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Make suggestions, report errors > English errors are widespread on ESLprintables
English errors are widespread on ESLprintables
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BlancaNC
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English errors are widespread on ESLprintables
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I am new to ESLprintables. I am a native English speaker from California, and I am beginning to teach ESL to native Spanish speakers. Some of these error-filled worksheets have been downloaded many times by non-native English speakers, presumably to use for classroom instruction. That seems like a big mistake. This site will be promoting improper and poor English language usage. Should there not be a requirement for proofreading for correctness, before submitting to this site to share? This is particularly important for the worksheet designers who are at an intermediate level and not truly fluent in English. |
17 Sep 2011
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Mietz
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I �m not a native speaker, but I always check through all the worksheets I �m using from here. Never mind, that I will never ever be able to use everything that I �ve downloaded anyway. But the mistakes are normal - even for native speakers making some - and in the end they one big reason, why worksheets should be editable.
So just because there are worksheets with mistakes doesn �t mean, that a non-native speaker necessarily teaches mistakes.
I find the suggestion a good idea though that worksheets should be proofread, but who should do that?
Just some thoughts.
Mietz
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17 Sep 2011
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aliciapc
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Mietz has a point ... who would do that ? I think many "flaws" have been found about this site, many times, and I don �t agree. It �s a great site, it �s helped me a lot with teaching material and there are TONS of ws from members who master the language and make no mistakes ... Again, I �d suggest to use whatever we think is worth downloading and to not bother downloading ws we see are full of mistakes (it �s that or either correct them ...) But I repeat, there are tons worth downloading . Take advantage of those , Blanca! Good luck !
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17 Sep 2011
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manuelanunes3
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Hi
In case of errors you can always report the worksheet. There are people here who will check that and delete the worksheet for that reason and other reasons. |
17 Sep 2011
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perma
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You can �t report a WS for having errors manuela. However, you can send a polite PM to the author pointing out his/her mistakes. I sometimes do that when I have the time to check the WS right after downloading and I spot two or three mistakes. I admit though, if there are really many mistakes I just can �t go in the trouble and I delete it.
The problem remains: who would proofread all this?  Only one possible answer: the downloader.
Blanca said This site will be promoting improper and poor English language usage
and I agree, but a teacher who can �t see the mistakes in a WS he/she has downloaded will make mistakes of his/her own while teaching anyway. |
17 Sep 2011
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crispoi
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Hi!
I �m a Brazilian teacher, and sometimes I have some doubts to write, it would be better if you BlancaNC report us this way we can learn and correct it.
Thanks anyway!
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17 Sep 2011
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orly100
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First of all I agree with you dear Mietz, It �s normal even for native speakers.
and...
Why to "report the worksheet"???? You can be so kind and write back a private email to the auther of the worksheet.... I have to say that it �s an excellent site and I enjoy the talented teachers that write, draw, and create such creative worksheets every day.
Thank you ESL teachers you helped me alot too.
Good luck Blanca,
Orly
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17 Sep 2011
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lapaoiza
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Dear Blanca,
I think that maybe you have misunderstood the aim of this site. That is, sharing and helping all English Teachers all over the world.
That means that, when there are mistakes, we help each other by writing comments or sending PMs to the ones who have spent some time preparing lessons and wanted to share them.
We are all human, some mistakes are so silly that after you download them, you can correct them. And the ws that have lots of them are not downloaded because they might not be useful.
At this site grows with the help of everyone who uploads and share teaching material, I�d like to give you a piece of advice. Try to think good ideas to improve it and share your ideas with us. That is the only way to become part of us. Besides all of us are teachers, we continue learning day by day this language. I�m sure you�ll need some "Spanish speakers" some day to help with your classes, too. And there we will be.
Regards,
Paola |
17 Sep 2011
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mariamit
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Dear Blanca,
Welcome to ESL Printables, a website where English Language teachers exchange resources. When these worksheets are exchanged it is difficult to proofread them all. Who would proofread what? Have you counted how many worksheets are exchanged here on a daily basis? Let �s assume you could have access to all of these worksheets would you be willing to proofread them. Probably not because if you �re teaching full time you don �t have the time. Mietz pointed out that worksheets should be editable and that, IMHO, is the best we can do.
Most of the teachers on this site are not native speakers. They are, although hard-working individuals who are trying to promote the English language. Yes, they make mistakes. Could you say that you don �t? Don �t let the flag under my name fool you. I am also a native speaker, a born and bred, New Yorker. When I was teaching in Brooklyn, I remember a lot of my fellow colleagues making grammatical, syntactic and even semantic errors. They were all native speakers. My point: native speakers can make mistakes- sometimes even more than non-natives. If you can spot mistakes in a worksheet you can correct them. Surely, it is much faster than making a worksheet. That is why this site is so popular.
Just my opinion.
Maria
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17 Sep 2011
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Zora
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Hmm... New ESL teachers, native ones especially, tend to have this rather quaint (or annoying, depends on who �s at the receiving end of their correction) habit of pointing out what is or is not correct.
Now ... What do you consider to be correct? American grammar, British grammar or the International standard? Are you in favour of British or American spelling, or are you like many Canadians who consider both to be standard English? Are split infinitives a big thing to you? Do you think we need to teach common usage instead of "grammar book" usage? Are you so sure of yourself that you can say "take a decision" is the same as "make a decision"? Can you safely say that that "speak" can use the prepositions "with, about, to"? Or that "have got" is the same as "have"? Can you identify words, phrasal verbs or idioms common to other English speaking countries? Spot and make sure one is using the subjuntive properly? Yes? No?...Well, all this and more is what a proof-reader must know... Is anyone here such an expert? Probably not.
I think that saying something is correct or incorrect is often about what we consider to be correct or not... and more often than not, natives (as Maria pointed out) make more mistakes than non-natives at times. Besides, the idea is to communicate properly, not speak like Sherlock Holmes! 
This site is about sharing. It is about saying "thank you" for another �s time and effort and help, and not worrying about the small things. If you find an error, correct it and move on. It �s not the end of the world.
Anyways, welcome to the site. Relax, take a deep breath and have fun creating. sharing and downloading.
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17 Sep 2011
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ueslteacher
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Would you think of maybe someday teaching the foreign languages that you �ve learnt, Blanca? Do you think you would be error free? I think it �s virtually impossible. On the other hand, I do agree you can �t be a good teacher if you don �t have a good command of the language yourself. However, we are a community of educators, who btw can and are willing to educate each other. If you want to make a difference, do pm the authors of ws in which you �ve spotted mistakes - they can always update their contributions and even pm all users, who left the comments for their ws. Unless, you would consider this a waste of time. The other thing is, that the only way to download wss is sharing your own work, and some members here are just desperate for quality material. Well, maybe they do upload ws full of mistakes, but don �t you think that, what they get in return, is more beneficial for their students, than their own work? And finally, not all native speakers are linguists or educators, i. e. qualified to teach the language. Then there �s always the difference between Englishes, which could be viewed as a flaw by their respective representatives:) Anyways, try to stay on the bright side and help the not-so-knowledgeable of us, who are always here on the forum with our doubts, begging for help from our native-speaking experts. Welcome to the site!  Warmest regards, Sophia @Linda: We must have been posting simultaneously, otherwise I wouldn�t have repeated you:) BTW are you sure you aren�t forgetting our expert helpers like Alex or Les by saying there�s no one here, who could do all THAT, you�ve mentioned?:)
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18 Sep 2011
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