Errors and Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Throughout the world, great change can be observed concerning the role and functions of schools; therefore, expectations of the teachers should also be refined. In this fast changing era, teachers are encouraged to take the responsibility of teaching by reflecting upon their own teaching ideas and practice and initiating necessary changes. This process of reflection, self-monitoring and self-evaluation, though difficult, timeconsuming and complex, helps them not to be accustomed to the routines and to engage in the process of professional development. In accordance with the process of teacher development, the present study aimed at examining experienced Iranian high school teachers' ideas and beliefs on errors and error correction to look for any trace of professional development based on their refection and self-evaluation. The teachers were interviewed and their answers were analyzed. The result indicated a kind of change in teachers‟ perception regarding errors. This change ranged from negative view that considers errors as great sins of the learners in the beginning years of teaching towards a positive view of errors as signs of development and creativity in the process of learning a foreign language after many years of teaching experience. Based on the teachers' answers, it can be inferred that the reaction of the teachers to learners' errors has also changed. In many cases, the teachers provided reflective answers and discussed why and how their ideas about errors and their manner of error correction have changed. The trend of development and professionalism were thus traceable in their reflective writing.