Corregir los errores de los estudiantes: teoría y práctica

Abstract

Correcting students’ language errors has always received much importance because of its significance for analyzing those errors and trying to provide students and teachers with adequate techniques and strategies to avoid or at least minimize the number of those errors while practicing the foreign languages. According to Corder (1967), correcting learners’ errors is substantial in three different ways: First, they tell the teacher about the progress of the learner, and therefore what remains to be learnt. Second, they supply evidence of how a language is acquired and what strategies the learner employs in learning a language. Thirdly, they are indisputable to the learning process because making errors is regarded as a device the learner uses in order to learn. The present paper aims at highlighting fundamental background studies done in the field of Error Analysis. It also tries to help EFL teachers and educators to become familiar with the most frequent errors committed by EFL learners and lead language practitioners to consider some very important issues about understanding the significance of Error Correction in the process of second language acquisition such as: how much correction should be made, at what phases the teacher should correct the error and how the teacher can correct the learner without de-motivating him/her