Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

the lack of consistent and systematic correction (Allwright, 1975; Cohen and Robbins, 1976).

Second language acquisition theory predicts that error correction will show positive results only if the following conditions are met:

(1)

Errors corrected are limited to learnable and portable rules.

(2)

Errors are corrected under conditions that allow Monitor use. This will give the learner time to reconsider the rule that was violated.

(3)

Measures evaluating the efficacy of error correction are administered under conditions that allow Monitor use, to allow the learner time to refer to his or her conscious knowledge.

(4)

Subjects are "Monitor-users" (i.e. they are not under-users of the Monitor).

Error correction that is not done under these conditions, I predict, will not "work"; I am also not optimistic about the efficacy of error correction even when all the above conditions are met. As is the case with conditions for Monitor use, they are necessary but not sufficient--even under the "best" conditions, correcting the simplest rules, with the most learning-oriented students, teacher corrections will not produce results that will live up to the expectations of many instructors.

B. Grammar as Subject Matter

As mentioned earlier (p. 88), "grammar" has another place in the pedagogical program, a place that is not always clearly distinguished from its use as a conscious Monitor. This is grammar as subject matter.

Many students (probably fewer than most of us think) are interested in the study of the structure of language per se. They may also be interested in language change, dialects, etc. Especially satisfying, for some students, is learning what has already been acquired, the Eureka phenomenon described earlier in this section (p. 88). My students who recognized that they had already acquired the three uses of the present progressive tense in English were very satisfied and pleased to have conscious knowledge corresponding to their subconscious knowledge. They also thought that I was an outstanding language teacher for providing them with this kind of insight!

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