ASPECTS WE MAY CONSIDER WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM

ASPECTS WE MAY CONSIDER WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM

When it comes to delivering a lesson, the teacher must take into account several aspects. Among them, there is not only the content or how it is displayed and explained to students. 

Actually, the way in which questions are asked can also be a key strategy to improve the learning process. Thus, some of the techniques that might be useful when approaching this issue in a classroom will be described next.

Display and referential questions

The teacher must be aware of the fact that he or she can ask his or her students either display or referential questions:

- Referential refers to the type of questions the teacher does not know the answer to. I.e. “What did you do last weekend?”

- Display questions are those the teacher knows the answer to. But not only that, the student is also aware of the fact that the teacher knows the answer. I.e. “Which is the past simple form of the verb to be?”

The use of these two types of questions is not always the same since teachers tend to use the display ones in a more regular way. Therefore, they  should try to use the referential ones more so they make a balanced use of both types.

Open and closed questions

Another type of questions can be open and closed ones. Here there is the difference between them:

- Open questions can have unlimited responses. I.e. “Where would you like to go on vacation?” 

- Closed questions, on the contrary, have a limited number of answers. I.e. “What languages are you able to speak?”

As it happened regarding referential and display questions, here there should also be a balance when choosing between closed and opened questions. It is okay if the teacher asks YES/NO questions or closed ones. However, he or she has to bear in mind that this type does not give students the opportunity to engage in speaking. On the other hand, open questions allow teachers to continue asking, giving pupils the opportunity to be more active and motivated. Then, a useful strategy could be combining both types by starting with closed questions, as a kind of warm-up, and continuing with open ones. 

Nevertheless, a teacher must take into account that it is not only about the kind of questions, the way in which they are displayed plays also an important role.

Regarding this issue, it is important to make clear that questions must be directed. This means that, at first, they have to be asked for the class as whole but then, the one answering has to be either a volunteer or someone picked up by the teacher. Having volunteers is always pleasant but the teacher has to get all students involved and has to rely on choosing as much as he or she does on volunteers.

So far, the focus has been placed on the type of question and the way it is displayed but it is necessary that the teacher has also a strategy for answering to their student’s responses. In this respect, he or she has to avoid saying if the answer is right or wrong immediately. A useful strategy in order to accomplish such purpose is asking for other students' opinion. 

Continuing with teacher’s feedback, it also essential that, apart from not saying if the answer is right or wrong too quickly, the teacher has to avoid any gesture, expression or movement that might give any clue to the students. This might be an unconscious behaviour but the truth is that pupils can easily get it and take advantage of it. 

Time is another important factor when it comes to questions. Actually, teachers should give students time to reply and to reflect on their answers since it allows them to create more elaborate responses. This time is called wait-time and along with it, there are some other aspects the teacher has to bear in mind when waiting for his or her students' reply:

1. Repeating the question immediately

2. Passing the question to another classmate

3. Answering the question

In fact, a good way of avoiding repetition is rephrasing. In case a student is struggling with the answer of a question, the teacher can try asking the same thing but structuring the question in a different way and using other words. 

Still, the fact that a teacher uses all these techniques does not mean that his or her students' answers are all going to be correct. In case a pupil gives the lecturer a wrong answer, a good technique to correct it is rephrasing what the student has said in the right way so he or she perceives the mistake without feeling embarrassed.