The Importance Of Posing Questions

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1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Many studies have acknowledged the importance of questioning as one of the most important strategies to be implemented by teachers during teaching and learning. Posing questions has the intention of getting feedback and assurance that the students are digesting the knowledge shared during the lesson. It can also be a clear indication whether the lesson has successfully fulfilled its objectives. Many research have emphasized that teachers are expected to successfully implement effective questioning strategies especially in the English as a Second Language (ESL) learning environment. However, limited research has been conducted to investigate the types of questions that are posed by teachers in the ESL classroom (Noorizah,…show more content…
As previous study had proven the significant role of teacher questioning approaches on ESL students’ learning, it is important to understand the functions of each type of questions. The two most distinctive types of questions that have always been applied in research are ‘display’ and ‘referential’, which will be analyzed in this study. According to Xiaoyan (2008), display questions refer to the questions where the teacher already knows the answers whereas referential questions are posed to acquire students’…show more content…
Display questions are considered the lower part of the taxonomy as it low cognitive level questions that require students to response in one word or phrase level. This is also similar for open-ended questions. On the other hand, referential questions require students to synthesize information, develop reasoning skills and respond critically to the topic (Noorizah, Idris, & Rosniah, 2012). These high cognitive level questions provide opportunities for students to express their thoughts and ideas, listen to divergent opinions from fellow classmates and develop their confidence to move beyond conventional patterns of thinking (Chi , 2010). In this study, referential questions are considered questions in the higher level of the taxonomy such as Apply (Level 3), Analyze (Level 4), Evaluate (Level 5) and Create (Level 6). Examples of display and referential questions below are taken from the pilot test conducted for this study. Example of Display questions: T: [008] Who can you see in the picture? Example of Referential questions: T: [031] Why do we elect him as a prime minister? Close ended or Yes / No questions can be used for a number of purposes, for example, to request information, to display or test knowledge or as rhetoric (Thompson, 1997). However, close-ended questions limit the students’ role and do not allow them to initiate communication. As

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