Questioning Techniques Yes/No Have you finished? Did you understand? Have you finished?

Did you enjoy the lesson? Display Qs What does Richard tell Paul? What does Richard think about the colour? Why do we put this? Why did they say this? Referential Qs Who do you think these people are? What do you think they have in common? Instruction check Qs What do you have to do? Is that right? After observing this lesson I realised that the way that we pitch questions to our learners is extremely important. Yes/No questions are probably the easiest for learners as they only require a monosyllabic answer. This type of general questioning is an important tool in classroom management in order to check whether learners have finished their task. In this particular lesson the teacher had a habit of repeating herself. This is something that we are all probably guilty of doing. Asking a class if they have understood is not a good idea, because usually learners will nod and say yes even if they have not understood. It would be better to ask concept check questions to check understanding. Display questions can be difficult for some learners. They clearly lack the communicative quality and authenticity of referential questions, as they are an indication for the teacher as to whether the learner knows the answer. However, I believe that they are an important tool in the classroom for teacher and learner alike. In the lesson that I observed I felt that the teacher did not always give the learner enough time to respond or reformulate their answer. I also noticed that she tended to always ask the stronger learners without checking that all learners in the class had understood the concept. I also have this tendency to fly with the strong learner. In future lessons I need to remember that good concept check questions can help solve this issue, and must try to include them in my lesson plan. Referential questions are sometimes difficult for learners to understand, especially if they do not have the vocabulary at their disposal to answer them. During this lesson the teacher used this type of questioning during her brainstorming session at the beginning of the lesson to activate the Linda Azzoparidi 03 Centre No. MT/029 Centre Name: IELTS Malta 1

students schemata. I believe this helped to engage and motivate them. This type of questioning allowed them to offer their opinion and generated interest in the topic to be discussed during the lesson. The teacher also used instruction check questions to ensure that her instructions had been understood. This was vital in order for her activities to work. I have been told that this is something that I need to work on in my future development as a teacher, so it is always interesting to observe other teachers to see what type of ICQs they employ.

Linda Azzoparidi 03

Centre No. MT/029

Centre Name: IELTS Malta