219: How to help students with fossilisation

Matthias asks: "How can I help my students deal with fossilisation?" Episode Summary: Fossilisation is when a mistake becomes deeply embedded in a learner's language after years of "doing it wrong" It can occur in grammar, pronunciation, incorrect word choice (e.g. "it's mean", "why you have...?") In my teaching experience, fixing fossilisation is tricky because it amounts to reprogramming someone who usually doesn't want to change Fixing fossilisation has to begin with awareness If a student has come to you, it's because they're looking for an external solution, whereas it's the student who has learnt the mistake in the first place - only they can unlearn it As a teacher, you can go hard or soft, it depends on how best the student will react to it I would set the student tasks to do at home, as it relieves pressure on the student Set awareness-raising activities, followed up with regular highlighting of mistakes in lessons Today's Quote: People like to change their mind in private. - Sam Harris Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you have a question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!