Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Chapter 7: Giving Correction and Feedback 111

Figure 7-1:
Which
note would
you like to
receive if
you were
Caroline?

Dear Caroline,

Thank you for your invitation to the party, However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable

to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.

Yours sincerely

Ivanete

Allo Caroline,

Tank you for the invitation to your house for party. Sorry but is not good this day for me

because I working. I Coming next time promis.

Kisses

Ivanete

The first note doesn’t contain any particular errors, but it’s inappropriate for

the situation. However, the second version has several inaccuracies but it

also displays real warmth because of the style. I suspect that Caroline would

prefer to receive the second version.

So, when your students write, train them to use appropriate layout, style and

register (degree of formality). I talk about appropriate style and register in

Chapter 11.

When you correct grammar, try not to get too distracted from the purpose

of the text. It’s best to focus on expressions that students are likely to use

repeatedly.

So, for example, if your class is preparing for higher education, the students

probably need to grasp the use of passive sentences in general because these

are common to academic writing. If a student wrote: ‘First you connect the

tube to the cylinder and then you fill it up with liquid.’ you may note that he

should use passive constructions for describing a process.