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Questioning Skills of EFL Teachers

By Masduki

May, 2011

Ice-breaking Background:Ice-breaking Background:Character Shift is here in the “SCharacter Shift is here in the “Song of ong of

Questions”Questions”

Song I: “Kowe bocah ngendi Le?” “Kula lare ndesa” “Kowe arep nyangdi Le?” “Badhe dateng kuta” “Kathik nggawa arit Le?” “Damel mbacok Landa” “Yen Landane mati Le?” “Indonesia merdeka”

Song IISong II

“Kowe bocah ngendi Le?” “Kula lare ndesa” “Kowe arep nyangdi Le?” “Badhe dateng kuta” “Kathik nggawa arit Le?” “Damel pados arta” “Yen wus duwe duit Le?” “Damel sinau maca”

Song IIISong III

“Kowe bocah ngendi Le?” “Aku bocah ndesa” “Kowe arep nyangdi Le?” “Arep menyang kuta” “Kathik nggawa arit Le?” “Kanggo mbacok kanca” “Yen kancamu mati Le?” “Sepedahe tak gawa”

The Real Background: Shift of teaching The Real Background: Shift of teaching paradigm should be here accordingly!paradigm should be here accordingly!

PP 19/2005

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• Reading is a matter of simply extracting information

from the text

• The text is full of meanings

• The meanings can be poured straight into the readers’

mind

A Traditional Approach To ReadingA Shift in the Teaching of Reading:

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The (relatively) new approaches to readingThe (relatively) new approaches to reading

Goodman (1995): Psycholinguistic Model

Eskey (1998): Interactive Model

Anderson (2000): Schema Theory

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Psycholinguistic View of ReadingPsycholinguistic View of Reading

Reading is not a linear process. Readers sample texts, make and test hypotheses and

predictions about what they are reading (based on their background knowledge)

How?

A reader makes use of his organ information processing for:

Recognition Initiation Prediction Confirmation Correction

(Goodman, 1995) Termination

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1.1. Reading is a more complex process.Reading is a more complex process.

2.2. Reading is “a kind of dialog” between the reader Reading is “a kind of dialog” between the reader and the text.and the text.

3. “Interaction” has been handled form two perspectives.

4. Interaction between the reader and the text.

5. Interaction between the lower and higher levels of reading process.

The Interactive Approach Suggests

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What can we learn from the models:

1.1. Teachers of reading comprehension are Teachers of reading comprehension are

supposed to activate necessary and relevant supposed to activate necessary and relevant

schemata to assist the students.schemata to assist the students.

2. The reader’s prior background of the content

facilitates his/her processing the text.

3. Fluent reading results from the simultaneous

interaction between the higher and the lower

level skills of reading.

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Lower level skills are known as

identification skills:

Recognizing words and sentences necessary for

decoding and extracting explicit information

Higher level skills require more cognitive

efforts:

Reading between the lines to find the implicit

information

Reading beyond the lines to understand the writer’s

point of view and making interpretation.

Fluent reading occurs only when lower and higher levels operate together.

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What happens in EFL reading classes ?

EFL Reading Classes :

Reading is a complex process.

Students have not yet mastered the medium for successful reading activities (Sadtono, 2005).

AN EFL TEACHING PROBLEM

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EFL Reading Classes continued

Many studies are conducted focusing on learners:e.g. investigating the strategy used by learners to comprehend a text (Retno, 2004).

Common evidence (Rubin. 1994; Yuliati, 1999; Emeksiz. 2003) shows that reading interactions in EFL classes may not always occur among the learners themselves.

Learners may need someone who will promote interaction and comprehension.

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Who ?

THE TEACHER

Why?

1. To initiate and sustain interaction in the classroom is the teacher’s responsibility.

2. The teacher’s performances is as important as the learner for a complemented interactive process.

Teacher’s Intervention Is Required

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How/What Intervention ?

In EFL Reading Classes :

Teachers make use of different tools to initiate interaction in the classroom.

The most commonly used tool is ASKING QUESTIONS (Long and Sato. 1983; Johnson. 1990; Ellis. 1994).

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Why Questions?

Through asking questions, teachers help learners:

Develop lower and higher cognitive process Use their background knowledge to interact

with the text and to build comprehension The teacher is a professional question maker

(Gall, 1970) To know how to question is to know how to

teach To question well is to teach well Good questions are vital to good teaching

(Averbach, 1983)

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Questioning is the most:

Influential single teaching act.

Valuable of all teaching devices.

The Greatest medium of instruction (Hyman. 1989).

IT IS ALMOST IMPPOSSIBLE TO CONCEIVE OF TEACHING

WITHOUT ASKING QUESTIONS

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This Study :

A particular concern with the use of questions by non-native English teachers, focusing on:

The Types of Questions

How to make teacher questions effective in helping students reach understanding

(how teachers should make use of questions effectively in teaching)

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The Research Problems :

What are the types of questions posed by EFL teachers in RC courses?

How do EFL teachers make effective questions in RC courses?

