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INTERLANGUAGE, FOSSILIZATION AND

ERROR CORRECTION IN THE CLASSROOM:


CAN WE FIND A WAY TO HAVE ERROR-FREE
LANGUAGE SPEAKERS?

Opening Questions

Interlanguage?
Fossilization?
Error correction?
Can we really
have error-free
learners?

What are they and


whats the
connection between
them?

Interlanguage

Larry Selinker (1969-1972)


The interim language system developed by
L2 learners on their attempt to acquire the
target language.
It means two things:
1.- The learners system at a point of the
learning
process.
2.- The range of interlocking systems that
characterizes the development of
learners over time.

Distinct from both the learners L1 and


from the TL.
Evolves over time as learners employ
various cognitive strategies to make
sense of the input and to control their
own output.

Question

Do you think learners, as they progress


in the learning process, eventually
grow out of this interlanguage?

Interlanguage

is the product of five basic


processes involved in SLL:

1.- Language Transfer.- Borrowing patterns


from the L1. Using native language words
instead of SL ones, replacing phonemes with
one from L1, etc. Example?
2.- Transfer of Training.- Errors
language learning process itself.
the textbook, teachers mistakes,
mistakes made by students, etc.
mistakes are fossilized in the IL
difficult to correct. Example?

due to the
Problems in
uncorrected
Once these
they can be

3.Overgeneralization.Extending
patterns from the target language. Adding
s to the third person singular verb form in
the present tense to all verbs, even
irregular ones.
4.- Strategies of SLL .- Language learning
strategies are attempts to develop
competence in the TL and may include
such procedures as the use of formal rules,
rote memorization, deliberate rehearsal,
contextual guessing,imitating formulaic
routines, seeking opportunities to obtain
comprehensible input .

5.- Strategies of Second Language


Communication.- Learners who try to
negotiate meaning with native speakers in
authentic communicative situations may
frequently find it difficult to keep the
communication flowing. Errors that are
potentially fossilizable can result from
these situations as learners use strategies
like approximation, circumlocution, word
coinage, translation, language switch,
mime, or else abandon their message
altogether or choose to avoid the topic.

Interlanguage

Fossilization
Stabilization
Permanent retention
It occurs if the student
is not motivated to
change.

Non-permanent
Change into
accurate L2 use

Communication Strategies
Why errors are made

What strategies do learners employ


when attempting to communicate?
Which do you remember using or do
you use as you learn a foreign
language?

Communication Strategies

Paraphrasing
- Approximation.- Using a semantic
item which the learner knows to be
incorrect, but which is close to what
she wants to say. (pot for frying pan)
- Word coinage.- Creating a new word
to communicate a desired concept.
(drogadict)
Circumlocution.Describing
something that he wishes to say
without directly saying the word.

Transfer
- Literal Translation.- Translatingword for

word from L1.


- Language Switch.- Using the native term
without bothering to translate.
- Appeal for assistance.- Asking for
correct term or structure.
- Mime.- Using non-verbal strategies to
communicate desired meaning.

Avoidance
- Topic Avoidance.- It occurs when the
learner simply avoids topics which elicit
certain words or structures that the
learner does not know.
- Message abandonment.- It occurs
when the learner begins to talk about
something but cannot continue due to
the lack of meaning structure or lexical
repertoire.

Some procedures for


correcting oral production
Questioning.- If student uses a word that teacher does
not understand, the teacher may want to ask further
questions to elicit the meaning more clearly from further
contextual support.

1.-

2.-

Repetition of answer with correction (Recast).Without making an overt correction, teacher repeats the
students response, subtly correcting the mistake. Some
will pick this up, while others may not notice.

3.-

Providing the correct answer.- The teacher should


probably use this technique for oral activities when the
time is of the essence or when several errors make an
utterance particularly incomprehensible. When doing drill
work, this type of technique is appropriate .

4.- Pinpointing.- Teacher highlights the error


without providing the correct form by repeating
the students response up to the point at which
the error is made, stressing the last word a little
with rising intonation.

5.- Providing your own answer.- The teacher


cues the student by providing her own answer to
the question, thus supplying a model.

6.- Paraphrasing.- The teacher may repeat the


students answer exactly, but substitute the
correct form or lexical item with the one used
inaccurately.

7.- Peer Correction.- Teacher can provide


students with interview questions and with cards
showing the appropriate forms of the questions
for another student in the group to use as the
activity proceeds. Students can also be
encouraged to correct one another, using an
answer key provided by the teacher.

8.- Rephrasing the question.- The teacher


rephrases the question to a fewer number of
words or a simpler format if the student fails to
understand.

9.- Explaining a key word.- Teacher may write


a difficult word on the board or act it out if it
seems to be the source of confusion or hesitation
on the part of the student.

10.- Cuing.- Instead of supplying the correct


answer, the teacher provides some options for
the incorrect or missing element, as in an oral
multiple choice.

11.- Rephrasing a question, after a formally


correct, but inappropriate response to the
original formulation.- It should be used when
the student indicates a lack of understanding of
the question but does not make a grammatical
error.

Error Correction Examples


A

S: Tomorrow I am going to downtown.


T: You are going
S: I am going downtown.

T:
S:
T:
S:

What do you do?


Uh. (hesistates)
What is your occupation?
I am a carpenter.

T: Where did you buy your coat?


S: I uh
T: Buy, bought, have bought.
S: I bought it at JC Penny.

D T: Do you play baseball?


S: (no response)
T: Do you play baseball? (gestures)
S: Oh no, but I play soccer.

E S: I like (incomprehensible word)


T: Why do you like that?
S: I like to visit and explore caves.
T: Oh, yes Spelunking is the study of caves.

F T: Where did you catch the school bus?


S: I catched .. (hesitates)
T: I caught it on Main St.
S: I caught it near JC Penny.

G T: Do you have some records?


S: No, I dont have some records
T: Oh, you dont have any records. Do you
have
any CDs?
S: No, I dont have any CDs.

T: Where are you going for the holidays?


S: I am going next Friday.
T: All right. But where are you going?
Daytona, Cancun, Bahamas..?
S: Oh, I am going to Acapulco.

T: S1 asks S2 what he would like


for dessert.
S1: What would you like for desert?
S2: What would you like for dessert?
S1: What would you like for dessert?
S2: I would like apple pie for dessert.

T: How old are you?


S: Good, thank you.
T: I am twenty years old.
K

T: When are you going to Toronto?


S: I am going to there tomorrow.
T: I am going there tomorrow.

Test your knowledge

1.- Questioning
_E_
2.- Repetition of answer with correction _K_
3.- Providing the correct answer
_F_
4.- Pinpointing
_A_
5.- Providing ones own answer
_J_
6.- Paraphrasing
_G_
7.- Peer correction
_I_
8.- Rephrasing the question
_B_
9.- Explaing a key word
_D_
10.- Cuing
_C
11.- Rephrasing a question, after a formally
_H_
correct, but inappropriate response.

References

Selinker,Larry. (2008).Second
Language Acquisition
An
introductory Course.
McLaughlin, Barry. (1987). Theories of
Second
language
Learning.
Omaggio, Alice.(1986). Teaching
Language in Context.
A
Profociency Oriented
Approach . Heinle and Heinle.

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