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62ERROR CORRECTION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES TEACHING PROCESS Galiakberova A.R.
Galiakberova Albina Rinatovna - Senior Teacher of English, DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING LANGUAGES, MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTION FACULTY, FERGANA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, FERGANA, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: the article under discussion depicts error correction in foreign languages teaching process, specifically in writing. The author of the article explains different ways to improve writing skills via peer editing which helps learners to clarify their lacks in particular sides of knowledge.
Keywords: proficiency, mistakes, peer editing, structured, ability, language acquisition, communicate, grammar, spelling, accuracy, clarify.
At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that is not exactly the language used by native speakers. Some of the differences are grammatical, while others involve vocabulary selection and mistakes in the selection of language appropriate for different contexts. In responding to student communication, teachers need to be careful not to focus on error correction to the detriment of communication and confidence building. Teachers need to let students know when they are making errors so that they can work on improving. Teachers also need to build students' confidence in their ability to use the language by focusing on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical form. Teachers can use error correction to support language acquisition, and avoid using it in ways that undermine students' desire to communicate in the language, by taking cues from context [1, p.p. 4-12].
When students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of new language skills, use error correction to guide them.
Example:
Student (in class): I buy a new car yesterday.
Teacher: You bought a new car yesterday. Remember, the past tense of buy is bought.
When students are engaged in communicative activities, correct errors only if they interfere with comprehensibility. Respond using correct forms, but without stressing them.
Example:
Student (greeting teacher): I buy a new car yesterday!
Teacher: You bought a new car? That's exciting! What kind?
In writing error correction is done in a different way. One of the effective ways to correct mistakes is peer editing. It is considered to be as one of modern activities, it is a mutual review of written works between learners. It is important to notice that this activity includes not only checking the grammar, but accuracy, spelling and other skills as well.
Peer editing as an activity improves several elements in studying process:
1. It creates cooperative and interactive atmosphere between students
2. It creates convenient conditions of knowledge acquisition during the lesson which helps students to learn quickly and effectively
3. It develops students' educational and personal skills including critical approach, objectiveness, cooperation and mutual respect.
Peer editing puts a learner in a new role that includes different requirements from him. By editing partner's work, student takes some of teacher's responsibilities including reviewing grammar, lexis, accuracy and other skills. Psychologically, peer editing helps learners to realize what teachers' work is like. It can help to avoid misunderstanding and problems in "student-teacher" communication.
Checking somebody's work helps learners to clarify their lacks in particular sides of knowledge, since editing requires pure confidence in their own skills. Teachers can easily reveal student's knowledge by checking a piece of work that has been
edited by a student. Peer editing helps learners not only to develop basic skills of a teacher, but also clarifies their self-evaluation of knowledge.
Another side of peer editing effectiveness is that it helps to prepare the final variant of work. For instance, a piece of writing edited by the learners' partner is reviewed once again, some corrections and improvements can be made and then, the final work is given to the teacher. This two-stage process reduces an amount of mistakes in the work and therefore, encourages students to work more.
Peer editing is not just review of writing, it's also giving critical opinion, advice and useful instructions by a groupmate. Most of the time peer editing is highly anticipated by English learners and it is often exploited in the classroom during writing activities [2, p.p. 209-220]. However, there are some students who are still resistant to peer editing, thinking that only the teacher can make notes and comments on their writing. The reason for such kind of attitude is probably because of their misunderstanding of the nature of peer editing. Its aim is not to separate students of higher and lower level and not to indicate someone whose skills are not developed as good as of some other groupmates, but vice versa - peer editing involves different level students into effective cooperation. To achieve this goal, peer editing should be organized and conducted in a correct way.
• Before any activity, friendly and interactive atmosphere should be established in the classroom. It refers to any learning process. Without such atmosphere, teaching and learning process will fail in every beginning.
• A teacher may explain the aim of peer editing for students and give them correct instructions how to review works.
• Students need to know how feedbacks and comments, no matter if they are written or made orally, should look like.
• Students should follow stylistic rules, etiquette and simply be polite while making any feedbacks or pieces of advice to their groupmates [3, p.p. 6-15].
Of course we should keep in mind that peer editing should be anyway supervised by the teacher. The teacher is the major guide
during any activity. That is why, effectiveness and correct conduction of peer editing activity is teacher's responsibility. No matter how independently the process of editing goes, teachers should be observers, making their final feedback at the end. The last word of work's evaluation is left to the teacher. The aim of peer editing is not simplifying teacher's work, but development of learners' skills.
References
1. Beachy C.J. Enhancing Writing through cooperative peer editing. Cambridge, 1992. P.p. 4-12.
2. Davidson N., Worsham T. Enhancing thinking through cooperative learning. NY: Teachers College Press. 2005. P.p. 209-220.
3. Kagan S. Cooperative learning, San Juan Capistrano. California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 1998. P.p. 6-15.
