TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Effective Questioning Techniques in the Classroom
The Impact of Questions in the Classroom
All teachers ask questions in the classroom! Every question has an impact on how learners engage with the teacher and their peers, and effective questioning techniques enable them to successfully develop and better achieve the aims of the lesson.
In this teacher development article, we explore how effective questioning techniques enrich classroom interaction and enhance learning outcomes for English language teachers and their students. We include teacher development tasks to help you evaluate your current use of questions in the classroom, and encourage you to experiment with different questioning strategies with students.
By the end of this article, you will be able to use different types of questions and strategies to benefit student thinking, understanding, participation, and language production in the classroom.
Task 1: What questions do you ask in the classroom?
Take a few minutes to reflect on a recent lesson you taught. Note down the lesson aim and how the lesson was structured into different stages.
List 2-3 questions you asked your students during each stage of that lesson. For each question, consider:
1. Why did you ask the question?
2. How did students react or engage with the question?
3. How did the question help students to successfully complete the task or activity?
» Pause & reflect (3-5 minutes)
What are Effective Questions?
Questions are a powerful tool that a teacher can use. Every question you ask – and the opportunity you give students to answer – can influence how learners engage with the lesson, think critically, and participate in classroom activities.
Effective questions are a key aspect of successful teaching because they:
- allow learners to demonstrate their understanding of tasks and activities
- stimulate student thinking
- encourage active participation
- guide learners through each stage of the lesson
- are directly related to achieving the lesson aims.
For successful outcomes, teachers should plan appropriate questions for each stage as part of their lesson preparation. This enables better student engagement and minimises unplanned or unclear questioning.
Task 2: Do you plan questions before the lesson?
Think about your lesson preparation for each stage or activity before you teach, and consider:
1. Do you plan questions in advance, or do you decide them spontaneously during the lesson?
2. For which stages of the lesson do you plan questions most carefully? Think of some examples.
3. How are your questions linked to the aims of each task or activity?
» Pause & reflect (3-5 minutes)
Types of Questions for Successful Teaching
Awareness of the different types of questions enables teachers to select the most effective ones for each lesson stage, both in lesson preparation and during the class.
Here are key types of questions, with examples and guidance on when to use them in the classroom.
1. Closed Questions
Closed questions typically have a short, specific answer, often “yes” or “no,” a single word, or a fixed piece of information. They are straightforward, and they reduce the cognitive load for learners, which is especially helpful at lower levels.
Purpose: Closed questions are useful for checking understanding, confirming knowledge, and focussing on accuracy. They help teachers quickly assess whether students have understood key language points, instructions, or concepts.
Examples (English language teaching)
Grammar: “a apple or an apple?” (An apple)
Vocabulary: “Is a carrot a vegetable?” (Yes)
Reading: “Where did the man go?” (To the supermarket)
Listening: “Is the speaker talking about work or free time? (Free time)
Guidance for Use
- Use closed questions to check understanding, comprehension or knowledge.
- They are useful in controlled practice and review stages.
- Avoid overusing them, as they can limit student speaking opportunities.
- Follow up with open questions to encourage deeper thinking and longer responses.
2. Open Questions
Open questions generate longer, more detailed responses and do not have a single correct answer. (They also prompt students to avoid giving just one-word answers!)
Purpose: Open questions stimulate student thinking and encourage extended responses. They provide the opportunity for learners to increase language production in the classroom with freer practice of the target language. This helps to develop language fluency and boost confidence.
Examples (English language teaching)
“What did you do at the weekend?”
“Can you describe your favourite place?”
“Where would you like to travel in the future?”
“How would you deal with these problems?” (e.g. follow-up after a reading task)
“Would you prefer to work for a company or be self-employed? Why?”
Guidance for Use
- Use open questions to encourage greater language production and participation.
- They are beneficial during freer speaking practice activities, or production stages.
- Support lower-level learners with prompts, sentence starters, or models.
- Combine open questions with follow-up or higher-order questions to extend thinking and language output.
3. Checking Questions
Checking Questions include (i) Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) and (ii) Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs). They are typically short and clear questions designed to check learners’ understanding through their responses.
Purpose: CCQs and ICQs are similar but with slightly different purposes:
– Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) are used to check whether students have understood the meaning, use, or form of the lesson’s target language.
– Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs) are used to check whether students have understood the teacher’s instructions before starting a task or activity.
Checking questions help teachers to identify and clarify misunderstandings early, and better support learners in practice activities.
Examples (English language teaching)
Grammar: She has been living in France for five years.
CCQ: “Does she still live in France?” (Yes, she does.)
Vocabulary: Mark is really hungry.
CCQ: “Does he want to eat now?” (Yes, he does.)
Instructions: Teacher asks students to read the first paragraph of a text.
ICQ: “Do you need to read the whole text?” (No, just the first paragraph.)
Guidance for Use
- Use to check understanding of target language or after giving instructions.
- Ask short and clear questions with unambiguous answers (often yes/no or limited choice).
- Use language in check questions that is at or below the students’ level.
- Avoid repeating the target language in the question.
4. Higher-Order Questions
Higher-order (or higher-level) questions encourage deeper thinking, including analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and the expression of opinions and ideas. Many higher-order questions are also open questions. But not all open questions are higher-order questions. For example:
“What did you eat for breakfast?” → Open, but lower-level thinking.
“Why is a healthy breakfast important?” → Open and higher-level thinking.
