I have a guest blogger and she wrote about speech errors. It is really interetsting to know about them how to treat them in class. Thank you Elaine.

Elaine Hirsch is a kind of a jack-of-all interestes from education to history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working  as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead.

Speech errors have long been a source of fascination to both linguists and language teachers. Despite their interest to linguists, speech errors can create many problems for English language learners in conventional classes, online schools, or any other language learning environments. To avoid confusion and embarrassment from such problems, four common types of speech errors are explained, with helpful resources included to aid ESL teachers in making their students more aware of such mistakes.

Spoonerisms, a mixing up of the sounds within a word or phrase, are arguably the most common kind of speech error. Named for the Rev. William Archibald Spooner of Oxford University, these slips of the tongue often result in hilarious results. While many examples of original spoonerisms exist, the most famous arose when Spooner was giving a tribute to the “Dear old Queen” in which he referred to her as the “Queer old Dean.” Such slips of the tongue may be problematic for English language learners, who may need practice in recognition of these errors and deciphering the original message.

Next is malapropism, or a substitution of one word by a similar word, resulting in a ridiculous or nonsensical phrase. A derivation of mal á propos, meaning “ill-suited” in French, malapropisms are commonly used in verse and drama to add humorous effect. The term malapropism became common with the production of Richard Sheridan’s play Rivals, in which the character Mrs. Malaprop mixes up her words with hilarious effect. Like spoonerisms, malapropisms can be problematic for English language learners, whose incorrect word choices can lead to great misunderstandings. However, becoming aware of commonly confused words can aid ESL students by making them more aware of their word choices. This malapropism quiz is a good place to start to help students recognize common word choice errors.

While spoonerisms and malapropisms are generally errors in production, or slips of the tongue, mondegreens are perceptual errors, or what might be called slips of the ear. The term mondegreen was coined by Sylvia Wright, who misheard the last line of a ballad as “And Lady Mondegreen” rather than “And laid him on the green.” Mondegreens are most commonly associated with songs or recitations, making them fun and fascinating for ESL students interested in learning English song lyrics, but who may have problems hearing the words correctly. Dave’s ESL Cafe offers an interesting idea for teaching mondegreens with Christmas songs.

Another interesting speech error is the eggcorn, an idiosyncratic substitution of one word for another, such as “elk” for “ilk.” Eggcorns have garnered so much attention that an eggcorn database has been created and is continually updated with real life examples. Teachers interested in helping their students avoid using eggcorns can browse the database with their students, discuss the correct forms and their eggcorn counterparts, and then practice the correct usage.

For language learners, overcoming the difficulties of speech errors in English can be an overwhelming task. The first step is simply being aware of the possible errors and problems that may arise. Teachers can help students make better, more correct word choices by focusing on these speech errors and how to decipher and repair them. Ultimately, this will improve automaticity and aid students as they progress on the path to becoming proficient and fluent English speakers.