Correcting English when people are asking about Spanish
There are a few members on here who are not native English or Spanish speakers.
I feel a little nervous about correcting their English when they are asking questions relating to Spanish as I don't want to put them off asking questions. On the other hand by not correcting them am I denying them the chance to improve their English as well?
Also of course other English learners may see their uncorrected English and assume it is correct?
What do you think? Especially if you are one of the people concerned.
10 Answers
Very good question, Wilbur.
If I were you, I wouldn't feel nervous about correcting someone's English. After all, this is a learning website, and by correcting someone's errors, you are helping them learn! I wouldn't be offended if someone corrected my Spanish because I know that, ultimately, they are just looking out for me so I can become a better Spanish speaker.
Also, if incorrect English goes unfixed, others learning English may think that the wrong way is, well, correct...and we don't want that 
I think the same goes for Spanish, too. I don't want my post to be full of mistakes. I'd rather be corrected 5 times than have an incorrect answer posted somewhere.
Hey wilbur,
This is a learning site right? We are all here to learn and sometimes we make mistakes even in our spoken language. I know I do! I make typos or spelling errors from time to time and I get corrected and I am perfectly fine with that 
I would rather someone correct me when I am wrong rather than leave my mistakes up there for me to look like a fool :S
We have to remember, we are not perfect, we are all humans and we are going to make mistakes. Life is all about learning and you have to be open minded. Now mind you, there is a way of correcting people and you have to be a bit tactical. I have been put off by the way some people on this forum correct others by being condescending, harsh, accusing or even trying to make themselves look better. But, I know you are not like that So please continue participating on the forum.
Best Regards, Hottie
I appreciate when someone correct my english. That's why we're here, because we want to learn. I listen to a Spanish radio where they teach english and the owner said "If you let a person to speak without making corrections, you're reinforcing the mistake". I agree with him, because if no one corrects me, I'll think that I'm writing well.
All corrections are welcome, I mean, unless you say "Hey idiot, you don't have 20 years old, you ARE 20 years old" that would be discouraging for all of us 
Hi Wilbur,
This is a really good question
l'm one of those people who are learning both Spanish & English, and sometimes when l ask questions about Spanish, l get corrected on my English as well, which is a very nice things you guys do, l'm learning both languages and correct grammar and spelling are necessary, that's why it doesn't matter what l'm asking about, but what matters is to learn something new, by being corrected
l always welcome any corrections on both my Spanish and English mistakes ^_^
If the English is so wrong that it really merits "correction," then doing so might be helpful to the originator, and as you pointed out, to others, as well.
Well, we would like to think that this site unlike others, for example yahoo.answers, does meet a certain standard and correct spelling and capitalization are mandatory on this site.
We think it is important to be corrected and to correct, we think any mistake merits correction.
Unless it is a clear typo, my speciality
jeje
We're all here to learn a language so corrections should be taken gratefully.
I have seen some people who are quite snide and snippy in how they respond to others mistakes. There is a right way and a wrong way to help people.
I for one don't believe that it is necessary to nit pick and disassemble every thing that someone says. In normal life, I don't worry that my English is 100% grammatically correct as I have seen native Spanish speakers do the same in Spanish. It is in some of these flaws, some even made on purpose which also communicate in subtle ways.
I am reminded of an Argentine tango dance class where I was a beginner and I had a teacher who corrected students with tenacity. I improved tons, but I had to set allot of pride aside, it was not easy. He alienated allot of people, was even let go from the job. I highly value what I learned in that class as he was passionate and really taught the finer points which I would otherwise not have leaned, but he could have done with some tact.
There are some people on the site who are self conscious about some of their language skills and when someone appears to judge them.. they think twice before contributing and often will not and will learn less because of less involvement.
I for one applaud anyone who makes an effort even if they aren't necessarily correct, it at least opens the lines of communication.
I should also mention that I am a little self conscious about my posts here as I make allot of mistakes. I like to be seen as intelligent by other people. I just would like to feel a little more comfortable here like when I am with friends and I don't feel like I have to go out of my way to make things perfect.
Tolerance here is very low.
I have seen someone make a post on a Spanish question and mention that their Spanish is not very good... the response was "Neither is your English apparently"
There are people here who are very good about things, but they seem to be in the minority.
My impression of Native Spanish speakers especially in South America is they they are generally very polite and respectful in their manners and language. And I think that allot of English speakers come across as arrogant and rude. I for one feel that I should do more to look at how I communicate and not at just literal translations.
And thank god for spell check though it doesn't work on my Spanish.
This is a learning site and provided that a person is correcting them in a friendly and respectful way from a good motivation to help them and not simply make the person correcting look great than I can see no problem.
I would encourage you to start by correcting major errors if you see them and not to worry about very small mistakes at this stage until you gain more confidence in makng corrections. This will come with experience and receiving positive responses to your corrections. Also look out for those who ask to be corrected and those whom Heidi informs us wish to be corrected..
It is not rude or inconsiderate to correct people who wish to be helped with their language skills on a site such as this It would, however, be quite another matter for an individual to start correcting or crticising another person's speech while they were in the process of trying to communicate ''verbally'' to others some matter that was important to them personally..
Some members of my family have even done this on occasions and It has made me angry to be constantly interrupted for the purposes of being corrected /crticised over a minor point of grammar even by natives, instead of being listened to and having my concerns taken seriously..
I hope this helps 
I assume anyone using this site is primarily interested in learning Spanish, and is using this site (as well as the English language) as a tool to do so. If the English is so wrong that it really merits "correction," then doing so might be helpful to the originator, and as you pointed out, to others, as well. Offer your correction as a suggestion with an example, if possible, of how it clarifies the English, and then its consequential effect on the equivalent Spanish.
Wilbur, I see from your profile that you are fluent in English but a beginner in Spanish. Being fluent I would have thought that you should have no problem in correcting the English which forms their question if there happens to be a mistake. I would only comment on the Spanish aspects of the question if you are 100% sure.
