment at having made the error. After all, Duolingo doesn't care if I make an error; it just rewards me for getting the right answer by making a cheerful sound and moving a bar forward so that I can earn points.
My conclusion is that many kinds of language experiences are valuable for language acquisition, but the experiences call for different language learning techniques. As for me, I'll continue to remind my live conversation partners that I don't want to be corrected, just understood. But I'm looking forward to conquering some obscure grammar rules on Duolingo by taking its corrections to heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment