The present study is an investigation of the correction of the errors made by the pupils when speaking Spanish as a foreign language (ELE) in Swedish High School, in order to make clear how the teacher works with the oral communicative approach, without forgetting the importance of correction.

We study the attitudes of teachers and pupils towards correction. We also examinate what are the mistakes that teachers correct and why do they correct these errors while not others. Another question that we seek the answer to is when the teacher corrects the mistakes made by the students during the learning process of ELE. We also study in what situation the teacher corrects the grammatical errors made by the students when speaking.

Our hypothesis is that the mistakes that the teacher corrects are the most common ones and those that make it impossible for the communication to progress. We believe that the attitude of the teachers toward the mistakes made by the students is positive, since they know that with the help of the mistakes made, they can discover where the students are in the development of their learning. On the other hand, we think that the attitude of the students is not positive, because they believe it’s embarrassing to make a mistake.

Teachers correct mistakes carefully, because they place emphasis on communication, and the importance of expressing oneself correctly is in second place, and the teacher wants to prevent the pupils from being afraid to speak.

In order to answer our questions reliably, we use two sources: questionnaires and interviews. 142 pupils and six teachers from three schools are surveyed in the region of Kronoberg and the region of Jönköping. We also interview five of these same teachers and thirteen pupils of the groups already mentioned.

The result of the study shows that the teachers and the pupils have a positive attitude towards the correction of the errors made while speaking Spanish. It also shows that the teachers correct only the errors that make it impossible to understand what the pupil wants to say. Also, the research gets the result that the teachers don’t use the CEFR when they are about to correct the errors made by the pupils while they speak Spanish.  The teachers don’t correct all the errors made, but often react immediately and make corrections in front of the group.