“Any Questions?”: Investigating the Nature of Understanding‐Checks in the Language Classroom

Abstract

Insofar as effective instruction is contingent upon the degree to which it is tailored to learner understandings in situ, developing a firmer grasp of how understanding-checks work in the reality of the classroom is integral to educators' knowledge of teacher practices and, ultimately, their ability to implement effective teacher training. The purpose of this article is to produce a detailed account of how yes-no questions (e.g., "Do you have any questions?") work as understanding-checks in the language classroom. Based on 28 hours of interaction in an English as a second language classroom, this conversation analytic study shows how such questions are oriented to by the participants in two major sequential environments and, in particular, how they are not always produced and treated as inviting questions. Findings of this study provide an empirical basis for enhancing the efficacy of pedagogical interaction.

Investigating Characteristics of a Dialogic Discourse Pattern in Japanese Academic English Classrooms

“…With regard to the features that give rise to the dialogic spells, it became evident that the type of questions asked by the teacher has a significant impact on the mode of the discourse. In the context of second language teaching many studies have considered the influence of teacher's questions in linguistics and cognitive development of the learners (e.g., Gibbons, 2003;Lee, 2006;Kim, 2010;Waring, 2012Waring, , 2013. In this regard, Mercer & Dawes (2008) argue that "The professional skill in using questions lies in knowing why you are using them, and using different kinds of questions to achieve different ends" (p. 3).…”

Teachers’ Understanding-Check Practices and Learners’ Following Orientations in EFL Classroom Interaction: A Conversation Analytic Study

“…During recent years, teacher questions, have received a considerable amount of scholarly attention in applied linguistics (e.g. Waring, 2012). One of the most prevalent distinctions with regard to categorizing teacher questions in the language classroom is Long and Sato's (1983) referential versus display questions.…”

“…In recent years, various attempts have been made by scholars and practitioners of the field to identify the nature of teachers' questioning practices in relation to learners' participation opportunities. These studies have dealt with issues including classification of question types (Long & Sato, 1983), questioning strategies (understanding-check questions) (Waring, 2008), students' L2 production (Lynch, 1996;Richards & Lockhart, 1996;Seliger & Long, 1983) learners' preference orientations (Waring, 2012), to name only a few. More recently, teacher questions have been investigated from the perspective of how they might promote the modification of interaction and therefore learning (Gibbons, 2003;Lee, 2006;Kim, 2010;Warring, 2012).…”

TESOL Quarterly Research Guidelines

“…Discourse analysis is a term used for a range of research methods that study the structure and function of texts and interactions in relation to the social or institutional contexts in which they occur. The main approaches to discourse analysis used by scholars of TESOL are conversation analysis (see, e.g., Waring, ), interactional sociolinguistics (see, e.g., Kayi‐Aydar, ), genre analysis (see, e.g., Paltridge, ), narrative analysis (see, e.g., Barkhuizen, ), and critical discourse analysis (see, e.g., Hammond, ). More recently, newer approaches to discourse such as mediated and multimodal discourse analysis have also attracted attention among TESOL scholars (see, e.g., Hafner, ).…”

“…Waring () is a good example of an article reporting on a discourse analytical study. Waring uses tools from conversation analysis to examine how yes/no questions (such as Do you understand? )…”