Grammar problem

[nilusha]

I am teaching an adult student of 29 years old. He has taken many pains over the years to improve his English. When he came to me he had no basis of grammar. Now he has a basic understanding of grammar and is able to identify and correct his own mistakes. But he keeps doing the same mistakes over and over again including simple things as subject-verb agreement and pluralization. When i point them out he understands, but he keeps doing it. It is may be because he has been using English incorrectly for a long time. And we have been practicing a lot too.

Is there any new approach i can take to get over this. This occurs both in written and spoken forms. Plsss help.

[Susan]

This is totally normal. Students continue making mistakes in language that they understand cognitively. The best thing to do is to point out the error and best to ask the student to correct himself. You can do this with a gesture or mime that the student understands so that he corrects himself immediately. The more often he is reminded, the faster he'll get it right. For many students, this continues to advanced level.

Susan

[Syl]

Well, I have the same problem with a couple of adult students. There is nothing I can do, they keep repeating the same mistakes even if I point them out, and even if I tell them to correct themselves... Sorry Susan... but I guess this is something related to their lack of self esteem when trying to speak a foreign language.

One day, my English Inspector, on an Extension Course to all the teachers in the region told us that we should "wash the students with English". What she meant was to expose them to as many resources as possible: books, audio/visual material, extensive reading, intensive reading, not too much grammar, in short, let them hear or read what the right patterns are, and then it will happen someday that they will also produce correct language.

I use to record dialogues, for example, leaving time between one sentence and the other for the students to repeat whenever they can. They bring with them their pendrives and copy my dialogues, with a printed page so that they can follow, hear and repeat. It works!!! Also songs, or jokes, and I always insist that they speak only English even if they don't know all the words. They must try to explain what they mean, without asking "How do you say..... (in their mother tongue) ?"

I hope it helps, nilusha.


Syl's English Corner - Learn English and Have Fun
http://www.ginnegar.0catch.com

[balasankar]

"i remind him to write his teacher" complete this sentence starting the sentence :i made him......

[rasikarr]

When it is integrated with the learner's experience in communication it would be interesting for
the learner.
Eg : Teaching present perfect - Talking about the interesting experiences in life

I have been to New York.

I have visited Taj Mahal.

[becki]

I think it is amazing that he can identify and correct his own mistakes. That is no small task. If he is able to catch his mistakes, then he is on the path to learning the correct usage. Learning a language takes time. I would continue to encourage him and show him how he is progressing.

In addition, try some fluency exercises where errors are not being corrected, such as small talk, conversation strategies, or free speaking. This can help build his confidence in speaking English and ultimately improve his overall ability.

Good luck!

Becki