The English classes with little children are ever lively with a lot of faux pas, banter, howlers and giggles.

Most often, ‘Tenses’ go for a toss. ‘He gone to school’ ‘I goed out yesterday’ ‘He didn’t came’…….among others.

We had some hilarious moment after other this afternoon.

First, while doing a Speech Writing activity on Healthy Eating, Samy wrote this sentence, ‘..children eat junk, snakes….’ Reading it aloud as I was pointing out the errors brought peals of laughter, which became infectious and had a rippling effect.

Next, Thaneesha! Gary, a seven year old was reluctantly doing his question and answer writing. His mother had come to pick him up and I asked him to hurry up and complete the task. Thaneesha remarked, “She is boring,” which was followed by instantaneous guffaws from others. Realizing her mistake, She quickly explained that she had meant, ‘Aunty is getting bored.’

On the one hand, such slips evokes titters and roars, nonetheless, a lot of learning takes place. A mistake committed by one becomes a platform for the others to learn. These incidents serve as a kind of mnemonic as well.

After all, several adult learners with whom I interact as a trainer speak confidently with such errors and more.

Some examples:

I can able to do it.
He gone to his native place.
He hardly works

I could go on endlessly with the English errors of adult learners, but, we shall reserve it for another day....