Can Indirect, Delayed Error Correction Improve Students’ Willingness to Speak in the Target Language?

Abstract

At a high school where I have worked as a visiting lecturer, students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) tend to use their mother tongue (L1) instead of the target language (L2) in communicative activities. Many factors are to blame for this issue, such as the seating arrangement, the language curriculum, the influences from the interlocutors, and the teacher correction methods (Pham 2005). This study aims to propose a strategy to correct student errors during communicative activities. Data analysis shows that the strategy of error correction that a teacher uses will have a substantial impact on student use of L2 in oral activities. Drawing from such findings, I suggest some practical teaching strategies to maximize L2 and minimize L1 in speaking activities.