Proposed practical guide for correcting errors in the English language

Introduction: the communicative approach to teaching English promotes tolerance of error as a natural part of learning, but this flexibility contrasts with the need for precision, especially in contexts such as medical sciences, where linguistic errors can have professional implications. At the University of Medical Sciences, there are persistent differences among teachers about what, when, and how to correct.Objective: to develop a practical guide of techniques and procedures for the appropriate treatment of error correction in English classes, contextualized in higher medical education.Development: the proposal is based on the analysis of incidental factors: the attitude of teachers and students, the categorization of errors (global/local), causes, and the linguistic skill involved. Existing questionnaires are supplemented with new guiding questions validated by teachers. The guide integrates guiding principles (do not interrupt, correct according to objective, encourage self-correction) and eleven practical techniques for oral expression, accompanied by tables systematizing frequent errors (grammatical, false cognates, pronunciation, prepositions, collocations) with specific corrective strategies.Conclusions: the proposed guide conceives correction as an opportunity for learning and self-regulation. Its application can contribute to raising the quality of the English teaching-learning process and to the development of the communicative competence required by future health professionals.