Fossilized Error Correction

A fossilized error is an error in speaking and/or writing that a language learner repeats over and over again.

It becomes part of the learner's ingrained speech pattern and they continue to make the error. Language teachers and linguists have been talking about fossilized errors and the methods of correcting them for decades.

I've written about my strategies for correcting fossilized errors and the methods to help English language learners.

Fossilized errors:

Should not be ignored because they don't go away by themselves.

Require a focused, methodical strategy for correction.

Should be tackled early on in any phase of language instruction.

CAN be corrected with the right approach.