Errors in learning materials

[anna3101]

Hello,

This is something that has been really worrying me lately. I don't know if it happens only here in Poland but I keep finding mistakes inside language coursebooks. Sometimes it's typos, and I think that's quite a scary thing because I won't always be able to recognize them, especially if it's a totally new language. But sometimes it's much worse: outdated vocabulary, incorrect grammar structures - the kind of mistakes that should never ever be found in a published coursebook! I've already seen several books for learning Russian that, despite pretty covers and supposedly well-known publishers, had errors that most native speakers could have easily corrected.

And this is really terrifying for me. Does this happen in other countries as well? Are there any international publishers that can be relied upon?

For now, I don't think I'll buy any learning materials published here.

Ania

[Wanda Kaishin]

It's the same case with all the written language learning study material I've used. Some are certainly betters than others, but it still amazes me how many mistakes are made in language learning materials. I can understand mistakes made by non-natives, but most courses have L1 and L2 authors/proofreaders. When I read a book in my L1, errors occur, but they are very rare. Why is there a much higher percentage of errors in language learning material?

[Miya]

Incorrect books are everywhere, unfortunately. I teach English in Japan and the textbooks they use here are ridiculous. They teach grammar points using phrases that no one uses any more. They also focus more on syntax which means that some sentences in the book are grammatical, but don't "make sense". 

It's hard to find a language learning book with no mistakes. I don't think I've ever encountered one.

[宇崎ちゃん]

Incorrect books are everywhere, unfortunately. I teach English in Japan and the textbooks they use here are ridiculous. They teach grammar points using phrases that no one uses any more. They also focus more on syntax which means that some sentences in the book are grammatical, but don't "make sense". 

It's hard to find a language learning book with no mistakes. I don't think I've ever encountered one.

This is because the vast majority of language books are written by people who learnt that language a bit and think they know what they do, rather than native speakers or at least very advanced speakers of the language.
It just feels really cool to teach others what you just learnt, but at the other hand, it's proven that teaching people is the most effective way of learning. (I had a nice looking pyramid showing what's the most and least effective way of learning a language, but I lost it. Should be somewhere at PolyglotDream.com.)

[czarina84]

This is because the vast majority of language books are written by people who learnt that language a bit and think they know what they do, rather than native speakers or at least very advanced speakers of the language.It just feels really cool to teach others what you just learnt, but at the other hand, it's proven that teaching people is the most effective way of learning. (I had a nice looking pyramid showing what's the most and least effective way of learning a language, but I lost it. Should be somewhere at PolyglotDream.com.)

It depends on who writes the books.  I'm not pointing fingers or being mean, but I have seen some polyglots on here who still make mistakes with the English language.  Some people can know a language extremely well, but there are some things in a language that trip people up, such as idioms.  Also, some people are self-taught and the books they learned from may have contained the errors that they are now teaching to others.  I know some native English speakers that still make HUGE mistakes in grammar and spelling. 

[Chris_A]

I encountered that problem as well. Certain manuals and books definitely have typos and errors, but I think that comes naturally, as those books were not really written by a native speaker. And even if that would have been the case, even native speakers make mistakes, both spelling mistakes and grammar ones as well. And that is true for non natives also, which have an even harder time writing perfectly. So I tend to oversee such things when I encounter them.

[anna3101]

It depends on who writes the books.  I'm not pointing fingers or being mean, but I have seen some polyglots on here who still make mistakes with the English language.  Some people can know a language extremely well, but there are some things in a language that trip people up, such as idioms.  

True but hopefully nobody here plans to write a course book about how to use proper English   I think that if someone feels advanced enough to actually write a book that will teach others, he/she really should make sure there are NO mistakes inside. I know several cases when a native proofreader with appropriate level of education and overall literacy could have made a world of difference. Even better - several proofreaders! After all, this is not just a book. It's meant to teach. Some people will learn words and expressions by heart! This is huge responsibility, and publishers really should be more respectful towards their readers by eliminating typos and - especially - serious grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

[Lingua Franca]

How old are theses books? I'm asking this because in the past it could have happened more frequently. Sometimes people had very little time to translate full books and never did do a recheck to make sure that everything was in order, not only that but now days we have the benefit of spell checkers that makes everything easier and faster.

[AExAVF]

No language book has ever been rated as perfect in terms of grammar, idioms, and vocabulary.  There are books which are nearly flawless in one category but not in the others.  There are textbooks which have undergone various editions and revisions, but no matter how many revisions occur, there will always be errors, at least to the meticulous readers.  Ordinary readers do not notice the errors right away.  Typographical errors as well as errors in spelling are easy to spot, but grammatical errors can be tricky.

[Miya]

This is because the vast majority of language books are written by people who learnt that language a bit and think they know what they do, rather than native speakers or at least very advanced speakers of the language.It just feels really cool to teach others what you just learnt, but at the other hand, it's proven that teaching people is the most effective way of learning. (I had a nice looking pyramid showing what's the most and least effective way of learning a language, but I lost it. Should be somewhere at PolyglotDream.com.)

This is true. But I think an even bigger problem is language changes all the time. So things that were "correct" in the past might not be correct now. That's why we can never find the perfect book.

[czarina84]

True but hopefully nobody here plans to write a course book about how to use proper English   I think that if someone feels advanced enough to actually write a book that will teach others, he/she really should make sure there are NO mistakes inside. I know several cases when a native proofreader with appropriate level of education and overall literacy could have made a world of difference. Even better - several proofreaders! After all, this is not just a book. It's meant to teach. Some people will learn words and expressions by heart! This is huge responsibility, and publishers really should be more respectful towards their readers by eliminating typos and - especially - serious grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

I completely agree.  I should have been more clear.  I'm sorry.  I think that any learning materials should be co-authored.  There should be two people working on the book to correct each others' mistakes.  If it's a Spanish-English dictionary, it should be a native Spanish speaker and a native English speaker.  If it is German-Mandarin learning materials, one author should be German, the other a Mandarin speaker.