This paper looks into the dilemma of what counts as a grammatical 'learner error' in ELT on the basis of recent results from English variationist research and English as a lingua franca research. Examples from these studies show that features often perceived as 'errors' for EFL speakers also occur in ESL production--where they are called…

It is now relatively straightforward to program software to detect words and phrases containing errors in the free-form writing of L2 learners of English. This article, however, reports on progress in the development of software which not only detects errors but also provides feedback explaining the nature of each error and how to correct it. Such…

Negotiation of language form is thought to engage learning processes by helping learners to notice gaps in their developing L2 and find target-like ways of filling them. Self-transcription, where learners work together to find language errors in recordings of their own oral output, is an awareness raising exercise that encourages such negotiation.…

While it is common for teachers to focus on learners' errors in the EFL classroom, little attention is given to the "errors" that native English speakers make in their mother tongue. This paper reports on a study to assess the reaction of Japanese university students to an activity that primarily required identifying…

The research reported in the study was undertaken to measure English language teachers' ability to interpret second language learners' intended meanings in idiosyncratic utterances in written English. In doing so, it also aimed at verifying Corder's (1981) speculation that language teachers can correctly guess the intended meanings of learners in…

As language teachers, we realize that some mistakes found in our students' output are more serious than others. What may be less obvious, though, is that our judgement of learner error can yield linguistic insights, and that sharpening our error-analysis skills might improve the quality of our error feedback. This article presents an error-gravity…

Explores essay writing problems common to intermediate and advanced English-as-a-second-language students and suggests such remedies as pre-writing exercises and post-writing analysis to help students overcome these problems. (Author/CB)

Native and nonnative (Indians) English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' evaluations of certain errors in the written English of ESL college students were compared. Results indicated that native and nonnative perceptions of error gravity were not alike, although both groups saw verb-related error categories like tense, agreement, and question…

Areas of contradiction and controversy over error analysis are discussed, and an interference error analysis project is described, giving a detailed definition of interference error. Several practical approaches to teaching out interference errors are outlined. (MSE)

Certain concepts of redundancy at the phonological level are mistaken or misapplied. Three "fallacies" ("string of beads," vowel redundancy, and single error) of the nature of redundancy are explored. Although learners should be sensitized to other varieties of English, teachers should also provide a model of pronunciation that conforms to a…

Considers the correction of two kinds of error in the English-as-a-second-language classroom: errors of accuracy and errors of fluency. Describes the functions of feedback in conversation and suggests ways to develop feedback fluency in the classroom so that learners may develop this aspect of language use. (SED)

Presents three types of exercises which are designed to develop the advanced learner's awareness of the problems caused by lexis, style, and appropriateness. In addition, describes how translation may be incorporated and used at the active stage and how a somewhat analytical and academic approach to this area of learning/teaching for the advanced…

Discusses a test given to a group of elementary school students of English as a second language. The purpose of the test was to measure developmental errors, that is, errors which reflect a learner's competence at a given stage, and to illustrate some of the general characteristics of language acquisition. (SED)

A Confidence-rating scale accompanying answers on a listening test helps distinguish between learners who select answers based on effective self-monitoring and those whose answers are based on poor self-monitoring. The latter are more likely to do so subsequently as well. Test items and a rating scale are illustrated. (Author/LMO)

Native and nonnative speakers' approaches to evaluating student errors are compared, and it is argued that the teacher's assessment is likely to be influenced by such factors as his/her own language competence, familiarity with the learners, teaching priorities, and syllabus as well as frequency and degree of linguistic deviance. (MSE)