Questioning To DevgloP hlnking in tfie Engli,gh As a Secontr Language GSt) Classroom

Nor Azmi b. Mostafa

Abstract: Researchers recommend the use of questioning by teachers for the purpose of achieving academic goals' In this respect, teachers ihould use higher cognitive-level questions in developing their students' critical thinking skills' As such, activitLs conducted to encourage critical thinking among students
can include questions that encourage them to use their senses, such

as recalling from memory, processing ideas, using or applying knowledge in some actions, and transferring or evaluating those
relationships in new or hypothetical situations'

Keywords: Thinking skills, questioning

INTRODUCTION
There is increasing evidence that teaching individuals thinking skills results in improving their ability to learn and in developing their cognitive abilities (Deligianni, 1999). Langrehr (2003) mentions several characteristics of good thinkers: (i) having a high degree of positivity, (i) being quick to sense patterns in information, (iii) being able to use mental pictures to clariff and summarize information, and (iv) being able to ask and answer their own questions. Good thinkers tend to have positive thoughts or feelings when thinking about and trying to solve problems' This high degree of positivity help them to focus, to persist, and to be motivated to give their best. on the other hand, poor thinkers tend to have the opposite of such characteristics as mentioned above' Good thinkers are also able to think about pattems in numbers and the wording of a problem. For example, when they try to remember the spelling of a word, or read with understanding, or judge a creative design, they are able to sense important pattems in

Ilnglish Languagc Journal

Developing Thinking Skills

questions, and tend to get involved in probing activities in trying to solve problems.

such things as letters, words, sentences, and the arrangenrent of visual shapes. They are also able to ask and answer ih"i.

students, using wait time, and providing feedback after a student

responds.

o*n

According to Langrehr (2003), there is also a tendency for good thinkers to be naturally good at mental picturing o, i-uiirrg. it "y are able to use mental or rear pictures to summariz" und urry "la.iry information given in a probrem. Like positivity and pattem ,""king, mental picturing is vital in areas of learning. For example,
good

Two of the most common methods are recitations involving primarily low-level convergent questions to get students to recall
important facts and concepts related to an issue or topic, and guided discussions that are designed to encourage students to begin

(Langrehr, 2003).

in a story. Research has also shown that the regular use of visual summary pictures by sfudents have the tendency to improve their ability to recall and understand information that they see or hear

readers are good at imaging or visualizing the events and characters

thinking at levels as they apply to what they have leamed (Kinsvatter, et al., 1992). Researchers suggest that the recitation method is prevalent in the classrooms as it gives teachers more speaking rights or opportunities and helps in managing the flow of talk within large groups of students (Wilen and White, 1991).
Recitation has persisted because the question-answer format is used to maintain order and control students' social behavior. Wilen and White (1991) emphasize that recitation is not an appropriate method to encourage students to think because of the emphasis on asking a high frequency of questions within a highly structured interaction pattern controlled by the teacher. Thus, it is recommended that teachers use higher cognitive-level questions if developing critical thinking skills is an important

RELATIOI\SHIP BETWBEN QUESTIONING Al\D THINKING

wilen (1991) mentions researches that recommend the use of questioning by both teachers and students which has a variety of purposes in achieving academic goars. These purposes inciude

reviewing information, diagnosing ability, stimulating thinking, also be used for a variety of other affective, evaluative, and management purposes including supporting contributions,
assessing progress, and controlling behavior.

arousing interest, and personalizing subject matter. euestioning can

curricular goal (Gall and Rhody, 1987). Researchers also recommend extending wait time after questions since there is a tendency for students' responses to become more complex and reflective if the wait time is longer (Tobin, 1987). The use of a variety of teacher and student questioning, and alternative, nonquestioning strategies are also suggested to encourage higher level

learning more than written questions, and regularly involve students in classroom interaction. several questioning iechniques also correlate with students'gains in academic achievement. wilen and white (1991) mention several techniques of oral questioning which include asking clearly phrased questions, probin! students, responses to questions, redirecting questions to other students, balancing the responses of volunteering and non_volunteering l6

(1989) encourages teachers to use oral questions since they enhance

Researchers have arso demonstrated a clear and positive relationship between the frequency of teachers' questions and students' achievement (Wilen, lggl). In this respect, Strother

thinking (Hunkins, 1989). Researchers have also shown that while teachers ask a high frequency of questions, students ask few information-seeking questions (Dillon, 1988). They recommend that teachers reduce the number of questions they ask and have students formulate more questions. According to Hunkins (1987), teachers need to share information about their approach to questioning with students in order to help the students understand their expectations regarding the kind of thinking necessary to answer them. Dillon (1988) also suggests that teachers teach students to generate questions that can become the basis of recitations or a part of discussions in the
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Developing Thinking Ski lls

communication skills (Gall and Gall, 1990). In this respect, Dillon (1988) recommends that the following key characterisiics be kept in mind when planning for a classroom discussion:

of subject matter mastery problem_solving ability, moral development, attitude change and development, and

studies have shown that discussion is effective for attaining student leaming outcome such as the development general

classroom, and encourage students to assume the role of ,teacher, as they formulate and ask questions after reading text sections.

