How do you fight fossilized errors?

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ESL forum > Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > How do you fight fossilized errors?

How do you fight fossilized errors?

Lana.

How do you fight fossilized errors?

Fellow-Teachers,

this is one of the questions that interest me the most in my professional time: how to help students with deeply fossilised errors?

Often they come having obtained intermediate level making beginner mistakes.

There are some mistakes that students remember to get right, but there are some very stubborn ones which are forgotten in 5 minutes.

The 3rd person singular is everyone �s favourite, I �m sure, as well as present tense instead of the past tense.

What do you do with that? Do you devote time and attention to it, or just don �t bother?

One of my favourite and most effective means is to get them to translate their own mistake and then they see how it sounds and looks in the native language and it helps some of them. (Always goes with laughs).

Something like this: we work - he works (he work)

nous travaillons - il travaille (il travaillons)

And what do you do? I �d really appreciate some good advice or links,

thanks in advance!

20 Apr 2009

Zora

Ohh... I know exactly what you are talking about!! And I do the same thing, especially when they insist on using determiners or articles where there are none! i.e. "The girl has a blonde hair.."

And if they are made to translate the sentences, they soon see that even in their own language they don �t say things that way! (Although, some still revert back from time to time! Confused

Confused

It �s an ongoing thing at times...)

Although, I also think it �s that they get in the habit of saying things that way and later on it�s hard to break, or they are just too lazy, to try to break it... I do often scare them by saying that in "official" exams, those are the kind of things that they take A LOT OF points off for.. (dunno if it �s true or not... LOL

LOL

) BUT it works for a little while...

20 Apr 2009

eng789

The quickest cure is - I will take off 5% for every time you make that mistake because it is unacceptable. I threatened when they wrote - i - instead of -I - or their names without capital letters - believe me it works.

20 Apr 2009

...I underline the errors for them to corect them. They will have to notice the mistake by themselves first, the asking others,and finally I help them. Good luck.

20 Apr 2009

temainzer

regarding the 3rd singular in oral production, a good idea is to use visual aids such as a snake or a can of soda (both of them makes the sound ssssssssssss). Every time the student forgets to say the s, you show the snake (or the can) and the imediatly they correct themselves. It has worked out with me.

20 Apr 2009

Lana.

Thanks you guys, I forgot to say my students are adults in their twenties-thirties.

20 Apr 2009

liverpuliana

It depends on what I am focusing that day. If it �s grammar I also take points off them or give them a bad mark, but I don �t do this if it �s an oral exercise as I want to make them talk, even if they make mistakes. In this case, the most important thing for me is that they communicate what they want to communicate just in English, I mean without using any Spanish (in the case of my students). Grammar is important but there are other things too, don �t you think?

20 Apr 2009

First, I �d like to say that fossilization is a normal and natural stage for learners of any language and for this reason I don�t like to use any techniques which involve punishment.

You asked for a link?

Below is an interesting thread discussing fossilization:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=147

There are lots of interesting points-of-view!

---Brooke

20 Apr 2009

zailda

Brazilian students have a problem in common, they don �t use there is or there are, they use "have". It �s curious because it is a mistake people make even in Portuguese, and if you make a mistake in your first language it �s very difficult to correct it in a second one.

I promote discussions & conversation classes, board games and games, and I always include the verb, because I think only with lots of practicing they will correct themselves.

20 Apr 2009

I love that term - I have never heard someone use this term in this manner..

Fossilized errors == I will remember that one as it is so apt!

Would my pet hate be a fossilized error?

"I have a doubt"

20 Apr 2009

Lana.

Thank you all so much, I hope to receive more great answers in this topic, brookee - great link, thanks a million! I think more drilling, exploring, exercises and applying in practise should help.

Zailda, I have 6 Brazilian students in my group, it is as you said: "In Brzail have a lot of beaches..."

21 Apr 2009

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