Purpose: Higher-order questions prompt critical thinking, and encourage longer, more complex responses. They help learners to apply the target language through discussion and interaction in the classroom, and give the opportunity to progress with freer communication activities.
Examples (English language teaching)
“What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media?”
“Do you think technology has improved our lives? Why?/Why not?”
“Why do you think some people choose to live in big cities rather than rural areas?”
“If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?”
“How important is it for children to learn a second language? Why?”
Guidance for Use
- Use higher-order questions to encourage more complex responses in language production.
- Scaffold responses with sentence starters and examples (e.g. “I think… because…” or “In my opinion…”), especially for lower levels.
- Prompt students to extend their answers (e.g. “Why?”, “Can you explain more?”)
- Use pair or group work to increase participation during freer practice and discussion tasks.
Task 3: Which types of question do you use in the classroom?
Reflect on your teaching practice in recent lessons and consider the following:
1. What was the aim of the lesson, and what stages were included?
2. Did you use closed questions and open questions? When and why? Give examples.
3. Did you ask checking questions (CCQs and ICQs)? If so, when and why? Give examples.
4. Did you progress to higher-order questions? When and why? Give examples.
5. How did your questioning support students to achieve the aims of the lesson or an activity?
» Pause & reflect (5-8 minutes)
Classroom Strategies for Effective Questioning
By applying practical strategies, teachers can maximise the impact of their questioning. This leads to more engaging lessons and helps students achieve the aims of each stage more effectively. Here are some valuable tips for use in the classroom.
1. Plan questions in advance
Effective questioning often begins at the planning stage. Preparing different question types and anticipating possible responses as part of your lesson ensures that they are purposeful and aligned with your aims.
While planning is important, teachers should also remain flexible during the lesson. Students’ responses may require follow-up questions or adjustments, so it is essential to adapt questioning based on learners’ needs and understanding in real time.
2. Encourage active participation
Successful teaching involves all learners, not just those who are confident or quick to respond. Teachers can create opportunities for every student to participate, for example, by nominating different students or using pair and group discussions before whole-class feedback.
In a supportive classroom environment, students feel comfortable and are more likely to engage and respond. Encouraging participation helps maintain attention and increases opportunities for production of target language.
3. Wait time: Give students time to think
Learners need time to process questions, and it is important to give time to think before expecting an answer. However, some teachers may answer their own questions too quickly, or prompt stronger students early in order to minimise periods of silence.
Providing adequate waiting time gives learners more opportunities to think and formulate their ideas, especially for more complex or higher-order questions. It enables more learners to respond, often leading to greater confidence, longer answers, and more student-generated questions.
4. Responding to answers
How teachers respond to answers can support learning and build confidence. This includes positive, supportive feedback, and providing error correction based on the target language or aims of the task.
Like in an ordinary conversation, teachers should also express an interest in and respond to what students say. This is especially true when they describe experiences or give opinions. (Unfortunately, some teachers rush to the next student instead of responding to students’ answers, which also limits the value of the language task.)
In addition, follow-up questions are beneficial in extending student responses. By asking questions such as “Why?” or “Can you explain more?”, teachers can encourage deeper thinking and help students develop more complex answers.
5. Encourage students to ask questions
Effective classrooms are not only teacher-led; students should also play an active role in questioning. When learners ask their own questions, it increases engagement, supports collaboration, and helps develop greater independence in using the language.
Incorporating activities such as pair or group work allows students to develop their language production for different types of questions and interaction. During these tasks, teachers can observe learners and make notes for delayed feedback without interrupting communication. This helps learners to develop fluency and become more confident speakers.
6. Questions to Avoid
Some types of questions can reduce the effectiveness of a lesson. For example, “Do you understand?” enables some learners to smile and say “Yes”, even if they have no idea! Overly long or complex questions may confuse learners, especially at lower levels. Similarly, asking multiple questions at once can make it unclear what is expected of students.
Teachers should also avoid questions that do not support the aim of the task or the lesson stage, as they can confuse learners and distract from the lesson focus.
Finally, overusing simple closed questions or checking questions, may limit opportunities for extended language use. While useful at certain stages, they should be balanced with open and higher-order questions that encourage deeper thinking and longer responses.
Task 4: Brainstorm effective questions for upcoming lessons.
Think of one or two upcoming lessons, and identify the lesson aims and key stages.
1. What types of questions will you use at each stage of the lesson?
2. Write 2-3 questions for each task or activity.
3. How will your questions support learners to reach the aims of the lessons and individual activities?
4. When will you plan waiting time, especially for more complex questions?
5. How will you ensure all students have the opportunity to participate?
» Pause & reflect (5-10 minutes)
Task 5: Reflect after teaching future classes.
After teaching future lessons, reflect on your use of effective questioning for further development.
1. Which types of questions did you use most frequently? Why?
2. Did you provide extra thinking time, and how did this affect student engagement?
3. Did you include higher-order questions? What was the impact?
4. How did your questions support learners to reach the aims of the lessons and individual activities?
5. What would you change or improve in your questioning in the future?
» Pause & reflect (5-10 minutes)
Key Takeaways for Effective Classroom Questioning
Effective questioning is a valuable tool that supports student engagement, thinking, and learning.
By planning questions in advance and combining appropriate types and strategies, teachers can better guide learners in the classroom.
This supports learners to successfully achieve lesson aims and to reach their individual language development goals.
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