essential because teachers can conveniently and effectively use them to engage students' thinking about issues, problems, and topics under discussion. As teachers have considerable impact on students based on their ability to control the thought levels of
students in the classroom, they need to pay attention to the types of questions they ask and the ways they ask them in the classroom. Once the teacher realises that questions have different cognitive levels and that relationships between questions and student thinking

(i) Students should (ii) Thepredominant

speak half or more of the time;

exist, decisions need to be made about the proportion of time students spent engaged in lower- and higher-level thinking. These
decisions must take into account the objectives of the lesson and the method(s) employed to achieve these objectives. Practically every method and strategy that a teacher can employ with individuals or groups of students involve questioning. As teachers plan lesson objectives and methods and strategies to achieve them, decisions will be made about the appropriate balance of thinking levels and the corresponding kinds ofquestions needed to be asked. It cannot be denied that recitation and discussion are two of the most common activities being used by English teachers in ESL classrooms. Bearing in mind how the students' minds think and leam, the ESL teacher can structure suitable questions and

exchangepattern shouldbe amix ofquestions and statements by a mix of students and teachers; teacher-student, studentexchanges

(iii) The sequence should be a mix of

(iv)

teacher, and student_student interactions, and The overall pace should be fewer, longer, and slower

than in a recitation.

time to 3-5 seconds.

and also alternative, non-questioning techniques, includinj statements, sfudent questions, and silence since these have been found to encourage richer and fuller discussions, as well as extending wait

Lastly, wilen (1990) and Dillon (l9gg) further stress that teachers should plan to use a variety of questioning techniques

QUESTIONING TO DEVELOP THINKTNG IN THE ESL CLASSROOM

According

particular activities to develop their critical thinking skills. Costa and Lowery (1989) suggest activities that encourage the students to use their senses such as recalling from memory processing ideas, using or applying knowledge in some action, and transferring or evaluating those
statements relationships in new or hypothetical situations.

to engage their students in

to

particular thinking skill, their achievement in subjects requirinlg this skill increases significantry. He provides an example whereby when children are taught six or more questions that good speilers ask themselves when leaming the spelring of a new word, their ability to spell increases significantly.
The questions a teacher asks in the classroom and the techniques used to stimulate crassroom interaction have been considered essential components of the instructional process. Questions are

Langrehr (2003), when children are taught

Gathering Information
To get students to give information, questions can be designed to help them to gather the information that they can then process. For example, they may identifu verbs that may be used as predicates in statements of desired behavior, such as seeing, hearing, listening, feeling, touching, and smelling. Examples of questions designed to elicit these desired cognitive behaviors (DCB) are as follow:

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linglish Languagc Journal

Devcloping Thinking Skills Desired Cognitive Behavior (DCB)

(Senses)

predicates in statements of these desired behavior include synthesizing, analyzing, categorizing, explaining, classifying,

"What do you hear in the market?"

"How does it feel?"

"What do you see in the hall?"

comparing, contrasting, grouping, relating, sequencing, summarizing, stating causality, and making analogies. Examples of questions designed to elicit these cognitive behaviors are as follow:
Desired Cognitive Behavior (DCB)
(Senses)

information, feelings, or experiences acquired in the past and stored in long- or short-term memory. Several verbs may also be identified and used as predicates in statements of desired behavior such as d,escribing, listing, identtfying, recalling, defining, and, naming. The following are examples of question. o"rign"a to ericit these desired cognitive behaviors (DCB):

Recalling Information from Memory Questions can be designed to draw from students the concepts,

Questions
"Compare the use ofnoun phrases to ofverb phrases."

Comparing

the use

"Why are verbs referred to as action words?" "What do you think caused the river to be polluted?" "What othermachines can you think of that work on the same principles as this one?"

Explaining
Stating Causality

Making Analogies

Questions
"Name the English dipthongs."

Desired Cognitive Behavior

(DCB)
(Senses)

"How is public speaking different

from debating?"

