Is Lang-8 effective ?
Jan 20th 2010 01:37
I have no doubt that Lang-8 is one of the most effective tools for learning foreign languages.
I have some doubt however, to which extend you are able to learn from the corrections by native speakers
Although it is motivating and helps a lot to get corrections from native speakers, because of a lack of time those corrections mostly lack any further explanation on your error. Because you promptly get the sample solution, you don´t have to rewrite your entry, which would help you to really work on your mistakes, and realize what you have done wrong on your own.
So, here is the system i would suggest:
The first correction of an article/entry always indicates all errors by marking them in red letters.
The author then has to think about alternatives, investigate what he has done wrong, and rewrite the article.
Only then it should it be possible for the correctors to give sample solutions for errors, since the author is apparently not able to correct them on his own.
Compared to getting multiple corrections on the same entry, which always give you correct alternatives to your errors right away, the correction system as described above would´nt mean more work for users.
What it would do is make Lang-8 more effective in enhancing language skills, because there is evidence that giving learners a chance to correct themselves is much more effective.
I got this idea from an article which deals on problems in "Providing Feedback on ESL Students' Written Assignments". If you are interested, here is the link:
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Williams-Feedback.html
So what do you think of my idea ?
I have some doubt however, to which extend you are able to learn from the corrections by native speakers
Although it is motivating and helps a lot to get corrections from native speakers, because of a lack of time those corrections mostly lack any further explanation on your error. Because you promptly get the sample solution, you don´t have to rewrite your entry, which would help you to really work on your mistakes, and realize what you have done wrong on your own.
So, here is the system i would suggest:
The first correction of an article/entry always indicates all errors by marking them in red letters.
The author then has to think about alternatives, investigate what he has done wrong, and rewrite the article.
Only then it should it be possible for the correctors to give sample solutions for errors, since the author is apparently not able to correct them on his own.
Compared to getting multiple corrections on the same entry, which always give you correct alternatives to your errors right away, the correction system as described above would´nt mean more work for users.
What it would do is make Lang-8 more effective in enhancing language skills, because there is evidence that giving learners a chance to correct themselves is much more effective.
I got this idea from an article which deals on problems in "Providing Feedback on ESL Students' Written Assignments". If you are interested, here is the link:
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Williams-Feedback.html
So what do you think of my idea ?
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I have some doubt however, to which extend what extent you [although the pronoun "one" would be better - "man" auf Deutsch] are able to learn from the corrections by native speakers.
I do really think it's very helpful that the correctors have added their detailed explanations to their corrections on my entries.
Your suggestion is very interesting except that it would need more steps to have your sentences corrected than it is now. As a matter of fact, you can "edit" your entries even after they are corrected by others.
I agree. We could learn better this way. However, I am afraid that the system that you suggested might be more demanding to correctors than the present one is, because the correctors have to visit the site again in order to check if the newly written sentences are correct.
>you don´t have to rewrite your entry, which would help you to really work on your mistakes, and realize what you have done wrong on your own.
That is true. One can learn better by rewriting one's entry. I know that some Lang-8 users rewrite their entries, depending on the various corrections and post them as new entries. I think it is a wise way.
Of course this might work for the two biggest languages here, English and Japanese, but you should also keep in mind that different people write their journals for different reasons (even the same people on different occasions). So I think it would be unwise to implement such an obligatory system.
This boils down to personal choice. Rewriting certainly helps a lot, and people who find this important are already doing this. I myself rewrite many of my posts and post them on my language learning blog.
Lastly, many of us do simple errors on things we should know - Fluechtigkeitsfehler. Or we get something immediately when it is explained, but would not find it necessarily by searching it out ourselves - for example the following - you may get it even though you are studying Japanese, not Chinese:
学两个语- 很难. 你们觉得:可不可以?
学两个语- 很难. 你们觉得:可不可以?同时学两种语言,很难. 你们觉得可行么?( You may use"可以么?". But "可行" means "Will it work/ Is that doable?" which is more precise in my opinion.)
The moment omigod666 pointed this out, I got it. Learnable moment in 10 sec,and I will remember the difference between 可以 and 可行 forever, because it is very intuitive - but if he had just said, find and alternative, I would have wasted hours.
Ultimately, I like these kind of corrections with explanations the most.
I´m happy I gott so much feedback !
・Roomy・
Thanks for correcting me everytime!
・Drew・
Unfortunately i don´t speak French at all but i wish you good luck learning it!
・paco・
Good point ! I´ve rewritten most of my entries.
・nao・
Sounds interesting !! Hope we can talk sometime soon ^ ^ !
・ghyrd・
I wasn´t considering learners of rare languages have it harder to find correctors at all, good point.
・margit・
谢谢你！I agree that in some cases it is not efficient to search for alternatives on your own. Maybe the method i suggested is only helpful for people who do kind of the same errors again and again (like me)..?