On your CELTA course, you will learn a lot about elicitation. If there is one thing you will learn, it is this. By eliciting what students already know, you will help them correct themselves. If you are dogged about it, you can keep asking questions of a student until they realise their mistake. However, it doesn't always work and, at times, it can be exhausting for the student, especially in a one-to-one lesson. I agree however that there is a delicate balance between accuracy and fluency and I am on a learning curve on this one.

Hi, Andrew. I salute you for being willing (and bold enough) to ask for peer input. I don't see that often. I am a community tutor as well, and I find it strange to kind of hear that feedback and corrections don't work. If that were the case, then what good are teachers and how does a student ever improve their grammar mistakes? I feel that grammar mistakes should be corrected but as another commenter said, it should be done gently. Let me give some examples of what I mean. If a student is making many grammar mistakes, then I may not correct every one in that lesson. To do so would be disruptive to the lesson and demoralizing to the student. Instead I might just focus on a couple during each lesson to "spread them out". In addition, I always smile and correct errors as "kindly" as I can. I may mention that even Americans make some of these mistakes or that it is a common student mistake so they feel more "normal" in making the m mistake. I also stress to my students that mistakes are wonderful! Because I can't fix what I can't see, mistakes present us with opportunities for improvement. I also stress to my students that I want their lessons with me to be relaxing and fun -- a joy to anticipate, not something to dread because they might make a mistake and draw my scorn down on their heads. In other words, do what you think is right but do it while trying to keep the student at ease as much as possible. I don't listen to the "experts" most of the time. I have had numerous students of mine tell me that they WANT me to correct their mistakes, and I have had students tell me they left teachers who did NOT correct their mistakes. Their comment was, "What am I paying him for, if not to correct my mistakes?" I will comment that most of the prospective students here on italki want ONLY conversation and nothing else. I do not believe conversation without grammar correction will improve their speaking much. Good luck in your efforts.

Might be worth a look - Does Grammar Teaching Work?: http://www.mikeswan.co.uk/elt-applied-linguistics/teaching-grammar.htm About the author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Swan_(writer)

Thanks, Barbara, I too try to make a point of correcting errors where there is a pattern to them. For example, I find that some students persistently miss the 's,' on the end of English plurals.

I definitely think a rude attitude from the teacher can be very discouraging to students and I would consider that the main type of corrections to avoid. I am supposing anyone with a bit of experience (not even teaching, but simply dealing with non-natives) knows that patience is a must, so those "harsh corrections" I was referring to shouldn´t be that common. As you mention, the volume, timing and type of correction might affect how the student feels. If I see a mistake that I believe to be a one time thing, because I know for a fact the student´s level is enough to be aware of such mistake, I let it slide. If we are talking about mistakes that can potentially develop into more mistakes (originated by the first one) I do believe it is necessary to correct it, always with a lot of patience and an open attitude. I guess, at the end of the day, teachers are there to fix the mistakes we can´t see or hear.