This site suggests that if you make mistakes when speaking and writing English, those mistakes will habituate and become nearly impossible to correct. This, in fact, seems one of the site's central premises when attempting to "teach" non-native speakers how to speak English.
The site is wrong.
How can I make such a declaritive statement? For the last two years I have been teaching English as a Second Language to people from Spanish-speaking, African and Asian backgrounds. Before that I studied different Second Language Acquisition theories. This site's hypothesis that mistakes will habituate has been studied many times.
The hypothesis briefly states that non-native learners of English need to make sure they avoid mistakes at all costs or the mistakes will become ingrained, and thus will never stop being made.
This hypothesis has been discredited by every study that has ever measured it. In fact, we know that English is generally learned in sequences. For instance, first we learn to form all questions with "do" even if we should use "wh-" words. Another example: it takes a very long time to acquire the third person singular 's' at the end of words like, "He sleeps." I could continue, but my point is not to detail the actual sequences, but rather to suggest this: even a learner has not reached the next stage, there is no way the learner is going to be ready to make every utterance correctly. Someone who is still struggling with "do" formation of questions is not going to form questions with "what, when, why, where, or how," even when--grammatically--they should. That mistake will almost invariably correct itself as the learner advances to the next stage of English.
In other words, mistakes are normal and should be encouraged. It means the speaker is grappling with the inherent structures of the language. When they are ready they will learn the next structure.
Is there are a catch to this practice makes perfect theory? Yes. As we age, human beings have a much more difficult time learning grammatical structures, to the point that some are impossible without focused instruction on them. Teachers of English, then, need to focus some on grammar and form, but students still NEED to practice speaking and writing. If they do not, it does not matter how much the teacher teaches form and practice. Why? Without practice, the learner will never be ready to reach the next stage. which means the teacher's instruction is irrelevant.
My larger point: mistakes made when speaking and writing will not become habits. They will improve with good teaching and students' hard work. Do not believe this site when it tells you otherwise.
Josh
The site is wrong.
How can I make such a declaritive statement? For the last two years I have been teaching English as a Second Language to people from Spanish-speaking, African and Asian backgrounds. Before that I studied different Second Language Acquisition theories. This site's hypothesis that mistakes will habituate has been studied many times.
The hypothesis briefly states that non-native learners of English need to make sure they avoid mistakes at all costs or the mistakes will become ingrained, and thus will never stop being made.
This hypothesis has been discredited by every study that has ever measured it. In fact, we know that English is generally learned in sequences. For instance, first we learn to form all questions with "do" even if we should use "wh-" words. Another example: it takes a very long time to acquire the third person singular 's' at the end of words like, "He sleeps." I could continue, but my point is not to detail the actual sequences, but rather to suggest this: even a learner has not reached the next stage, there is no way the learner is going to be ready to make every utterance correctly. Someone who is still struggling with "do" formation of questions is not going to form questions with "what, when, why, where, or how," even when--grammatically--they should. That mistake will almost invariably correct itself as the learner advances to the next stage of English.
In other words, mistakes are normal and should be encouraged. It means the speaker is grappling with the inherent structures of the language. When they are ready they will learn the next structure.
Is there are a catch to this practice makes perfect theory? Yes. As we age, human beings have a much more difficult time learning grammatical structures, to the point that some are impossible without focused instruction on them. Teachers of English, then, need to focus some on grammar and form, but students still NEED to practice speaking and writing. If they do not, it does not matter how much the teacher teaches form and practice. Why? Without practice, the learner will never be ready to reach the next stage. which means the teacher's instruction is irrelevant.
My larger point: mistakes made when speaking and writing will not become habits. They will improve with good teaching and students' hard work. Do not believe this site when it tells you otherwise.
Josh