Identify and explain the errors in the following answers a 2nd Year student provided. How would you correct and give feedback?
1) What´s a different name for Diwali?
A differet name for Diwalli is the "Festival of Lights´.
2) What do Hindu people celebrate?
The Festival of Lights it´s an Autumn Festival and celebrates the Hindu New Year.
3) Where do people celebrate Diwali?
In Canada, Asia, Britain and Africa.
4) What do people do on this special day?
We clean the house. Then we decorate the hous.
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1) Error: "Differet": This may be a pronunciation error in which the student avoids pronouncing the nasal.However, this could be a simple spelling mistake.
2)Error: "it's": This is a grammar error. There's double subject in this sentence provided by the use of the pronoun after the true subject: "The Festival of Lights"Also, the grammar error is of verb-noun agreement since a "Festival" cannot take a verb such as "celebrate". The answer is incorrect since it does not begin with the subject provided in the question which is "HIndu people", therefore the error is also of lexis, due to the subject in the answer.
3)I could not detect the error in this sentence.
4)Error: "hous": This may be a pronunciation error, since the student is aware of the fact that the final "e" in the word "house" is not pronounced then he avoids it in spelling, which induces the error.
1) there's a mistake at the level of articles. It is not necessary to use the definite article "the" to introduce "Festival of Lights" since it is not mentioning known information. on the other hand it could be possible to use the definite article "the" between inverted commas if it was part of the name of the festival so that we could say: A different name for Diwalli is "The Festival of Lights"
2) The pronoun IT should not be used since it is referring to "The Festival of Lights". Pronouns are used INSTEAD of nouns or noun phrases. In this case the pronoun IT needn't replace a noun or noun phrase since it is already stated in the sentence: "The Festival of Lights". On the other hand, there's a missing subject in the second clause of the sentence (after the coordinator "and"). The pronoun IT should be used before the verb "celebrates" in order not to repeat the subject "The Festival of Lights". the correct version would be: The Festival of lights is an Autumn Festival and it celebrates the Hindu New Year.We may also use a relative clause to correct this sentence, so we could add a relative pronoun (which/that) instead of AND. In this case the relative pronoun would be replacing the subject "The Festival of Lights" and the correct option would be The Festival of lughts is an Autumn Festival which/that celebrates the Hindu New Year.
3) The error may be in the way the student answered this question. It may be better to answer a question following the canonical order of the sentence: S-V-P. The correct answer would be: People celebrate Diwalli in Canada, Asia, Britain and Africa.
4) In this sentence it may be better not to repeat the Direct Object "the house" so that we could say: We clean the house. Then we decorate IT. A second error is the use of the pronoun WE as a subject. If the question asks about what people do on this special day, the answer should be in the third person plural THEY. So the correct version would be: They clean the house. Then they decorate it.
1)DIFFERET: spelling mistake (different).
DIWALLI: spelling mistake (Diwali).
THE "FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS.': spelling and grammar mistake. This phrase contains different errors:
- the word "the" should go between the inverted commas and with capital letters as well as Festival and Lights, because it is the name of the festival.
- there is no concordance between the inverted commas used in the phrase. The T should explain the uses of inverted commas in English and optionally, contrast them with the inverted commas used in Argentina.
- the full stop should go between the inverted commas.
2) THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IT'S: grammar mistake. There are 2 subjects instead of one. The T should explain that the pronoun "it" can be replaced by the festival and that the S should choose one out of these pronouns to form the sentence.
AUTUMN FESTIVAL: spelling mistakes. No capital letters should be included in these words.
AND CELEBRATES: grammar mistake. The subject that does this action cannot be identified within this sentence.
In addition, there is irrelevant information in the answer and the S should be made aware that is the people who celebrate the Hindu New Year.
3) IN CANADA, ASIA, BRITAN AND AFRICA: grammar mistake. The s should have answered the question in full form.
4) WE CLEAN THE HOUSE: grammar mistake. The subject of the answer is not the same that the subject in the question and it is not clear whose house is that people clean.
THEN WE DECORATE THE HOUS: grammar mistake. The two sentences could have been joined by the conjunciton "and" replacing the subject "people" in the 1st clause for the pronoun "they." Besides, the word "house" should be replaced by "them" so as to avoid repetition.
HOUS: spelling mistake (house). The teacher should highlight the difference between the spelling of the word "house" and its pronunciation.
1)1) In this sentence there are two mistakes of spelling “differet” and “Diwalli”
THE "FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS.': the article "the" should be inserted between the inverted commas and with capital letters as well as Festival and Lights, since it is the name of the festival.
