The concept of giving proper feedback has always been a bit intimidating to me. When should I correct a student's mistake? How exactly do I correct it? I decided to watch this video clip in particular with hopes of having my questions answered. In the end, I think I just realized that providing good feedback is something that I will learn over time with practice and experience.
The main point that this module expressed is that teachers need to make their classroom environments safe and open where students feel comfortable to speak and make mistakes in doing so. Students need to practice speaking in order to learn a language. They cannot hold back or be afraid. We must encourage our students rather than discourage them. Through trial and error, students will eventually learn a new language. We can assist them by providing proper feedback.
Before we even make any attempts to provide feedback, we must identify an error/mistake (was it a guess, careless mistake, or an error?), diagnose it (vocabulary, pronunciation, pragmatic, etc.), and then determine whether is needs to be corrected (does it hinder understanding?). When providing feedback on oral production (during a greeting, telling or retelling of a story, debating, etc.), teachers can use on-the-spot feedback techniques which include: correction, reformulation/repetition, asking for clarification, and using gestures/silent mouthing. Sometimes recording students with a tape recorder or even video is beneficial and allows them to self-reflect and get feedback from peers and their teachers. Actually, the in ESL class I am currently observing, the teacher videotaped the students' "book talk" presentations and hey are going to do some self-evaluations. I a anxious to hear what the kids have to say.
When it comes to written production (job applications, essays, plans for the future, etc.) teachers can give good feedback through modeling, providing self-edit checklists and resources, focusing on fluency and comprehension, and allowing peers to give feedback as well. This module also provided some questions to ask oneself before giving feedback, which I found extremely helpful. For example, if I ask myself when someone makes an error, "Are many students making this same mistake?" and the answer is yes, I would then know that is should probably teach that certain point during class so that everyone can learn. If one one student is struggling, I can go to them individually and explain to them how to correct their speech, writing, etc. If I ask myself, "Is this the first time the student has spoken up during class in a long time?" after a student makes an error in class, I would know whether or not I should correct that student immediately or not and how I should go about doing so. Other questions include: "Is this error offensive or irritating?", "If this 'mistake' actually 'wrong'?", and "Does the error affect communication?".
Although this video clip did not tell me exactly how to and when to provide my future students with the perfect feedback in order to best assist them in learning English, it did give me some great tips and advice on how to better give feedback. I feel more comfortable with this concept just knowing that I am not alone in the struggle and that I will get better over time.
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