Framework for organizing error correction strategies in the L2 classroom

Abstract Error correction is vital for maintaining interactive conversation flow. In second/foreign language (L2) learning, in particular, error correction has received considerable attention from researchers in the last three decades. Nevertheless, several classroom-based studies have observed that L2 teachers tend to use the least effective error correction strategy in their teaching (other-initiation other-correction). With the classroom teacher in mind, this article seeks to answer the question “How can teachers organize error correction strategies in their L2 classrooms effectively to facilitate communication and learning?” Informed by conversational analysis research findings in L1 and L2 contexts, the perceived role of learner output and self-correction in L2 learning, the article proposes a practical framework for classroom teachers comprising two scenarios, each consisting of three procedures that are organized sequentially from the most to the least preferred and effective based on the procedures’ potential to facilitate communication and learning. The article concludes by emphasizing that the proposed framework is meant to assist L2 teachers make principled decisions when correcting learner errors in their classrooms based on research-informed knowledge and their specific educational context.