The Cassette Tape Recorder: A Bonus or a Bother in ESL Composition Correction.

The article discusses the advantages of the use of cassette tape recorders in English as a Second Language (ESL) composition correction. Its effectiveness has been compared with that of the use of a regular composition check-list or marginal notations. This method has been referred to as tape grading. ESL uses tape grading in pronunciation and conversation classes. However its use in composition classes is questionable on many grounds. The first major concern is whether students would be able to understand the teacher's voice on the tape satisfactorily and coordinate it with the red marks on their papers. Although this method requires a great deal of oral-aural skills on the part of foreign students, they prefers it as it makes a more precise comment on the errors than the standard comments on the paper margins. Four reasons have been listed which make the use of tape recorder preferable over other voice recording devices. These are low equipment cost, low tape cost, availability of playback facilities and possibility of editing and reuse.