2) In this answer there is a grammar mistake since the subject is repeated twice .We should use the pronoun it or The Festival of Lights not both because they both refer to the same thing. Moreover, it is important to take into account that in English “el sujeto tacito” does not exist, therefore in this case the verb celebrates needs a subject, in this case the pronoun it.
3) This sentence is not incorrect but since we are learning a language it may be better to answer the questions in a sentence form : s+ v +o.
4) In this sentence the pronoun used (we) is incorrect since the question ask about what PEOPLE do… so the correct pronoun would be the third person plural THEY. Moreover, it may be better not to repeat the Direct Object "the house" we should say : They clean the/their house. Then they decorate IT.
1)There's a spelling mistake in the word 'DIFFERET'(it should be 'DIFFERENT') and in the word 'DIWALLI' (it should be 'DIWALI', with only one "l").
The expression THE "FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS" contains an error. The article 'THE' should go between the inverted commas too and since it's part of the name of the festival, it should start with capital letters, resulting in "The Festival of Lights."
Also, the two inverted commas used are different and the full stop, in English, goes before the last inverted comma.
2)There are two subjects in this sentence. The error would be at the level of grammar; the student inserted a pronoun to refer to the subject ("the festival of lights"),not noticing that there was already a subject in that sentence.
There's an error in "CELEBRATES HINDU NEW YEAR": since it's not a single person who does the action and he/she is not the subject of the sentece, the use of the present simple is incorrect. Its use implies that it is THE FESTIVAL who celebrates and that is wrong. So, the correct version should be "AND HINDU PEOPLE CELEBRATE THE HINDU NEW YEAR."
3)The error is in the form of the answer given. Students should be encouraged to answer questions using complete sentences: 'PEOPLE CELEBRATE DIWALI IN CANADA, ASIA, BRITAIN AND AFRICA.'
4)In "WE CLEAN THE HOUSE" there's a comprehension mistake. The student used the pronoun "WE" where he/ she should have used the pronoun "THEY",since the question was about what PEOPLE do on that day.
The repetition of "THE HOUSE" create an error in coherence; it sound redundant and there's no special purpose for this direct repetition. The 2nd one should have benen replaced with the pronoun "IT"
1. Spelling errors: different and Diwali.
Grammar error: 'The' should not be used here as it is not part of the name. Check: http://www.diwalifestival.org/
Here the error can be explained making reference to the structure of the sentence: X = Y; and comparing it with a simpler sentence: My name is ...
Punctuation or typing errors: The same kind of inverted commas should be used; the period should go before the closing inverted commas.
2. Comprehension error: The question is about the people, the answer given is about the festival. This error can be explained in terms of carelessness for doing the exercise quickly or for taking the easy way out (copying the exact words from the text).
Grammar error: two subjects, "The Festival of Lights" and "it". Sts should be explained that the contraction "it's" is the same as "it is" and then, they should be asked if it were ok to say "The Festival of Lights it is an ..."
Spelling error: capital letters in Autumn Festival. It is not a proper name.
3. The answer is not given in its full form, which is an instance of spoken language and/or informality.
It is arguable whether this is a register error or not. The T should explain sts the difference between registers and degrees of formality.
The T should also ask sts, in advance, to answer the questions using full sentences and give a reason for this.
4. Comprehension error: The question asks about the people who celebrate Diwali in general, the answer is personal. Explanation for the error, idem 2.
This can also be taken as a grammar error for using "we" instead of "they". This brings about other errors: the use of "the" instead of "their" and the use of singular nouns.
Spelling error: house.
Redundancy: unnecessary repetition of "house."
1) Here there is a mistake as regards spelling. I think that the S didn’t pay attention to the spelling of the word “different” as it is correctly written in the question. So, I would correct this mistake as if the S paid more attention, it could have been avoided.
2) In this case there is a grammar mistake.The S doubled the subject by using the pronun “ it” . In this case the pronoun is not necessary as the sentence already has a subject : “The Festival of Lights” . I would correct this sentence explaining to the S that the pronoun is not necessary as the subject gap is already occupied. I think this is a common mistake for an intermediate level as SS tend to think that if there is a non personal subject gap, it is obligatory to write the pronoun “it”.
3) Here the mistake is that the S at this level should answer in complete form. This is necesary as the SS are learing a new language but in fact, in spontaneous conversation , they won’t use compelte forms. Here we can make a distinction between use and usage, use being the language we use naturally and authentically and usage the restricted language, the language we use in formal contexts.
