A Study Of Current Situation Of Error Correction In Integrated English Class For English Majors

Errors are inevitable in language learning,and error correction is significant for foreign or second language learners.Since the 1950 s,it has always been a heated topic in relevant research and discussion on language error.From Contrastive Analysis,Error Analysis to Interlanguage,scholars never stop studying the researches about errors.Though language errors and error correction have always received widespread attention,it does not reach an agreement on various problems of error correction among various factions of researchers.What are the English learners' expectations on error correction? What is their preference of correcting error? How learners' affects are? These are questions which are worthy to be profoundly researched and discussed.The present study,based on Chaudron's(1988)five-question model,choosing 229 students and 3 teachers from College of Foreign Studies of Guangxi Normal University as participants of investigation,tries to answer the following questions by using questionnaire,interview,classroom observation and so on:(1)What is the current situation of error correction in Integrated English class for English majors?(2)Is teachers' attitude towards error correction and the current situation in accordance with students' expectations?(3)What strategies should be used when correcting errors in class?The results of the present study are as follows.(1)English majors are aware of the significance of error correction.Most of them prefer to be corrected in phonological error and expect teachers to be the subject of error correction;they are inclined to be corrected immediately or after finishing the answer and prefer elicitation way.Error correction in class is mainly effective;the main subject of error correction is the teacher;students show various attitudes and affects after being corrected.(2)Teachers and students hold apparently different views in the aspect of error types and subject of error correction.There are some differences between teachers' thought and their actual behavior.(3)Strategies of error correction can be derived from the aspects of theory,practice and affects,and the objective of language teaching,students' characteristics and their expectations should be taken into consideration when correcting.Therefore,when teachers correcting errors in Integrate English class for English majors,they need to know students' attitude and expectations,combining students' nature,considering teaching aims for English majors and flexibly implementing theoretical and practical strategies of error correction.Only in this way can error correction meet students' requirement and efficiency of error correction be improved.