Correction disrupts adult learners when there’s no prior agreement about how errors will be handled. Frame mistakes as expected and useful first, agree the correction protocol, then correct in a direct, adult-to-adult tone.
Scripts (paraphrased)
- Before the first lesson: mistakes are expected; I need them to know what to work on.
- Rule: don’t stop mid-sentence to ask if a word is right; finish first.
- In the moment: acknowledge briefly (Good, we found one), keep the conversation going.
- To apologies: No need to apologise, that’s what we’re here to find.
Limits
Experience-based; written for one-to-one adults.
Research link (Claude)
Learner beliefs about CF predict how they respond to it (Schulz 2001; Loewen et al. 2009). A correction “contract” aligns beliefs and method, which is why it reduces the affective cost.
- With teens, make the contract a class poster: when I correct (fluency vs accuracy stages) and how (signals, recasts, delayed board work).
Connections
Connect first, correct later · Lyster and Ranta’s six corrective feedback moves and learner uptake · Error correction - types of error and a response sequence