In fluency-led and task-based teaching, language is addressed reactively. Target a few consistent, global or developmental errors rather than a ‘smorgasbord’. ‘Both immediate and delayed correction may be beneficial’ (Ellis & Shintani), so the fear that correction always breaks fluency is overstated.
Selection rules
- Global errors (meaning breaks down) before local ones.
- Consistent errors (a developmental stage) before slips the learner clearly “knows”.
- Upgrades for over-used or non-idiomatic forms (“binge-watched” rather than “watched many episodes”).
Delivery
- Implicit: a brief recast close to the error so the learner can “notice the gap”.
- Explicit correction may work better for simple rules, and some learners prefer it.
- Capture formats: slips for early finishers; board for delayed feedback; shared doc with comments.
- The authors’ ICE framework: Identify → Capture → Exploit.
Sources
Ellis (2009); Kerr (2020); Larsen-Freeman (2003); Doughty & Williams (1998); Ellis & Shintani (2014); Lethaby et al. (2021); Long (2015); Thornbury (2000) “Walking while chewing gum”.
Apply in my context (Claude)
- This resolves the vault’s feedback disagreements: what matters most is which errors and how noticeable the feedback is, more than timing. A good one-page principle for the teacher checklist.
Connections
Lyster and Ranta’s six corrective feedback moves and learner uptake · Connect first, correct later · Upgrade language during fluency work with minimal interference · Errors are often developmental, not L1 transfer