Exploring the connection between teacher questioning and student learning behavior from a discourse perspective - A case study

Abstract

Teacher questioning is common interaction in classrooms, which seems to be an effective tool to stimulate and enhance teaching and learning. This paper aims to investigate English teachers’ questioning strategies in connection with student learning behavior from a discourse perspective at the University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, Vietnam, within a case study of a Reading class at the English Department. One teacher and 30 students voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected via audio recordings and classroom observation of 06 teaching hours for Reading classes. Critical Discourse Analysis Theory and Constructivist Learning theories were applied as the analysis and explanation frameworks. Results revealed that teachers employed various discourse strategies for questioning to enhance students learning behavior such as eliciting responses, checking comprehension, and soliciting agreement question functions; which helped arouse students’ interest in the upcoming reading texts, prepare them for vocabulary learning and background knowledge forming, and guide them through the process of reading comprehension skill practice. The paper also addressed implications and suggestions to help teachers exploit teachers’ questioning more effectively in language teaching.