Correcting a Signed Retell Without Overcorrecting
A teacher reviews a two-minute signed retell by a Grade 9 learner of a six-picture story. The learner recalls all six events and keeps eye contact, but signs mostly in English subject-verb-object order, points to the same spatial location for the thief and the shopkeeper, does not raise eyebrows for the story's two questions, and uses a flat B-hand for 'give' to different recipients. The learner is shy and has 15 minutes of feedback before a practical assessment in which content, grammar and fluency are scored separately. The teacher wants to correct the spatial and non-manual errors without shutting down the learner. The class has been working on role shift and classifiers for three weeks, but this learner's attendance was interrupted by illness.
1. Which two grammar targets should the teacher prioritise in 15 minutes, and why not all four?
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Prioritise spatial reference for the two characters and non-manual marking for the two questions. These two targets carry the most meaning and are the most likely to cause miscomprehension.
- If the thief and shopkeeper share one location, the listener cannot reliably track who does what. This is a spatial grammar problem with direct consequences for the story.
- If the two questions have no eyebrow raise or question face, the listener may hear them as statements. This is a non-manual grammar problem that changes meaning.
The English-like word order and the flat B-hand for 'give' are also worth addressing, but they are less urgent in a 15-minute feedback slot. Correcting all four at once would overload a shy learner and blur the priority. The teacher can note the other two as future targets and keep the assessment criteria transparent.
2. Give a feedback sequence that models the targets without overwhelming the learner.
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A short sequence:
- Acknowledge content first: name two specific things the learner did well, such as clear event recall and sustained eye contact.
- Demonstrate the spatial problem: ask the learner to show where the thief and shopkeeper are. Then model placing them on the left and right, and ask the learner to retell only that scene using the two locations.
- Contrast the question face: sign one of the story questions with a neutral face and then with raised eyebrows and a slight forward head tilt. Ask the learner to identify the difference.
- Rehearse in a small chunk: learner retells one question-answer exchange, not the whole story.
- Set one observable goal: 'In the assessment, keep the two characters in different places and hold the question face for both questions.'
This sequence gives corrective input, practice and a clear criterion without a long list of deficits.
3. How should the teacher distinguish a true grammar error from developmental or regional variation in this retell?
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The teacher should ask three questions:
- Does it change meaning? Sharing one location for two characters does change referential meaning, so it is a genuine error to address. A regional variant for 'give' may not change meaning.
- Is it consistent with the learner's current system? A learner who has had interrupted attendance may use English order as a temporary bridge. That is developmental, not a fixed error.
- Is it a recognised alternative in the community? Some handshape or lexical choices vary regionally. The teacher should not mark a regional form wrong merely because it differs from the class model.
The teacher can still teach the standard spatial and non-manual patterns for the assessment, while explaining that regional variation is not a deficit. The feedback should target meaning-bearing patterns first and avoid labelling every difference as an error.