Asking Questions / Questioning

Questioning is an activation technique universally used in teaching, mainly within the IRF 1
pattern.
In class it is possible to ask many different kinds of questions, and to ask questions in many
different ways. The Ts questions are not always realised by interrogatives; for example, the question:
What can you see in this picture? may be expressed by the statement: Well describe what is going
on in this picture, or by the command: Tell me / Describe what is going on in this picture.
So, in the context of teaching, a question may be best defined as a teacher utterance which has
the objective of eliciting an oral response from the learners.
Reasons for questioning
There are various reasons why a T might ask a question in the classroom, such as:

to find out something from the learners (facts, ideas, opinions);

to check or test understanding / knowledge / skill;

to get learners to be active in their learning;

to direct attention to the topic being learnt;

to provide a model for language or thinking;

to stimulate thinking (logical, reflective, imaginative);

to encourage self-expression;

to communicate to learners that the T is genuinely interested in what they think / know;

to provide weaker learners with an opportunity to participate;

to inform the class via the answers of the stronger learners rather than through the Ts input;

to get learners to review and practise previously learnt material, etc.

Any specific question is likely to involve more than one of these aims. For example, it might
review and practise while simultaneously encouraging self-expression.

Effective questioning
There have been numerous attempts to identify characteristics of effective questioning
techniques in the classroom. Questions have been classified according to various different criteria.
Those listed below are only a few such classification criteria:

what kind of thinking they try to elicit (plain recall, analysis, evaluation);

IRF = Initiation Response Feedback.

whether they are a). genuine or b). display questions [i.e. a). does the teacher really want to
know the answer, or b). is s/he simply checking if the learner does?]

whether they are a). closed-ended or b). open-ended [a). do they have a single right answer,
or b). are there more than one right answers to it?]

As language teachers, our motive in questioning is usually to get our SS to engage with the
language material actively through speech; so, an effective questioning technique is one that elicits
fairly prompt, motivated, relevant and full responses. If, on the other hand, our questions result in long
silences, or are answered only by the stronger SS, or obviously bore the class, or consistently elicit
very brief and unsuccessful answers, then there is probably something wrong with our questions.
Below, teachers are given suggestions of some useful criteria for effective questioning2:
Criteria for effective questioning
1. Clarity do the learners immediately grasp not only what the question means, but also
what kind of answer is required?
2. Learning value does the question stimulate thinking and responses that will contribute to
further learning of the target material? Or is it irrelevant, unhelpful or merely time-filling?
3. Interest do learners find the question interesting, challenging and stimulating?
4. Availability can most of the members of the class try to answer it? Or only the more
advanced, confident, knowledgeable ones? (Note that the mere addition of a few seconds
wait-time before accepting a response can make the question available to a significantly
larger number of learners!);
5. Extension does the question invite and encourage extended and / or varied answers?
(Sometimes, where the emphasis is on listening comprehension rather than speaking, brief
single answers may be more appropriate. In such cases this criterion would not apply. This
means that this criterion is applicable only in some situations / activities and it describes
only some types of questions, not all possible ones3.);
6. Teacher reaction are the learners sure that their responses will be related to with respect,
that they will not be put down / ridiculed / laughed at if they say something inappropriate?
(Although this is not something to describe the very nature of any specific question, it is a
criterion that has to be considered seriously by the teacher if s/he wants learners at least to
try to participate properly / without restraints in the question-and-answer exchanges).
.....

These suggestions are given by Penny Ur in Box 16.3 in A Course in Language Teaching. Theory and Practice, 1997,
C.U.P., p. 230. However, some personal comments and highlighting have been added to the original material.
3
See also the section on Question types below.

