A Study Of Preferences For Error Correction Of Junior High School Students Of Different Motivation Types In English Classroom

In language learning,errors are common and inevitable,so error correction is also a commonplace topic.For language teachers,whether to correct errors and how to correct them have become the focus of their research.In the education environment of advocating students as the main body,teachers can solve the problem of whether to correct errors and how to correct them according to students’ different preferences.In recent years,the research on error correction preference shows an upward trend,but most of the research is limited to treating all students as a whole,ignoring the individual differences of students.Therefore,this study turns the research perspective to individual learners,and uses cluster analysis to divide students into different motivation types.Then,the overall situation of learners’ preference for error correction in English classroom and the preference of learners in different motivation types are investigated through questionnaire.Finally,the reasons for different preferences are analyzed through interview,so as to provide teachers with high-quality and efficient error correction suggestions.Based on the theory of error analysis,interactive hypothesis and second language motivation self-system theory,this study investigates268 junior two students in a middle school in Hohhot with questionnaire and interview as research tools,and mainly discusses the following questions:1.What is the general situation of junior high school students’ preferences for error correction in English classroom?2.What are the different preferences of junior high school students of different types of learning motivation for English classroom error correction? What are the reasons for these different preferences?Through SPSS26.0 statistical software,this paper makes a statistical analysis of the questionnaire survey data,and combining with the results of interview survey,it is found that:(1)On the whole,most junior high school students have a positive attitude towards error correction and are more willing to let teachers correct their errors.For the type of error correction,they are more inclined to grammatical error correction,and for the timing of error correction,they are more inclined to post-speech and after-class corrections.As for the methods of error correction,students of different motivation types also have different preferences.For example,students prefer explicit correction in phonetic errors and lexical errors;for grammatical errors,students prefer metalinguistic feedback;In terms of pragmatic expression errors,students are more inclined to repeating.(2)Through cluster analysis,students are divided into five groups,namely,“Balanced learners”,“Developmental learners”,“Situational learners”,“Bystander learners” and “Instrumental learners”.They exhibit different preferences for the types,timing,and methods of error correction in English classrooms.“Balanced learners” prefer their pragmatic expression errors to be corrected,while “Developmental learners” prefer their lexical errors to be corrected.Both types of learners prefer to be corrected after class and prefer error correction methods in which teachers use relevant knowledge to point out the essence of errors and guide them to correct them themselves.“Situational learners” prefer their phonetic errors to be corrected,while “Bystander learners” and“Instrumental learners” prefer their grammatical errors to be corrected.These three types of learners all like to be corrected after speaking and like teachers to point out the errors directly and give correct forms of error correction.The main reason for this different preference is that junior high school students in different motivation types have different learning styles,learning abilities,learning attitudes,and self-confidence in English learning,as well as different self-esteem levels.According to the above research results,this study puts forward the following suggestions for junior high school English teaching: teachers should pay more attention to error correction,and properly consider the preferences of students in different motivation types to meet their individual needs,so as to improve the effectiveness of error correction.In addition,for the specific low level motivation dimensions in different groups,teachers should guide students to improve the level of relevant motivation dimensions in teaching,so as to improve the overall motivation level of students,therefore stimulating their learning interest and improving their learning efficiency.