Unit 29

Categorising learners' mistakes

Mistakes are really common when learning a new language. They let students to discover the language, as well as master it in a future. There are two types of mistakes, slips and errors, both of them appear because of L1 interference or during learner's development. By the same token, mistakes can be categorised according to the accuracy or the appropriacy of the word or phrase used.

After categorising the types of mistakes, they can be separated into oral or written mistakes. Talking about the first ones, inaccuracy in pronunciation is the most common mistakes in learners discourse. In addition, there could be grammatical, register or lexical mistakes. On the other hand, when it comes to written mistakes, grammatical, register or lexical mistakes come to our minds. However, punctuation or spelling mistakes are more notorios on written tasks and most difficult for learners.

Teacher must be aware of these types of mistakes when teaching. As a future teacher I will recognise them and not to treat them as a negative part as it might seem. Mistakes are an important part in students' development. I will help my students to overcome them in order to motivate them and let them know that is a normal process.

In conclusion, there are different mistakes in written or spoken discourse, but both of them are important during the teaching-learning process since students learn from their mistakes. 

For further information, you can check the following sources:

YouTube,. (2016). 5 Common English Learner Mistakes. Retrieved 27 January 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2EpwOB-JWs

Chillarege, K. A., Nordstrom, C. R., & Williams, K. B. (2003). Learning from our mistakes: Error management training for mature learners. Journal of business and psychology, 17(3), 369-385