4) Here there are 2 different kinds of mistakes. Firstly, the reference is incorrect. The subject of the question is “people” so the answer should have the same referente in anaphoric relation , i.e. the pronoun “they” must we used instead of “ we” . Besides, there is a spelling mistake in the second sentence. The noun “house” is written without the final vowel “E”. In this case, the S seems to know the correct spelling but he / she did’t pay attention to the spelling in the second sentence. As regards the first mistake , I would correct it by explaining the references and I would give more practice as regards reference as it is a difficult topic to learn.
1. In this case there is a mistake in the use of the article "the" since if it is not part of the name of the festival it is wrongly used and if it is, then the article should be inside the inverted commas. Also two different types of inverted commas are used, this may be a typing error. Finally there is a spelling mistake in the word "different"
2. Grammar error: double subject (the festival of lights and it)there is no need to use the pronoun in this case. The teacher should explain ss that "it" and "the festival of lights" refer to the same thing. Also it is unnecessary to say that it is an autumn festival because that is not asked.
3. Here the error may be that the question is not answered in full form (S+V+o)
4. There is a spelling mistake in the word "house", the student seems to know the spelling of the word because the first time he wroted correctly. Probably he didn't pay attention the second time. Apart from that there is a shift of pronouns: "people" (they) in the question and "we" in the answer. As regards comprehension the question is properly answered so the teacher may only need to point out the error.
ESTEFANIA BORGHI
1-TYPE OF ERROR:WRONG SPELLING THAT LEADS TO WRONG PRONUNCIATION.EG.DIFERET AND DIWALLI.
THE TEACHER CAN REPEAT THE SENTENCE UP TO THE ERROR AND/OR USE THE PHONEMIC CHART TO POINT TO THE CORRECT PHONEME.
2-TYPE OF ERROR: GRAMMAR
ERROR: NOUN+PRONOUN
THE TEACHER CAN TELL THE ST THERE IS AN ERROR.
3-TYPE OF ERROR:INCOMPLETE ANSWER
THE TEACHER CAN ASK THE ST TO ANSWER IN A FULL SENTENCE.BY DOING THIS , THE ST WILL SHOW IF HE KNOWS HOW TO USE THE CORRECT VERB TENSE OR AUXILIARY FORM.
4-TYPE OF ERROE. WRONG PRONOUN.
THE TEACHER CAN ECHO THE SENTENCE WITH CHANGED INTONATION OR STRESS.
TYPE OF ERROR.WRONG SPELLING.
THE TEACHER MAY ASK THE ST TO LOOK UP THE WORD "HOUSE" IN THE DICTIONARY.
1) In this case there are two spelling mistakes: "differet"(should have been spelt different) and "Diwalli" (should have been spelt Diwali).
2) In this case there is a grammatical mistake. The subject has been doubled. There is no need to use a pronoun when the subject has already been stated.
3) In this case the answer should be given using the canonical order of sentences: S-V-P and in full form. The answer given is typical of spoken discouse.
4) In this case there is a spelling mistake: "hous" (should have been spelt house). There is also a comprehension mistake: "people" should be referred to by using the pronoun "they" instead of the pronoun "we". Finally the verbs of the two sentences "clean" and "decorate" could be coordinated in order to avoid the repetition of the word "house", thus obtaining only one sentence.
VANESA GUGLIOTTA
1- Error: "differet" and "diwalli". This is an error of mispelling that may lead to a mispronunciation of the word "different". The teacher should draw the student's attention to the word and try to make him detect the error by looking to the question with the correct spelling.
2- Error: "it's" instead of "is". The student made a grammatical mistake, doubling the subject of the sentence. The teacher may draw his attention to this mistake by either echoing the sentence, making him realize the "intrusive it" or by asking him if he can identify the subject of the sentence.
Error: Wrong subject. "The festival of Lights" instead of "Hindu people". The student did not answer correctly as he was not able to identify the correct subject in the question given. The teacher may ask the student "Who celebrates? Hindu people or The Festival of Light?"
3- This may be a typical error students make when answering questions. They tend to answer in an incomplete form. The teacher may say the first word of the correct answer ("People...")so that he can realize how he should answer.
4- Error: Wrong subject ("they" instead of "we"), mispelling of the word "hous" and repetition of the object (house).
As with the previous error regarding subject I would make the student first notice which is the subject in the question given. As regards the mispelling, I would try to make him look for the word "house" to check how he wrote it. And, finally, regarding the repetition of the object I would echo the sentence with a special entonation so that he can realize that it sounds too repetitous.
1. Error: Mispelling ("differet" and "diwalli"). The teacher may draw the student's attention to the question given with the correct spelling of the words so that he can realize there's a mistake in his answer.
