This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2136.
Should your teacher correct your English grammar?
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Today, we answer a question from a YouTube listener.
As an English teacher, should you correct every grammar mistake your students make?
And as a learner, should you really worry about being 100% correct with your grammar?
Find out today.
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Hey there, Aubrey.
How's it going today?
I'm great.
How are you, lindsay?
I'm feeling pretty good today, no major complaints.
What is on our plate today for all our english?
I have a question.
I want to start here.
Have you ever had a teacher correct you in a way that made you lose motivation to learn?
Oh yes, my.
I was traumatized by my uh, let's see middle school french teacher.
I was terrified.
That's why I got so into languages, because I did so bad, so poorly.
My first semester of French, I think it was, was it middle school?
It was high school, middle school.
I did so poorly.
And so I got so motivated to actually be good at languages.
And then I realized I am good if I study in a certain way.
So yeah, I was very traumatized by that class.
Interesting.
Was it correcting pronunciation?
Do you remember?
I think it was just really like...
Not not very encouraging the way she would correct you.
You know, that's wrong.
Go to the board.
Write it correctly.
Just very old school ways of teaching.
Yes.
Humiliating you in front of the class.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, we got a really interesting question about this.
Right.
Should teachers correct grammar?
And if so, what and and how does that motivate?
So I'm excited to talk about this today.
Yeah, I'm super excited.
But I want to remind our listeners, today's question does come from a YouTube viewer.
And we do have a way, a different way to consume this podcast, which is on YouTube.
If you love YouTube, if that's actually the way you'd prefer to consume this show, go over to YouTube and search for All Ears English.
Hit that subscribe button right now.
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Right, Aubrey?
Yes, and you can leave.
Questions right there in the comments, right?
Or share your opinion, share your thoughts.
We love to read the comments there.
It's great.
And if you learn more visually, you can see us here talking to each other, right?
And our gestures and our smiles.
And it's just another way to consume the show.
So Aubrey, I'm going to go ahead and read the question from Ahmed Tarek.
Ahmed Shalabi.
Ahmed Shalabi.
Ahmed Tarek.
Ahmed Shalabi.
Long YouTube name.
7175.
Okay, here we go.
Hi, Lindsay and Aubrey.
Thank you for the interesting video.
I teach English to adults in Egypt.
Ooh, Egypt, yay.
My question is if I hear my learners making this mistake with pronouns for example, she's taller than me should I leave it out in the feedback I give to them on their speaking, or should I correct them?
Some of them might say that they hear native speakers saying it.
I'd really appreciate your advice on that.
Thanks in advance.
Great question, Aubrey.
Yes, right.
This was a recent episode, 2093, her and I or her and me, your grammar questions answered.
We shared a few mistakes that are made with these pronouns.
And one that's a very native mistake was shared here by this student, right?
She is taller than me.
Accurate grammar would actually be she is taller than I, but we don't say that.
At least a lot of speakers in the United States make this mistake intentionally, even if we know it's incorrect grammar.
Yeah.
So the question for today's episode is going to be great.
It's going to be for our listeners who are English teachers, which we have a lot of them.
And it's also for our listeners who are English learners and want to know what are the mistakes that are okay to make and what are the ones you want to avoid like crazy right.
Exactly, right?
And why?
This is going to be really interesting to talk about.
And if you have a teacher that corrects your grammar a lot, if it's demotivating, what should you do right?
There are a lot of... details here.
There's a lot today.
But first, guys, go over and check out episode 2125, which just came out earlier in January.
The title is How to Share Your Faults in English for Deeper Connection.
We talk a lot on there on that episode, about how people connect with human beings, and we all have faults, right Aubrey?
We all have things we're working on that we're challenged by.
And so how to share those in a way that's not too vulnerable but does give people something to connect with absolutely, and this is so applicable because we all make grammar mistakes right, and so if we can just admit a fault, laugh about a fault and continue to connect in english, we're going to enjoy language learning so much more exactly.
So let's go first operate to the perspective of the teacher to directly answer ahmed's question of what should he do if he hears these mistakes.
He knows they're wrong, but he also knows native speakers make these mistakes all the time.
Where do we go from here?
We consulted with our team here.
We talked to Jessica for her opinion on this too.
I wanted to talk to Jessica because, as a previous IELTS examiner, I was curious about which types of grammar errors IELTS examiners care about, because it's very dependent on learner goals if grammar will be corrected or not.
If a learner is studying the language as a major at a university or to pass an exam where grammar is scored then yes, a teacher should correct them so they're aware of the grammar errors they're making.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
So for Ahmed, if you're training someone for IELTS, if you know grammar is going to be important.
And by the way, go over and check out our IELTS Energy podcast if anyone is taking the IELTS exam.
Right, Aubrey?
Because there's certain ways to learn grammar for IELTS too that are not the same as everyday grammar.
Right, there's strategies.
A lot of students focus too much on grammar actually and you can waste a lot of time when the other scores are actually easier often to improve, to improve your overall score.
