Decision 3 is about when to correct. The options include: immediately; after a few
minutes; at the end of the activity; later in the lesson; at the end of the lesson; in the
next lesson; later in the course; never. The distinction between accuracy and fluency
aims is again important here (there’s more on this in Chapter 9, Section 4). If the
objective is accuracy, then immediate correction is likely to be useful; if the aim is
fluency, then lengthy, immediate correction that diverts from the flow of speaking is
less appropriate. We either need to correct briefly and unobtrusively as we go or save
any correction for after the activity has finished or later