A Case Study of an EFL Teacher's Type of Questions: An Investigation into Classroom Interaction

Abstract

Types of teachers’ questions play an important role in teaching since they affect students’ participation in the process of negotiation of meaning. Therefore, in this study, an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher's questions along with the students’ responses to his questions were classified. A structured interview was also administered. It was found out that the number of coded/display and yes/no questions exceeded open/referential questions. Although the use of such questions seemed to be due to students’ level of proficiency, it was revealed that teachers’ low level of proficiency and lack of experience plays a great role in asking such questions. It was also revealed that the reason for the learners’ silence or reluctance to participate might have been due to the ineffective questioning technique(s).