Contrasting

Naming

"What are the words that rhyme with bat?,, Which words in this list are adverbs?,, "What was your grade on the MUET test?',

Listing Identifuing
Recalling

Applying and Evaluating Actions in Hypothetical

Situations
To lead the student beyond the concept or principle he/she has developed to a novel or hypothetical situation, the teacher needs to use questions the will enable students to think creatively and
hypothetically, use imagination, expose or apply a value system, or make a critical judgement. Examples of verbs to use include imagining, planning, evaluating, judging, predicting, inferring, hypothesising, speculating, and generalising,. The following are examples of questions designed to elicit these cognitive behaviors:

Processing the fnformation Gathered

students can be led to process information gathered through the senses and retrieved from long_ and short_term rn"_ory. Thi, processing is best accomprished by designing questions to facilitate drawing cause-and-effect relationshipi synthesising, analysing, summarising, and comparing content, or classifyinftn" aui"

students has acquired or observed. Several verbs that can be used as

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English Languagc Journal

DcvcloPing Thinking Skil ls

Desired Cognitive Behavior

meaning of new words and structures; (iv) use language creatively to express their own ideas, attitudes and opinions; (v) adapt and

(DCB)
(Senses)

"If the Malaysian population continues to grow as it has been, what will life be like in the twentSr-second century?',
"What can you say about all countries' economies that are dependent upon only one crop?" "What would be an effective solution to
this problem?"

revise language for their own purposes; (vi) identiff and use suitable language pattems, and (vii) getting the students to devise their own language-leaming strategies. Effective thinking skills activities are generally challenging, open-ended and frequently involve problem solving' As these activities involve talking and listening, group work is normally essential. The students may often end up asking more questions than they answer. These activities may often involve the practical manipulation of materials to better reflect the manipulation of ideas in their minds. This may also be matched by the translation of materials from one form to another.

"From what we have learned, which poem is the best example of contemporary poetry?" "What do you think might happen ifwe placed the salt-water fish in the fresh_ water aquarium?" "From our experiments with food coloring in different water temperatures, what can you infer about the movement of molecules?"

CLOSURE
Thinking skills are very much an integral component in the teaching and learning process as in the ESL classrooms,
specifically, and in the Malaysian national curriculum, generally. In the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom, questions are beneficial because they motivate students, focus sfudents' attention, elicit deeper processing of information, tell students how well they are mastering content, and give them an opporhrnity for practice and rehearsal. Teachers who have a particular reason for asking a question and who listen carefully to students' answers in order to shape their own responses are more skillful at helping sfudents to
understand a subject. Students also require the skills necessary to study a wide variety

THE ESL CLASSROOM

THINKING SKILLS ACTIVITIES IN

Developing students' ability to reflect on their own rearning or metacognition can help them to progress. Activities in the ESL classroom that can enco'rage sfudents to reflect on their own thinking processes and languageJearning strategies incrude getting students to: (i) identify and understand the links between ttre first language and English in lexis, syntax and grammar; (ii) draw inferences from unfamiliar language and unexpected responses; (iii) use the students' knowredge of grammar to deduce the

of evidence, comprehend and extract information from it, and notice gaps and inconsistencies. They also need to be fluent in a range of basic procedures involved in classification or comparison. Thus, English language teachers need to be trained, first of all, to be able to teach thinking skills and strategies through English language activities. Teaching thinking in the English language class can provide a real purpose for using the language as well as

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English Language Journal

general.

developing the language itself. Such an approach provides real educational value to activities used in the ranguaie classroom because the skills invorved in critical thinking, u. *"it as problem solving are necessary for effective functioning in the world, in

REFERENCES
L. (1999). Techniques for Teaching Thinking. pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Pub. Deligianni, A' (1999). Thinking skilrs through Engrish ranguage tasks. Recent Trends in TEFL. Online. http://www.thrace_net.grlbridgeVpuf"2.frt. Dillon, J. T. (1988). Discussion versus recitation. Tennessei Educationar
Leadership,
1

Costa, A- & Lowery,

5, pp. 52-64

Hunkins, F. (1989). TeaclinS and Learning Through Effective euestioning. Boston: pub.
hristopher Gordon

TC Publishing Sdn. Bhd. strother, D. B. (r9gg). Developing thinking skills through questioning. phi Derta Kappan. December. Bloomington, ind.: phi Delta Kappa Center on Evaluation, Development, and Research. pp. 23-26. wilen, w' w. (1991). euestions skiilsfor Teachers. (3rd. Edition). what Research Says to the Teacher Series. Washington, DC: NEA.

Kindsvatter, R., Wilen, W. W., & Ishler, M. (1992). Dynamics of Efective Teaching. New York: Longman. Langrehr, J. (2003). Teaching Children Thinking ,Stl/s. Kuala Lumpur:

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