Abstract
The article sets out to explore the impact of developing a consciousness-raising approach in error correction at the sentence level in order to improve students’ proofreading ability at the level of text. Learners of English in a foreign language environment frequently fall into a reliance on translation as a composing tool and while this may act as a scaffold and provide some support with some utterances, it frequently leads to predictable and persistent errors. Such fossilization leads to on-going inaccuracies that detract from student composition and that require focused instruction and repeated practice in order to eradicate the errors. The current paper reports on an experiment in consciousness-raising about specific categories of errors with a group of 30 trainees teachers in Zayed University, Dubai during the spring semester 2014. Results on post-tests compared with scores on the pre test indicate a significant improvement in students’ performance as a result of focused instruction.
Highlights
Writing, according to Coulmas (2003) is “the single most consequential technology ever invented” (p. 1) as it provides a tool for “reclaiming the past” and the critical skills necessary for reclaiming the future
The main error committed by Arabic speakers with the English indefinite article ‘a/an’ is its addition on plural nouns or omitting it completely where needed with singular nouns
It is clear from the analysis of results that focused teaching with structured input of challenging items yielded positive benefits, as overall post-test results were significantly higher than pre-test results
Summary
Writing, according to Coulmas (2003) is “the single most consequential technology ever invented” (p. 1) as it provides a tool for “reclaiming the past” and the critical skills necessary for reclaiming the future. 1) as it provides a tool for “reclaiming the past” and the critical skills necessary for reclaiming the future. While this definition may be a distant dream for EFL students in particular, highlighting the essential nature of writing in the success of any university student is vital. A carefully proofread essay, sends a positive message: it shows that you value your writing and respect your readers." The challenge is one of raising students’ awareness of their errors, the source of such errors and equipping them with the knowledge to correct these in order to become efficient proof-readers and successful academic writers (Debboune & Tebib, 2010)
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