TESOL/Errors in the spoken English of EFL learners
EFL, English as a Foreign Language, is for learners who rarely have contact with English in use. They are often people studying English in a country where English is rarely spoken. As such they lack the opportunity to develop a sense of what sounds natural and lack the chance to absorb fixed everyday expressions, so even advanced learners produce errors like "she go home" or "my glasses is expensive" because they don't get to hear "she goes" or "..es are" enough for it to become automatic.
Errors
[edit | edit source]| Error | Correction | Weak point |
|---|---|---|
| It's really need | Word order | |
| I was stolen my bag. | My bag was stolen. | passive verbs |
| you look run out of steam | you look like you've run out of steam | missing subject |
Sometimes learners produce expressions which are correct but strange. They may lead to confusion since listeners are unaccustomed to hearing them.
| Error | Correction | Weak point |
|---|---|---|
| tell them this condition | Relative clauses | ? |
| I'm looking for my mother's birthday present | I'm looking for a present for my mother for her birthday | ? |
Addressing weak points
[edit | edit source]Some errors indicate an area of weakness, which the teacher can address with instruction targeted to that weakness. Many teachers employ drills to teach specific language skills such as grammatical skills.
Drills
[edit | edit source]Passive verbs
[edit | edit source]"I gave him a present" is the same as "He was given a present by me."
(write this down)
I will say a sentence, and please change it. Ready? Okay.
- I found a ring.
- I ate a cake.
- I made dinner.