How to Deal with Corrections

In Tandem, each learner determines what he wants to learn and how. Regarding corrections, this means:

• It is your responsibility to let your e-Tandem partner know what and how he should make corrections for you (e.g. by marking spelling mistakes with an *, paying particular attention to verb forms or pronunciation, etc.).
• You should only correct what your partner wants you to correct.
• Pay attention to the indirect corrections your partner makes: if he expresses the same thing to you in a different way, you may have used an incorrect or clumsy form.

Here are some concrete tips:

Written Tandem (e-mail, letters, instant messaging, etc.)

• If you have a text from your Tandem partner in front of you and can read it as many times as you would like, then it is often tempting to want to correct all of the mistakes. This is, however, not only time consuming for the person making the corrections, but it can also discourage the partner who is learning.
  Therefore, ask your Tandem partner to concentrate on a certain type of mistake or to correct a limited number (for example, 8-10) of mistakes, the ones he considers most important.<//span><//span></><//></><//></><//>
• If you have the opportunity, use the telephone for making corrections: this allows for more thorough explanations and follow-up questions and usually saves time.

Oral Tandem (telephone, face-to-face etc.)

• With oral Tandem, your partner has to pay attention to what you are saying and how you are saying it simultaneously - and this is not always easy. Also, you can easily get used to mistakes and then not hear them.
• Perhaps your partner does not like to interrupt you, thinking it might upset you. Or he plans to bring the mistakes you make to your attention afterwards - but this rarely works.
  If you wish to be corrected more, you should make a point of encouraging your partner to do so.
• Some mistakes are already automatic: you really know how to say it correctly, but in a conversation you make the same mistakes again and again.
  These mistakes especially - wrong pronunciation and incorrect sentence structure, for example - can be put right if they are consistently brought to your attention.
• Corrections do not necessarily need to interfere with the flow of conversation. You will quickly learn to pay attention to your partner's corrections and to correct them immediately.