Literature Survey on Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Oral Error Correction in the EFL/ESL Classroom

Abstract

Oral Error Correction (OEC) is an essential component in the English language classroom, and how teachers do it can impact students’ learning in different ways. Above all, it is important for scholars to understand what teachers and students think about OEC, so that any similarities and mismatches in perceptions can be further explored and strategies for effective learning through OEC can be proposed. Thus, through this study, author aims to investigate the teachers’ and students’ perceptions toward OCF. With more than 20 research articles thoroughly studied, author presents a literature survey by investigating the students’ perceptions regarding what types of OCF they prefer, when, and by whom (teachers and/or peers) and teachers’ perceptions toward their choices of OEC. It was found that while students and teachers consider OEC to be of paramount importance for positive learning outcomes, there are also similarities and mismatches in terms of what types of OEC they prefer, by whom, and when. One outstanding mismatch was that while students like to get all their errors corrected, teachers do not consider it as pragmatic. The results also highlighted that teachers could create platforms for students to express their opinions about OEC and they should learn about various OEC methods to choose the best ones that fit students’ needs, proficiency, and the activity type.