The “ICQ” Mode of Effective Questioning

Effective questioning is an important issue that has been researched by many professors all over the world. Doing research on effective questioning is good for teachers to better understand their teaching methods and process, to better build the relationship between students and themselves, to know their students’ learning process and learning experience in class, and then promote mutual understanding between them. Besides, teachers can also realize the quality and effect of their questioning, and get a full appreciation of their own teaching experience.

The new “ICQ” mode of effective questioning can transform a classroom from a traditional lecture setting into a lively student-centered community, guiding students' critical thinking processes, and checking class effect.

First, “I” means incitation. Teachers can ask questions to incite students to think in various situations, for example, teaching grammars, practicing listening skills, training reading skills, and so on.

Take grammar teaching for example. According to English language teaching method, there are three different ways of presenting grammar in the classroom. They are the deductive method, the inductive method and the guided discovery method. Among them, we may find incitation in the inductive method and the guided discovery method. In the inductive method, the teacher provides learners with authentic language data and induces the learners to realize grammar rules without any form of explicit. For example, in order to present the two forms “this is” and “these are”, the teacher will first hold up a book, saying “This is a book.” He or she will do the same showing other objects. Then the teacher holds up several books and says “These are books.” After that, the students are given chances and enough time to think about the grammar rules by themselves. Meantime, the guided discovery method is similar to the inductive method in that the students are induced to discover rules by themselves but different in that the process of the discovery is carefully guided and assisted by the teacher and the rules are then elicited and taught explicitly. For example, in teaching the “too…to…” structure, the teacher holds a picture of a heavy box labeled 250 kg and asks the class to look at the pictures.

T: What can you see in the picture, class?

Ss: We can see a big box.

T: Is it heavy?

Ss: Yes, it’s very heavy. It is 250kg.

T: Can I carry it?

Ss: No, you can’t.

T: You are right. I can’t carry it. Why? Because it is too heavy to carry.

Having said this, the teacher writes the whole sentence on the blackboard. And they continue to give more examples. Undoubtedly, those students may find out the grammar rules in those sentences after that.

Second, “C” means communication. Effective questioning should focus on classroom communication. Because a communicative classroom environment can arouse students’ learning enthusiasm, help them learn foreign language easier, and do good to use the language in real life. Large study confirms that classroom basic modes are IRE mode and IRF mode. IRE is short for initiation, respond and evaluation. This mode can also be called recitation script. Research shows that this mechanical Question-and- answer mode pervades all kinds of classes, limiting students’ thought development and the raise of the level of communication. However, if the third part of IRE mode changed, it will turn into IRF mode, which is an abbreviation for initiation, response and follow up. Finally, it proved that the class effect was entirely different. Under the IRF mode, students came up with the topic initiatively, more significant negotiation appeared in the classroom, and the interaction between students increased a lot, which greatly promoted the students' participation in classroom teaching. (Hall, 1998)

There are two dialogues in the following part, which shows the difference between IRE mode and IRF mode.

First, there is a dialogue about IRE mode:

T: What did you do last Saturday, John?

J: My parents took me to a restaurant last Saturday.

T: Good! What did you do last Saturday, Cathy?

C: I go to the zoo last Saturday.

T: That’s not right. What did you do last Saturday?

C: I see. I went to the zoo last Saturday.

T: Very good.

Next, there is a dialogue about IRF mode:

T: What did you do last Saturday, John?

J: MY parents took me to a restaurant last Saturday.

T: Good! How did you like the food there?

J: It was great. I liked it very much.

T: Really? Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

J: Sure I do. It’s “Diamond Restaurant” on Lake Road.

T: Very good. I think I’ll go there some day.

Comparing the first dialogue and the second dialogue, we can find that the first one is just a process of practicing the past tense mechanically, among which the teacher only tries to correct Cathy’s mistake, but not guide her to use this tense in a real situation. Nevertheless, in the second dialogue we can easily find that the teacher creates a real scene to practice the past tense with John. Only in this way can he create a communicative classroom environment. It is not only useful for teachers to teach students effectively, but also can arouse students’ learning interest and let them participate in the class more actively.

Third, “Q” means quality and quantity. Here is a record of the questioning section of the lesson “Film star” given by Miss Ji Jun, an English teacher of Qingdao second middle school.

T：Class, do you like watching films?

Ss: Yes.

T: Why not enjoy an extract from a film right now? Ok?

Ss: Ok.

(Then the teacher show a film on the PPT)

T: Do you like this film?

Ss: Yes.

T: Have you ever seen this film?

Ss: Yes.

T: You know the name?

Ss: Home Alone.

T: Good! That's right! Look at the boy. Who is that boy? Who? What's the name of the boy? Do you know? Who can use the microphone and tell me?

S: I think his name is Michaelicokin.

T: Michaelicokin. Good!Do you agree with her?

Ss: Yes.

T: Yes, that's right. He is a world famous Hollywood star. And as we know, in Hollywood, there are many film stars, right? Michaelicokin is just one of them. Now I will show you some more pictures. Can you recognize some of them? Who can name them?

S: I think the middle one is Marilyn Monroe.

T: Marilyn Monroe. That's good, any more? What about the left bottom?

S: I think the left one is Thomas Hanks and his wife.

T: Thomas Hank? Tom Cruise! And? His new wife. OK! Thank you! They are world famous, right? They are beautiful and charming. It seemed that they lived a happy life. But is it really true? Do you want to know their real life?

Ss: Yes.

T: OK! So this time, focus on your passage, and do fast reading. Before you start, look at the screen, and choose the best title from the three.

Analyzing this dialogue, it is obviously that the teacher used so many Yes/No questions at the very beginning. She repeated the same meaning in questions like “Who is that boy? Who? What's the name of the boy?” Nevertheless, she also made some effective questions. She asked the whole class “Do you agree with her?” after a girl answered the name of a star. This question can drew the attentions of other students, and make all the students participate in the class. “Thomas Hank? Tom Cruise! And? His new wife” The teacher repeated the student’s wrong answer with an interrogative mood, and spoke out the correct answer. This is an effective feedback using questioning.

In conclusion, each part of “ICQ” is very important for effective questioning. Incitation contributes a lot to communication, and communication contains incitation. What’s more, good quality and appropriate quantity of questions is essential for creating a communicative classroom environment. Besides, questions with a function of incitation can also be called good quality questions. They relate to each other, and interact with each other. Not a single one can be omitted. Therefore, English teachers of middle school can combine the three parts together to make effective questioning.