Question types4

?! Activity 1. Look at the following groups of questions below and say:

* What is the difference between these types of questions in terms of form?
* How might you reply to each question?
* Consider the classification criteria at p. 1-2 above and describe each set of questions.
a). Do you drink tea?
Can you swim?
Did he go to university?
Are they coming to the party?
b). Do you prefer tea or coffee?
Are they brothers or just friends?
Will you walk or go by bus?
Did she study in Britain or in the U.S.A.?
c). What do you usually drink?
Where did she study?
How long have they known each other?
When are you leaving?
.
A few comments on Activity 1:
a). These are generally known as Yes / No questions. The reply can be Yes or No alone or with
short forms: Yes, I do., No, I cant. They are considered closed-ended (as only 2 answers are
possible), genuine or, sometimes, display questions (depending on whether the speaker knows the
answer or not), usually requiring plain recall.
In the classroom, these questions are especially used by T for checking comprehension. They
are often the easiest questions to answer. As they do not encourage SS to produce new language, they
are not largely used in communicative activities which require language production.
b). These are called Or questions or alternative questions. The reply is a word or phrase from the
question itself. This kind of questions can be used by the T when the SS are in difficulty of giving an

These question types and some of the comments are given by Adrian Doff in Teach English. A Training Course for
Teachers, 1996, C.U.P., pp. 22 25.

answer to a certain information question; providing them with alternatives, the T may check whether
the SS can recognise the right answer out of a list of possible ones.
c). Wh- questions or information questions. With many wh- questions it is natural to give a short
answer (e.g. Where did he study? In Britain.) Some wh- questions, however, require long
answers (e.g. What do you do in the morning?). Out of the three types mentioned here, these
questions are the easiest ones to formulate in the form of a command: Tell me about your day! /
Describe your daily routine! instead of the interrogative: What is your daily programme / routine?
An important use of questions is to check that SS understand a new word / phrase. For
example, the T has just presented the made of wood / metal / glass / stone / etc. structure. In order to
check whether they have understood this structure, the T may ask a series of questions, of different
types, with short answers:
T: Look (pointing to a table) is this made of wood?
SS: Yes.
T: (pointing to the wall) What about this? Is it made of wood?
SS: No, it isnt.
T: What is it made of?
SS: Stone.
(and so on)
.

?! Activity 2. Many situations which naturally arise in the classroom give an opportunity to ask real
questions of the three types mentioned above. If the T asks such questions in English, it will help SS
to feel that language is real, not only something in a TB 5. For example: situation Its a hot day and
all the windows are closed. The possible questions that the T may ask: Are you hot?, or Do you feel
hot?, or Do you want the window open? etc.
What questions would you ask in these situations?
a). One of your SS looks pale and tired.
b). Several SS are absent today.
c). When you come into class, you find a bag o your desk.
d). When you come into class, you find a face drawn on the BB6.
e). You set homework last lesson. Today you are going to check the answers with the class.
.

5
6

TB = textbook.
BB = blackboard.

Questioning strategies / Nomination strategies

As well as knowing what question to ask, teachers also need to know how to organise questionand-answer work in class. There are many different ways of asking questions: teachers can ask each
student in turn round the class; they can let any student call out the answer (without nominating him /
her); they can choose a student to answer (one who volunteers to answer or one of those who dont);
they can get the class to answer in chorus, and so on. These are called questioning strategies or
nomination strategies.
.

?! Activity 3. Look at the pictures below and establish what questioning strategies they show:
A.

Whats this made

of? Anyone?
Wood!

!
!

B.

Whats this made

of?....Tom?
Its made of
wood.

?
?
?

C.

TomWhats this
made of?
Its made of
errrrwood

?
?
?

D.

Whats this made

of?....Yes Mary?
Its made of
wood.

!
!
!

Supplementary descriptive details for the pictures in Activity 3:

A. The T asks questions and simply lets SS call out answers. If SS call out different answers at the
same time, the T chooses one student to give the answer again.
B. The T asks a question, then pauses to give the whole class a chance to think of the answer. Then the
T chooses one student to answer. SS are not allowed to call out answers or to raise their hands.
C. The T first chooses a student, then she asks the student a question. If the student cannot answer it,
the T passes it on to another student.

D. The T asks a question and lets SS raise their hand if they think they know the answer. The T
chooses one of the SS with their hands raised to answer.
.