Findings: Findings:

4.14.1 The Types of Questions Posed by the EFL Teachers The Types of Questions Posed by the EFL Teachers

in RC Coursesin RC Courses

4.1 Display Questions:

Requesting the students to display their knowledge known by the teacher

4.2 Referential

Asking for information which is not known by the teacher

Closed

With only a single correct answer

Open

With multiple correct answers

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4.2 Strategies Employed by EFL Teachers to Make Effective 4.2 Strategies Employed by EFL Teachers to Make Effective QuestionsQuestions

Translation (Code Switching) Repetition Pausing (wait-time) Probing

o Focusing on Subordinate Categoryo Focusing on exemplification

Rephrasingo Using clues that describe the attribute of the expected answero Comparing or contrasting the expected answer to somethingo Giving an alternative/choice

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Conclusions:Conclusions:The Types of Teacher Questions:The Types of Teacher Questions:

The range of questions as observed falls into two categories: Display and Referential Display > Referential

The observed teachers : Activate lower level skill of reading

Call for surface level meaning

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Conclusions…………………………….. continuedConclusions…………………………….. continued

Response Types of questions(e.g Wh-Question > Yes/No Question)

Open question types trigger more complex utterances than closed questions types

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ConclusionConclusion…………………………..continued…………………………..continued

No rigid separation of question types took place during the reading

No single type of question turned out to be the most effective

Combination of display and referential Effective

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The strategies to make effective questionsThe strategies to make effective questions

Translation

Repetition

Pausing Effective questioning strategies

Probing +Modif. (Helping /facilitating students to reach the

Rephrasing +Modif. intended responses in comprehending a reading

text)

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…………………………………………………….continued.continued

Effective questioning strategy in one reading class (L-1)

Not always effective in another class (L-2/EFL)

Language proficiency of teachers and learners Level of questions

Purpose of questioning

Contributing factors

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……………………………………………….continued.continued

No rigid separation of strategy took place during the reading

No single type of strategy turned out to be the most effective

Combination of more than one strategy

Effective

(for specific shared purpose)

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ClarityClarity

Possible Combinations

DistributionDistribution

Sequence Sequence (Structuring)(Structuring)

ClarityClarity

SequenceSequence

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Referring to the findings on question types and strategiesReferring to the findings on question types and strategies

Aspects of Effective Teacher questions

Linguistic Non-Linguistic

Clarity Conciseness Form Sequence Wait time Distribution

SuggestionsSuggestionsfor Teachers and the LCfor Teachers and the LC

Teachers’ Intervention in ESP is required.

The intervention is directed to the use effective questions and questioning strategies

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University Students

High order thinking

Exploration of concept and Ideas

High level questions (referential)

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SuggestionSuggestion………………………………………………………continued………………………………………………………continued

Teaching Asking Question

Adopt questioning strategies increasing students’ involvement ! Support a special training for questioning skill !

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For other researchersFor other researchers

Question Important tool in language classroom Strategy Modification Make students get involved

1. A quantitative study to see the effect of different types of questions on the student responses in other language skill is interesting

2. The students’ psychological effect upon receiving questions

3. Investigation involving more subjects with different background

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Research MethodResearch Method

The study is intended to explore:The types and the strategies that make teacher question

effective in reading comprehension courses.

Qualitative Approach to enable descriptions and in-depth analyses

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The DesignThe Design

A Case Study It is a research design in which the researcher typically

observes the characteristics of an individual or a group of individuals.

The observation is to probe deeply and analyze intensively multifarious phenomena:

One exceptional case/individual actor (exemplary teachers) was chosen

A specific setting was examined (reading Comprehension course)

A particular event was observed (asking questions)

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Research SubjectsResearch Subjects

Purpose:To describe some possible aspects that make EFL Teacher Questions

Effective.The subjects required:

English teachers of reading comprehension course

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What Kind of Teacher?What Kind of Teacher?

Those who are believed: To be representative of everything observedTo be representative of everything observed

(Questioning The act to be observed) ToTo provide maximum insight and understanding

Exemplary Teachers (Good Teachers) Needed!How to select?“Selecting a sample of participants/subjects who is

perceived to be special, relevant, and to have superior performance, and thus, deserve to be the exemplary sample”

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Selection of the research subjectSelection of the research subject

Conducted in UMM; 46 teachers were selected

Selection process: Already existing mechanismAlready existing mechanism: : Board of Academic Quality Board of Academic Quality

AssuranceAssurance (BKMA) (BKMA) Student’s opinionStudent’s opinion

Result:

2 exemplary teachers found

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Data and Data SourcesData and Data Sources

Utterances of Reading Comprehension Teachers:

Data

Teacher questions and Students’ opinion (statements)

Teachers and Students as a Source of data

Teacher questions and statements(Soft Data)

Transcriptions of teacher questions(Hard Data)

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InstrumentsInstruments

The ResearcherHuman instrument to respond, adapt, emphasize, expand, process, clarify, and explore during data collection and analysis

Field-notes To write everything the researcher experiences and thinks during the data collection

Video and Audio-tape recorder:To record the events in the field

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Data CollectionData Collection

The Researcher: Observing the classroom process Recording verbal interaction (questions generated

by teachers) and stop recording until researcher finds the point of data saturation

Interviewing the subjects Transcribing Coding the data

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Data AnalysisData Analysis

Data ReductionData ReductionData DisplayData DisplayConclusion Drawing Conclusion Drawing VerificationVerification

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Data Collection

Field notes Transcription

Data Coding Data Reduction

Data Display

YesNo

Final ConclusionTypes of EFL Teacher Questions

Effective EFL Questioning Strategies

Temporary Conclusion(one semester?)

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Research StagesResearch StagesDeveloping Research Design

A Case study

Preliminary Study: Finding Research Focus Observing Feasible Subjects

(Exemplary Teacher)

Actual Study

DATA

Instrument: Researcher Video&Tape Recorder Field notes

Collection: Non Participant Interview

Sources: Reading Classes Responses to Interview

Analysis

Finding

Report Writing