2. Error: Wrong subject (The Festival of Lights instead of Hindu people) and It's instead of is (repetition of the subject).
The teacher may try to make the student identify the correct subject by asking the student "Who celebrates? The Festival or Hindu people?"
3. Error: Incomplete answer.
The student may not understand his mistake as the content of the answer is correct but not the form of it. The teacher may tell the student the first word of the correct way of answering (They...)so that he can realize his error.
4.Error: Wrong Subject ("we" instead of "they"), repetition of the object ("house") and mispelling of the object ("hous").
First, the teacher may draw the student's attention regarding the subject by making the question again emphazising on the word "people". Then, she may make the student look at the way he first wrote the word "house", which is the correct form, as this may have been a mistake of distraction. Finally, to make the student notice the repetitous item the teacher may echo the sentence emphazasing on the word "house" in an unpleasant entonation.
María Julia Ríos
1) In this case there are two spelling mistakes: "differet" should have been spelt "different" and "Diwalli" should have been spelt "Diwali". There is also no need to use the definite article "the" unless it is part of the name of the festival and in that case it should have been written between inverted commas.
2) In this case there is a grammatical mistake: the subject has been doubled. There is no need to use a pronoun when the subject has already been stated.
3) In this case the answer should have been constructed using the canonical order of sentences (S-V-P) and in full form. The answer given is typical of spoken discourse.
4) In this case there is a spelling mistake: "hous" should have been spelt "house". There is also a comprehension mistake: "people" should have been replaced using the pronoun "they" instead of the pronoun "we". The verbs of the two sentences "clean" and "decorate" could have been coordinated thus obtaining only one sentence.
1)
Mistake: differet - Diwali
Description: Spelling and/or pronunciation mistake (different).
Corrective feedback:
If it's a written mistake, I would circle or underline the word for the st to realise the error.
In the case of "differet", if it's an oral mistake, I would repeat the sentence up to the mistake for student to self-correct since this is a rather simple mistake.
Mistake: the "Festival of Lights´.
Description: Use of the definite article.
Corrective Feedback:
I would repeat the sentence and omit the article with a change of intonation or cross out the article in a written version.
Mistake: the "Festival of Lights´.
Description: Use of punctuation marks.
Corrective Feedback:
I would circle both inverted commas.
2)
Mistake: it´s
Description: Double subject.
Corrective Feedback:
I would circle "it´s" and draw an arrow back to the subject "The Festival of Lights". If it's an oral mistake I would ask "The Festival of Lights "it´s" or "is" an Autumn ...?" where "it´s" and "is" both imply a change of intonation.
Mistake: and __ celebrates
Description: Pronominal subject omitted.
Corrective Feedback:
Written mistake: I would underline the space between "and" and "celebrates".
Oral mistake: I would use "finger correction" to show there is something missing for the st to realise that and self-correct.
3)
I would prefer a sentece with the corresponding subject in this case but if the purpose of the exercise is based on fluency the answer sounds O.K. to me.
Suggestion: "The people/They celebrate Dwali ..."
I would use this last version often in case I notice pronominal reference is weak in the students. I would also revise the grammar point accordingly.
4)
Mistake: We - hous
Description: Wrong pronominal reference, redundancy and spelling mistake.
Corrective Feedback: Orally, I would repeat "we" with a frown and wait for the student to realise or the peers to help him/her produce the correct version. If it's a written exercise, I would circle "people" and "we" joining them with a dotted line and a question mark beside it. I would also underline "hous" or circle the last part of it.
1) There are 3 different types of errors:
1. There are two mistakes as regards spelling in two different words: “Diffret” and “Diwalli”. If this had been an oral reply, I’d have given corrective feedback by using RECASTING.
2. There are also two errors as regards punctuation: first of all, the period should go before the last inverted comma. Secondly, the student uses two different types of inverted commas. I’d make these mistakes noticeable by circling the two types of inverted commas.
3. There is also a grammatical error when paraphrasing the word “Diwali.” If the article “the” was part of the name of the festival, this one should be in capital letter and inside the inverted commas, but as it is not, this article shouldn’t even be there.
2) There is a grammatical error: two subjects, which refer to the same thing and correspond to the same sentence, are provided by the student. A noun and the pronoun making reference to this same noun are both acting as the subject of the same and only predicate. The teacher may make the st infer this error, by asking him/her what does he/she think the pronoun “it” is referring to. Another possibility is that the teacher directly explains the st that both the noun and the pronoun, refer to the same thing. There is irrelevant information as well (“it’s an autumn festival”) and, on top of that, this irrelevant information is written in capital letters with no logical reason. Furthermore, there's a missing subject in the last clause of the sentence: the subject “Hindu people” is missing from the last part of the utterance. The festival can’t celebrate anything, but the people at the festival can and does celebrate.
