What If You Make a Mistake in Your EFL Class?

The question is not if you'll make a mistake as an EFL teacher; the question is when. Teachers make mistakes. They get nervous; their minds are on something else and sometimes teachers don't know the answer to a question-and they guess. And the guess turns out to be wrong.

How you perceive your own mistakes in class will affect your students in a variety of ways. First, how you react when you realize you've made a mistake-or one is pointed out to you by a bright EFL student-may influence your students' confidence in and respect for you. Their reaction can either be positive or negative, depending on the way you handle things. Second, how you view your own mistakes will affect how students view theirs. And mistakes in EFL classes are the name of the game.

Here are some tips to turn errors into a positive experience:

Anticipate mistakes-On the first day of class, talk about how making mistakes is not a crime for students-which is, of course, important for them to know from the start. And then tell students that teachers make mistakes, too. I always tell my class, on the first day, that they-as foreign students-probably know the names of certain grammatical structures better than I do. As many of you native-English speakers know, it's easier to use English grammar than to describe it. I tell students that I will make some errors in this area. So when it happens, I'm not mortified. I'm not flippant about it; I wish I didn't do it, but I'm not devastated either-because I've warned the students that it will likely happen. I also make spelling mistakes when I write quickly on the board-and I ask students to catch them. In fact, this is something that they enjoy, quite frankly.

Own up to mistakes-When you make a mistake, tell students that you did it. Don't hope they won't notice. Believe me, just because students-especially more advanced students--don't say anything doesn't mean they don't know you did it. If you make a mistake and let it go, it will erode your credibility. If you made a mistake in a previous class, bring it up in the next class. This is not only about your credibility; this is about teaching-you want to teach the right thing and correct it when you err. And if you don't know something, tell a student you will look it up and get back to him/her. And, please, do it!

Thank a student who points out a mistake-Think about how brave a student is to be able to tell you-the teacher-that you might have made a mistake. Not to mention, of course, that the student has to be pretty good at English for finding a mistake. You may instinctively feel defensive or embarrassed-that's natural. But try not to react in a defensive way. Instead, congratulate the student on his/her skill-and courage.

Remember, to err is human, but to admit a mistake-that's a good EFL teacher.

Ilene Springer teaches EFL in Malta and is author of An-American-in-Malta.com.