Implication of Concrete Materials for Error Correction to Develop Oral Accuracy among Young Middle School EFL Learners

Abstract

In the processes of teaching and learning in general and correction of errors in particular, middle school EFL teachers are expected to focus on what Piaget calls “concrete operations” by offering clear and simple explanation of the target linguistic knowledge through the utilization of visuals (e.g., colored papers, pictures, flashcards), and the aim is principally to foster better understanding, memorization, and retention. This study undertakes to explore the nature of the strategies the middle school EFL teachers utilize in their correction of errors, and their immediate effects on the pupils’ ability develop the overall oral accuracy. The final results reveal that the observed teachers of English (n=3) from Bachir Ben Nacer Middle School in the Wilaya of Biskra (from the three grade levels): (a) provide verbal correction on the air without using board work or flashcards; (b) offer difficult and incomprehensible corrective input, which seems to be beyond the pupils’ capacities; and (c) correct via interruption. As for stimulated recall interviews, the findings indicate that those procedural techniques do not appear to sit well with the pupils’ cognitive abilities and even their wants, which undermines the viability of corrective feedback.