3) The answer to the question provided by the student is grammatically correct, though it’s not appropriate. Students learning a foreign language through formal instruction (inside the classroom and not in a natural environment) are expected to give answers to the questions in their full form: subject-verb-predicate. The answer given by the student would be correct, perhaps, in a dialogue, a conversation. The teacher may correct this mistake by explaining the st what is formal and what’s informal and providing both versions of this same sentence inside 2 different contexts, an informal and a formal one.
Furthermore, I also believe that the answer provided should be more specific. The st is stating, as part of the answer, two big continents and he/she should specify in which countries of those huge continents Diwali is celebrated.
4) The first and most noticeable mistake is the one at the level of grammar and comprehension. The endophoric, cataphoric reference to the word “people” in the question should be the word “they” in the answer and not “we”. The choice of pronoun is wrong –the answer should have been given using the third person plural-. Furthermore, there’s a spelling error in the secondly stated word “house” –the final letter “e” is missing-. I think this spelling mistake must have been occurred as a consequence of the pronunciation of that word; as the final letter “e” in “house” is not pronounced. The teacher could make the student search for the word “house” in the dictionary and make him compare the written form in the dictionary with the one the st wrote.
Also, it would have probably been better to write a comma after the connector “then” and not to repeat the direct object "the house" (so as not to be redundant) and use the pronoun “it” as its substitute.
Daniela Torrisi
1)"differet": spelling mistake. The correct form of the word is "different" (the letter "n" is missing.
"Diwalli": spelling mistake. It should be written "Diwali" (only one "l" is needed).
the "Festival of Lights': grammar mistake. The definite article should be included between the inverted commas and it should also take initial capital letter as the article is part of a proper name. Besides, there's a punctuation mistake since in English, contrary to what we are used to in Spanish, the full stop goes before the final inverted comma at the end of a sentence.
2) grammar mistake: double subject in the same sentence. The pronoun “it” isn’t necessary as the sentences already has a subject which is “The Festival of Lights”.
Spelling mistake: “Autumn Festival”. No capital letters are needed.
Grammar mistake: the subject of the verb “celebrates” should be “Hindu people” or “they” in order to avoid repetition.
3) Although the answer is not completely wrong, the S should have answered in a complete sentence following the S-V order: “They celebrate Diwali in Canada, Asia, Britain and Africa.”
4)grammar mistake: “we”. The correct subject pronoun in both sentences is “they” since it’s what the question requires and also because the S is not including himself in the answer.
Repetition mistake: Since both sentences contain a single idea, they could have been joined by the conjunction “and”, and the noun “house” which appears for a second time can be replaced by the pronoun “it”.
Spelling mistake: “hous”. The correct spelling is “house” and a final “e” should be present since in English pronunciation and spelling don’t necessarily share the same form.
María Julia Ríos
1) In this case there are two spelling mistakes: "differet" should have been spelt "different" and "Diwalli" should have been spelt "Diwali". There is also no need to use the definite article "the" unless it is part of the name of the festival and in that case it should have been written between inverted commas.
2) In this case there is a grammatical mistake: the subject has been doubled. There is no need to use a pronoun when the subject has already been stated.
3) In this case the answer should have been constructed using the canonical order of sentences (S-V-P) and in full form. The answer given is typical of spoken discourse.
4) In this case there is a spelling mistake: "hous" should have been spelt "house". There is also a comprehension mistake: "people" should have been replaced using the pronoun "they" instead of the pronoun "we". The verbs of the two sentences "clean" and "decorate" could have been coordinated thus obtaining only one sentence.
1)The first two errors are about spelling: the student forgot to add an N in "differeNt" and accidentally doubled the L in "DiwaLi". Then, the student misuses punctuation - the closing inverted commas.Finally, there's a grammatical error identified, that is the use of the definite article THE,which, in this case, could only be right if it's part of festival's name.
2)In this sentence, a grammar mistake can be identified: the student has doubled the subject by adding the pronoun IT.
3)This is not a mistake actually, though it would've been much better for the student to answer the question formulating a full sentence.
4)In this example, it is not clear whether the student replied using the pronoun WE because he's actually from Diwally or just because the student is not aware of the difference between the pronouns WE and THEY.The student then goes on making a minor spelling mistake "hous" instead od "house"
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