ABSTRACT
Questions in either written or verbal form are an important method for you to ascertain what students’ current knowledge is or whether they have learned any new information at various stages of the lesson. There are lots of books about using questioning strategies in the classroom and as teachers of English, I think we would all agree that using questions is one of the most dynamic and interesting strategies that we ever use to teach our subject. Therefore, as an outstanding teacher it is essential to know how to use a range of them in one lesson. You might need to ‘mix’ up your strategies in order to elicit a range of information from students as well as create an interesting and engaging debate on a certain topic. Some of the most exciting English lessons that I have ever taught were ones where an answer to a question from a student meant that for a short time, as a class, we discussed a view or an idea that was unexpected. I reacted to an answer from a student and we explored that idea in full by asking questions of each other and encouraging all to respond to answers and engage in a discussion, explaining their point of view. This ‘unexpected’ moment is always one of the memorable ones in any English teacher’s classroom.