So we share, when grammar matters, what to focus on and what you shouldn't be so worried about over there.
Yeah, so check it out.
But okay, what else, Aubrey?
What else did Jessica say?
What else do we think?
What is our perspective here?
Well so, because it depends on learner goals.
If that's not the goal, if it's for general fluency which a lot of you listening your goal is general fluency.
And if that's the case, a teacher should not necessarily correct your grammar, because it can be very demotivating to be corrected a lot.
It actually hurts learning and can hinder progress.
You won't learn as fast if you're only focused on grammar errors, trying to be perfect, instead of trying to connect in English.
Yeah, we are all about connection, not perfection.
I like the approach.
If we are working with a student on fluency, maybe there's one.
Maybe if they come to you at the top of the lesson and they say hey, I want to work on prepositions today, right?
Then maybe we correct only prepositions that day, right?
Or only one kind of prepositions.
One example of using a preposition in a certain way.
That's the only thing grammatically we're gonna correct that day.
We're still working on fluency and we are targeting one grammar point.
But if we start correcting everything, we're no longer practicing our fluency.
Exactly.
Right.
And if teachers are correcting everything, it's interrupting, derailing the lesson.
It can make it very disjointed and choppy.
And then the student will leave probably not remembering any of those corrections very well.
So I love that idea.
We often do that in our classes to focus on one grammar point and then really help so that we can actually improve.
Yeah, that's why I think it's important for our listeners to when you think about your prep schedule, you you're adding in both practice trained professional teachers and conversation partners.
You're not doing just one or the other because the conversation partner is not there to have a goal for the lesson.
It's just a conversation partner.
They're not going to focus in this way, but the teacher will.
And so you combine both and you get the best of both worlds.
Yes, absolutely.
So this is, we have been focusing a little more on grammar this fall.
A lot of our listeners write in questions asking about grammar, and I love this.
It's great to want to know the correct grammar.
And then the question is right when I'm in a class, should I be, you know, thinking about every grammar point being corrected on every grammar point, or is that actually hindering my progress?
Right Aubrey, there are certain grammar points that are just grammar mistakes, that are just way more glaring.
Absolutely.
Certain ones that you're going to hear a lot of people making them on podcasts and movies your neighbors.
It's going to happen all the time.
So it's probably acceptable.
Yes, absolutely.
We're actually going to share three today that we as teachers do not correct here in the United States because they're so common.
They're so accepted by native speakers that often, if you say it correctly, people will think you're making a mistake.
Or it's just so accepted that it almost isn't a grammar error anymore.
Maybe some real grammarians experts would disagree.
This is where it gets a little tricky.
But even those who are learning a language for college, for test prep.
These are three errors that you don't need to worry about, that native speakers make all the time.
Yeah, and this comes back to knowing why you're learning English.
If you're learning for human connection, which I think 95 of our listeners are, then you don't need to worry about these mistakes.
And I would actually argue that if you're a native speaker, or even a non-native speaker, and you go around correcting people correcting native speakers or non-native speakers when they make these mistakes, you're killing the connection, okay.
Absolutely.
There are times when saying it right or commenting on how to say it right kills the connection.
So we have to know what our ultimate goal is.
Yes, it can feel very judgmental or very condescending if someone were to correct one of these errors, especially because you run the risk of correcting someone who knows it's an error and is saying it incorrectly on purpose because it's part of their regional dialect.
It's so common, it's so understood that, like you said, it could really kill the connection.
And don't worry, we'll tell you when there are mistakes.
And that's for another episode, all of our other episodes that you absolutely shouldn't make.
You should work hard to say correctly, but these are not those.
These are not those.
So Aubrey, where do we start today?
I think our listeners are ready.
We're rolling up our sleeves here.
Yes.
The first one is the one that Ahmed mentioned in his comment, she's taller than me.
And we shared the episode where we talked about this a little bit more, though the correct grammar is she's taller than I, because of the implied verb she's taller than I am.
I have only heard where I live, she's taller than me.
And this is because we usually hear the object at the end of a sentence, right?
My cat sat on me, right?
We usually hear me at the end of a sentence, so it just feels more correct.
Right.
And if you're really, really torn with this, if this really bothers you there may be some listeners that are really annoyed by this just say she's taller than I am right.
That's the way you can kind of avoid saying it incorrectly when 95 of people are not going to have a problem with that.
But if you do, just say she's taller than I am.
That's a really good pro tip because if you do say she's taller than I, it's so interesting how, using the correct grammar there sounds a little pretentious.
Like you're trying to intentionally use this very fancy, perfect grammar that most people in the United States don't use in day-to-day conversations.
It's really interesting.
We've talked about this on that episode and a few other episodes.
We did one interesting episode this fall Aubrey, on how to mirror who you're around and the way you speak, your register and why that matters for connection right.
Bigger words.
Should I, sesquipedalian, right?
That sesquipedalian episode.
Yeah.
Check that out in our back catalog guys.
Super interesting commentary around connection and being correct.
Yes, if you guys missed that episode and this word sounds very foreign to you sesquipedalian it means someone who uses big fancy words too much, right?
