greater error reduction in L2 and foreign language class rooms because when a student notices that they do not understand why some part of their speech or writing has been marked wrong and they take the trouble to ask or even complain about it they are paying very concentrated attention to the form or word use in question (Tocalli-Beller and Swain, 2005). Students need to be able to question their instructors about the corrections that they send back on student work, but as these interactions may cause tension in peace time classrooms, traumatized students may say things that are inappropriate. If a teacher is going to make use of materials and lesson plans that lead students to become aware of what they are saying wrong in the language being taught, they may need to be prepared for the short fuses of their students, leading to outbursts or tears. If possible, it might be advisable to allow sensitive students to meet with the teacher privately to discuss errors in work. Another approach may be to reduce jeopardy around on the spot teacher corrections of student language by making a clear statement that participation counts positively towards the students’ grades so long as conscientious effort is shown, and in class error correction does not result in lost points.
Exercises that allow students to use the language being taught to discuss or write about the traumatic experience might be a good way to introduce new vocabulary and practice grammatical forms. In this way a student could harness their intrusions to utilize the information they learned in class and to practice what they will be tested on. Because some students may prefer to avoid discussion of the trauma, writing or speaking about the event in the L2 or foreign language could be presented as an option but not as a required topic. While the trauma is fresh or ongoing permitting students to utilize required forms in a composition that deals with their own thoughts either about the trauma, or their
