The Questioning Behaviors of EFL Teachers in UAE High Schools

Abstract

Language teachers ask many questions in their classrooms. Questioning is a very important and effective strategy for creating a communicative atmosphere at schools and promoting learning. Research in this area has investigated the various types of questions language teachers ask in their classrooms assuming that asking a variety of questions can help enhance the learning process. However, less research has looked at the manner (i.e., strategies) in which teachers ask questions in their classrooms as well as the effectiveness of these strategies on teaching and learning. The how of asking questions, in my opinion, may be just as important as the question itself, and therefore more research is needed to investigate this questioning dimension. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which teachers ask questions in their classrooms. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to answer two research questions: (1) what questioning strategies are being used by EFL teachers in UAE high schools, particularly in Ras Al Khaima (RAK), (2) are those teachers aware of such strategies and their usefulness in the learning process? In order to answer these two questions, a triangulation of research methods was utilized. These included classroom observation, unstructured interviews conducted with teachers, and a survey distributed to students. Generally, observed and interviewed teachers in this study showed a positive attitude towards the usage of questioning behaviors in their classrooms. The majority of them used questioning behaviors effectively as a warm up strategy in their lessons and to raise their students' interests and motivations.