Teaching Productive Skills to the Students: a secondary Level Scenario

2.7.13 Correction 
 
By correcting J. Harmer means correcting syntax (word order), concord 
(grammar agreement), collocation and word choice. Feedback is also very important 
here. When the teacher corrects, he actually plays several roles (Harmer, 2004, 109): 
students see the teacher as the examiner, in fact the teacher takes a role of audience 
(responds to the ideas), he can act as an assistant (helps students with writing), a 
resource (is available when students need information), an evaluator (says how well the 
students have done so far) and an editor (helps to select and rearrange the students´ 
writing). 
 
The way the teacher corrects is also significant. Jeremy Harmer suggests seven 
ways of correction (Harmer 2004): 
a. 
Selective Correction: 
Selective correction means that the teacher does not have to correct everything. 
The teacher can correct only punctuation, verb-tenses, grammar or to concentrate on 
using appropriate level of formality, using correct paragraphs and so on. It is important 
to tell students before the writing that the teacher will use this approach.
b. 
Using Marking Scales: 
The idea of this approach is to give marks out of 10 for each category the teacher 
chooses for students (e.g. grammar, vocabulary or verb-tenses). With indications of 
mistakes this scale helps students to focus on the particular area they need to improve. 
 
 
 
 

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c. 
Using Correction Symbols: 
 
Many teachers use correction symbols. The advantage of this method is that it 
encourages students to think about the mistakes they have made, in fact, the students 
correct the mistakes themselves.