While most of us think it's helpful to be corrected, some people might not think so.
You may think it's embarrassing to be corrected in public - you may feel frustrated or disappointed or even offended.
Making mistakes is part of learning, though. It's hard to imagine you'll be fluent in English without making any mistakes. So, chances are you'll make some mistakes in your writing. That is to say, the mistakes are always there whether somebody corrects you or not. So, why pretend your English writing is already flawless?
Don't try to bury your head in the sand or don't fool yourself - accept it. It's not that you'll lose face - you'll learn from the corrections. We should appreciate the corrections other members made for us. We even encourage you to invite others to correct you.
The thing is, however, other members may have failed to correct you - they may have read your blog, but somehow failed to make any corrections for you; they may not have been so interested in what you just wrote; they may not have had so much time to correct all the mistakes or they may have thought the mistakes were just minor ones or typos.
Don't be afraid of making mistakes or being corrected in public - I don't assume your English writing is already good enough if you don't publish any blogs here.
Anyway, I'll make mistakes, too, so I'd appreciate it if any of you tried to correct me or even if you corrected me incorrectly:))
'lose face' - to become less respectable because you have been defeated
Comments
Hi Danny,
Thanks for sharing your experience with Russian. Thankfully, I don't need to learn it. Chinese may not be that hard for you to learn, though. Yes, Chinese is my first language.
And, I agree idioms can be so tricky to use - unless you're sure you can use them correctly.
Thanks again!
Hi Danny,
Sorry you don't speak Russian - you can communicate with your wife, though:) I hear Russian is hard to learn. By the way, I wonder if 'feel a piece of furniture' is an idiom.
Yes, I've been learning English since I was little - it's not like 'I've learned it in an English-speaking country', though. I wish I were a native English speaker!
Sorry, as you may have noticed, I've been trying to use English in a 'colloquial' way - I'm not sure if it'll make me sound natural:)
Many thanks, Danny!
Yes, you can say that again. I studied in Canada for only half a year, but I've been learning English for ages. I find English is much harder to learn than it may seem to be. Making mistakes is part of learning. I've learned my lesson - 'unless' can be so tricky to use. Thanks again, Danny!
I just published a blog challenge and you're welcome to join in it - feel free to correct us if you spot a mistake in any of the blogs.
Hi Samouel,
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you agree with me. Yes, you can say that again.
Good luck!
Hi Tanya,
Thanks for keeping it going - that's what I want. I hope other members will benefit from this discussion, too.
As you know, I'm not really a native English speaker, let alone a native English teacher. So, I know I'll make some mistakes in my writing. There may still be mistakes in the blog even though I've edited it many times. That's why I encourage our members to help correct each other or ask a native teacher to correct them.
As for the sentence, I just looked up the word 'chance' in a dictionary and it seems 'chances are' (= it is likely) can be used without 'there are'.
Thanks again, Tanya.
By the way, I've been trying to write in a 'colloquial' way - I'm not sure if it can help make me sound natural:)
Dear Expector! Thank you! So, I will try to correct the sentence you discussed with Dan. You have changed it and now it is clear what you mean (Danny meant what he wrote). So, if you like to use the word CHANCES, you should use THERE IS/ARE construction. It may be something like this:
So, there are always chances of your making mistakes while writing.
On the other hand, I have to admit your English being superb! We have tried to correct this sentence as your mind was not clear. But it is an exception. All your writing is just perfect. But you know, not only non-native, but also native speakers make mistakes from time to time. After living in America for more than 20 years and teaching grammar, I still ask Danny to correct me if I am wrong and the funniest thing is that I always know I said something wrong, but he didn't even pay attention!
Hi Tanya,
Thank you for the comment. Yes, you can say that again. I know you've been trying to help correct our members - I really appreciate it! Keep it up!
Incidentally, you're welcome to read my blog and correct me!
Dear Expector! I completely agree with you and I wonder why some learners don't like our correcting them. Writing without a feedback is the same as talking to a wall. When I joined the EC, I tried to correct everyone. But now, we correct only those who ask us about it or just post some blogs/discussion.
At last, I'd like to say that you both (Expector and Dan) are right about the infinitive. We may omit "to" after WHY, but to use it is not a mistake. However, we have to use "to" after WHERE, WHAT, WHEN, etc.
Thank you for this great post!
Many thanks, Danny!
I'll try to rephrase the first sentence to make it clear. 'Unless' seems to be tricky to use. I've learned my lesson.
Thanks again!
Dear Danny,
Thank you so much for the comment - I do appreciate it. I know you've been busy reading and helping correct our members - if only there were many more native speakers like you on MyEC!
As for the correction, I'm not so sure about the first sentence, but the sentence you made is better or clearer to me - maybe you think there's something wrong with 'chances are' or 'unless'.
'Why' can be followed by an infinitive without 'to', suggesting an action is unnecessary or pointless, for example, 'Why argue with them?'
Thanks again! I'm looking forward to your response to this!
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