So absolutely use interesting vocabulary, but it can be overkill.
We can do it too much.
Definitely go back and check out that episode if you missed it.
Okay, so that is number one.
That is the first grammar quote unquote mistake that pretty much 99% of native speakers are making.
And so you are fine to go ahead and make that mistake, okay?
Yes.
So number two is when someone asks how are you doing right?
Correct grammar would be to say i'm well, to use an adverb here, but it's become sort of slang to answer i'm good, and that just means like i'm fine, everything's good.
And this is so common that if you were to correct someone, if someone says i'm good and you say don't you mean i'm well, that would really kill the connection.
They might even know that they should say i'm well, but they're intentionally making this mistake because everyone around them also says it that way.
Yeah, and this is the one that i hear native speakers actually saying it correctly the most.
I would say between these three, i do sometimes hear people say how you doing today?
I'm well, i'm well, right.
But you know tons of people say i'm good.
I say i'm good.
I've probably said that on the show before.
Not a problem, Not a problem.
And I love what you said earlier about some of this it's good to think about.
Should we correct someone?
Because absolutely, you can say, I'm well, and you won't sound too hoity-toity, too pretentious.
That's normal.
We hear both.
But should you correct someone?
I wouldn't ever correct someone.
Totally, 100% agree.
Do not do it.
Just move on.
If you really want to connect and connection is what leads to happiness then move on with the conversation.
What are your weekend plans?
Tell me more about your day.
Ask real questions.
Don't get stuck in these things that really don't matter for your happiness in your career or your life.
Right, Aubrey?
Yes.
Especially where this is going to happen at the top of a conversation, when you're first greeting someone.
And how fun for you to get deeper, to have a connection, have a great conversation.
But if you correct their grammar right in the greeting, that's hard to overcome and then get past this feeling of having corrected someone.
So just don't do it.
Especially if you're first meeting someone.
What is that expression?
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?
It's so true.
So, yeah.
Okay, Aubrey, we have a third here.
What is it?
All right.
And I get questions a lot from students about this.
It's who versus whom.
Rarely do native speakers... use whom anymore in casual day-to-day conversation, at least in the US.
So an example is we might say, who are you talking to?
And correct grammar would be, whom are you talking to?
Or if you don't want that dangling preposition, you could say, to whom are you talking?
This sounds quite formal.
And so in regular day-to-day conversation, you'll hear this grammar error quite a bit.
Who are you talking to?
Totally acceptable.
Most people won't realize you're making a mistake.
Yeah, for sure.
Last week I was watching the movie, it was on TV, A Beautiful Mind.
Have you ever seen it?
A Beautiful Mind?
Yes, but it's been a long time.
It's been a long time.
The professor John Nash on the Princeton campus.
He had conversations with Einstein, lots of older professors from the 1950s.
Maybe I would hear that there in that setting, okay?
World famous professors, but that is not the setting.
Yeah, but super, super old, okay, in the 1950s, 40s. older people, right?
This is not the setting that most of us are existing in now.
All right.
Exactly.
And this is different in some depending on the English speaking country you're in.
We're talking about in the United States.
These are very accepted mistakes.
So it is a when you're studying for an exam.
When you're studying for college, you are likely going to learn these lessons and, in order to perform well, you will need to do this correctly.
But if you're chatting with someone in the States, it's a whole different ballgame.
Yeah.
That's why we learn in context.
So, if you're practicing for an exam, maybe there's an oral exam.
Maybe it's not the IELTS, it's something else.
Practice the right way.
Know these for sure.
Make a point of saying it correctly.
But again, most of the time we're out in the world, we're at work, And again we make a distinction on the show formal for work, informal for life.
These also go just fine for work.
Right, Aubrey?
Absolutely.
Yes.
These are mistakes we make in the business world as well.
And no one would bat an eye.
100%.
What's the takeaway today?
I mean, this is it, right?
That's knowing what, when to, when to just go with the flow.
Exactly.
Right.
And if you know, if you do have a teacher who corrects your grammar a lot and it feels demotivating, talk to them about it.
Right.
They might not realize they might think that you want your grammar corrected constantly.
And if that isn't helping you get the fluency that you want, definitely make it a conversation.
Yeah.
And more broadly, you know, before you enter your next lesson, if you have a tutor, ask your tutor what's the goal of today's lesson.
That tutor should have a goal, right?
What is the goal?
What are we working on today?
If they don't say anything, then you bring that goal to them as an adult learner, right?
100%.
Love it.
Yes.
I love it.
Awesome.
So fun.
We love chatting about grammar, but I love also really focusing on when is grammar important and when should we not let it hurt our conversations.
Yeah.
As we said in that other episode, we love words, we love grammar, but we love connection more.
So...
If you agree with us, then this is our philosophy here at All Ears English.
So check out our show on YouTube, guys.
Hit subscribe so you can catch us on YouTube four days a week.
All right, Aubrey.
We'll talk to you soon.
Awesome.
See you next time.
Bye.
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