This article discusses how amusing mistakes can make for serious language instruction. The notion that close analysis of language errors can yield insight into how one thinks and learns seems fundamentally obvious. Yet until relatively recently, language errors were primarily treated as indicators of learner deficiency rather than opportunities to…

Examines methods for improving developmental students' proofreading skills. Discusses several theories and analogies for understanding the activity of proofreading. Suggests that educators should utilize methods that encourage students to invest time and energy in the proofreading process as it provides a meaningful and complex educational…

Drawing from a review of the literature on feedback in two fields, English education and social psychology, this paper sets forth a set of theoretical conclusions and practical suggestions for developmental English instructors and others to use in providing feedback to composition students. First, the research on written feedback in English…

Supports the use of the applied linguistics technique of error analysis (i.e., charting and analyzing patterns in language errors) in developmental writing instruction. Argues that error enables teachers to diagnose the cognitive strategies and processes used by students in writing. Discusses teaching strategies and the approach's limitations.…