TOWARDS THE PROBLEMS OF ORAL MISTAKES CORRECTION IN THE PROCESS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AT HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

This article considers the problem of oral mistakes correction while analyzing the most methodologically appropriate methods 
of solving this problem. A mistake (error) is defined as a result of the incorrect choice of foreign language units for expressing a correctly programmed thought. The author proceeds from three theories targeted at different premises in error correction: 1) if errors make a permanent focus of attention and regular correction, it may give rise to a student’s fear, lower his/her self-esteem and motivation for further learning, and eventually hinder the communicative process; 2) mistakes should come under scrutiny and be corrected in order to prevent their fossilization; 3)  error correction depends on a certain situation and different criteria, i.e. is selective. 

The author’s position is as follows: a teacher’s instantaneous correction may have a negative influence on the development of  
students’ communicative competence as well as their motivation while interfering with a natural flow of speech. In this 
connection, the author describes the advantages of error correction depending on the category of the latter, the moment 
when exactly correction should be made. Who is to make correction is also of primary importance (a student, other 
students, a teacher). Using the techniques given in the article can raise the efficiency of the English language acquisition.