?! Activity 4.
a). What are the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy illustrated above?
b). Consider which strategies:
- help the T to control the class;
- help to keep the attention of the whole class;
- give good SS a chance to show their knowledge;
- give weak or shy SS a chance to answer;
- give lazy SS a chance not to answer.
.
Conclusion:
There is no single best strategy. It is important for teachers to be aware of different possible strategies
and to be flexible and vary them throughout any specific lesson.
.

?! Activity 5. Critical analysis of teachers questions.

Look at the exchanges in the following box7.
a). Can you identify what the purpose of the teacher is in questioning?
b). Applying the criteria for effective questioning suggested at page 2, comment on the way
s/he went about it.
Teacher questioning
Exchange 1
T: Now today we are going to discuss circuses. Have you ever been to a circus?
SS (immediately): Yes, yes.
T: Yes. Where you can see clowns, and horses and elephants and acrobats
Exchange 2
T: Yesterday we learned various words that express feelings. Can you tell me What does
relief mean?
(pause)
Well, when might you feel relief?
7

Box 16.4. in Penny Ur, op. cit., p. 231.

(pause)
Can you remember a time when you felt relief?
S1: When my friend was late, I thought he wasnt coming and then he came.
T: Good Fran?
Fran: I thought I will fail the exam, and then in the end I pass.
T: Good. Now: fear?
Exchange 3
T: Right: what was the story about? Can anyone tell me? Claire?
Claire: Man.
T: Yes, a man. What did this man do? Can you tell me anything about him?
S: He married.
Exchange 4
T: Heres a picture, with lots of things going on. Tell me some of them. For example: the
policeman is talking to the driver, perhaps hes telling him where to go. What else?
S1: The little girl is buying an ice-cream.
S2: Theres a woman, old woman, in the middle, shes crossing the road.
S3: A man sitting on chair
T: OK, a man is sitting on a chair, there in the corner What else?
The comments below are made by the author herself8, but you may add your personal
comments.
Exchange 1
There is a problem of double messages here, since the declared objective is contradicted by
the questioning technique used. The teacher says explicitly that the intention is to discuss; but the
introductory question, though clear, actually discourages discussion: it is a yes/no question inviting a
single, brief answer, lacking extension, and not forwarding the declared teaching objective.
However, it is both interesting and available: the fact that the students answer promptly and
enthusiastically indicates that probably have something to say though they are given no opportunity
to do so.
Either the teacher did not really intend to discuss at all and prefers to hold the stage herself, or
she is not aware of the inappropriate form of her questions; perhaps a combination of the two.
Exchange 2
8

Idem, op. cit., pp. 231 232.

The purpose of the exchange is, presumably, to review vocabulary learned the day before. The
obvious question: What does X mean? though apparently clear, is unsuccessful in eliciting answers,
probably because it is too abstract and difficult; even a competent native speaker of the language might
have trouble answering. It is, thus, not very available, and certainly does not elicit extended answers.
This teacher, however, quickly realises her mistake and rephrases, twice. The question that demands a
concrete example from experience is much better on all counts, and predictably receives immediate
and fairly full responses. But then, what is going to happen with the next item?
Exchange 3
There is no indication of pauses after the questions, and the answers are basically correct in
content; the questions seem fairly clear, interesting and available to most of the class, but their value in
providing for learning is lowered because of the difficulty of the learners in expressing their answers in
the foreign language. The teacher might have been able to help by giving some scaffolding, or
modeling answers, in her questions: Was it about a man, a woman, an animal? It was Yes, Claire?
Exchange 4
Here the teacher makes it very clear what kinds of responses she is requesting by providing
examples. She also implies that she expects a number of answers (extension). The combination of
these two strategies makes the question far more available: the sheer number of student responses to
the single cue looks like being relatively large, and the weak student (S3) ventures a response based on
the examples (of the teacher and of previous speakers) which he or she would not have done if only
one response, without illustration, had been requested. The sheer number of responses contributes
significantly to the effectiveness of the desired practice of the target language as a whole.