THE USE OF TEA
CHR
ENGLISH
FACULTY
SATYA
TEACHER’S QUESTIONS IN SATYA
HRISTIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Debora Mayang Arum 112011037
SH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGR
LTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATU
A WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSI
SALATIGA 2015
TYA WACANA
L
OGRAM
ATURE
THE USE OF TEA
CHR
ENGLISH
FACULTY
SATYA
TEACHER’S QUESTIONS IN SATYA
HRISTIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Debora Mayang Arum 112011037
SH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGR
LTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATU
A WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSI
SALATIGA 2015
TYA WACANA
L
OGRAM
ATURE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT... 1
INTRODUCTION ... 1
LITERATURE REVIEW... 4
Questioning as one aspect of teacher talk ... 5
Teacher’s questions... 6
THE STUDY... 9
Context of the study ... 9
Participant ... 9
Reasearch instrument ... 10
Data collection procedures... 10
Data analysis procedures... 11
FINDING AND DISCUSSION ... 11
Teacher’s questions usage... 12
Types of teacher’s questions asked... 14
Purposes of teacher’s questions asked... 26
CONCLUSION ... 41
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... 43
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Diagram 1. The usage of teacher’s questions based on Wajnryb’s (1992)
categorization of question types. ... 12 Diagram 2. The usage of teacher’s questions based on Brown and Edmonson’s
THE USE OF TEACHER’S QUESTIONS IN SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
ABSTRACT
The investigation concerning the use of teacher’s question has been significant to conduct since questioning is one of the most common and important teacher’s techniques in EFL classroom context (Behnam and Pouriran, 2009). This study aims to investigate the types and purposes of teacher’s questions used in an English classroom in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School. This investigation employed real time observation using time-sampling protocol to capture the teacher’s questions. The observation was conducted 8 (eight) times. The data captured were analyzed according to Wajnryb’s (1992) categorization of question types and Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) categorization of purposes of question.The results show that the teacher used almost all of question’s types and purposes. In term of question’s types, Yes/No, Short Answer/Retrieval Style, Open-ended, Display and Referential questions were used. In term of question’s purposes, the teacher used questions to arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic, focus attention on a particular issue or concept, develop an active approach to learning, diagnose specific difficulties inhibiting pupil learning, express genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupils and provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect upon information.
Keywords: The use ofteacher’s questions,teacher’s questions,question’s types, question’s purposes
INTRODUCTION
The investigation of the use of teacher’s questions is significant since questioning is one of the most common and important teachers’ techniques used
in EFL classroom context (Behnam and Pouriran, 2009). The frequent use of questioning may refer to its straightforward nature in engaging students to talk
(Yanfen&Yuqin, 2010). A teacher can stimulate students’ response directly by using questions as a way of information request. Furthermore, by asking
use uncomprehensible [difficult] language...” (Long, 1996). By responding to the teacher’s questions, the students can improve their language store through
language understanding and practicing processes. Consequently, the contribution of the teacher’s question in engaging students’ effort to understand and use their language store makes questioning technique become important in helping the students to improve their language competency.
There has been a great interest in investigating the use of teacher’s questions and the effects on language classroom interactions and learning processes. David (2007) has conducted a study to investigate the distribution of
display and referential questions and to explore their effects on ESL classroom interaction in Nigerian secondary schools. He found that display questions are more often used by teacher rather than referential questions. Furthermore, the
result shows that display questions create more interactions than referential ones. Shomoossi (2004) also has conducted a study in Tehran universities to study the
teacher questioning in EFL classrooms. The result of the study shows that display questions are more often used by the teachers. Shomoossi (2004) also found out that not all the use of referential questions can create enough teacher-student
how teachers’ questioning techniques can influence classroom interactions and learning processes.
As can be seen, there are numerous studies of teacher’s questions which have been carried out to compare two or more teacher’s questions and also the relation of questions asked by the teacher and student’s learning. In the same line of inquiry, this study is aimed to examine the types and purposes of teacher’s question. Specifically, this study is aimed to investigate the types and purposes of
teacher’s questions used in an English class in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School.
This study is directed to answer the questions below.
1. What are the types of questions used by the teacher in an English class in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School?
2.What are the teacher’s purposes of asking the particular types of questions?
Brown (2001) states that to develop teacher’s role as an initiator and sustainer of interactions, one of the best way is to develop a set of questioning strategies. In order to develop an effective set of questioning strategies, it is
important to begin with an investigation of the use of various kinds of teacher’s questions and the purpose of its usage in language classroom context as a
consideration material. Further, the investigation becomes a more important starting point in a context in which teacher’s role as interaction initiator and sustainer is still highly needed, like in Junior High School level. Based on that
In addition to that, the result of this study hopefully is able to raise the awareness of English teachers in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School
about the use of teacher’s question. As Walsh (2002) concludes awareness in language classroom as a more conscious use of language by noticing the
interactional features on learning opportunity, the English classroom teacher’s awareness can be expected to stimulate the teacher to develop an effective set of questioning strategies that may help in achieving the teaching goals and helping
the students to learn in the English classroom.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Questioning has been one of the most common and important teachers’ techniques used in EFL classroom context (Behnam & Pouriran, 2009). The
frequent use of questioning may refer to its straightforward nature in engaging students to talk (Yanfen&Yuqin, 2010). By using questions as a way of
information request, teachers can stimulate students’ response directly. Furthermore, by asking questions, teachers give more opportunity for their students to, “understand and use uncomprehensible [difficult] language...” (Long, 1996). By responding to teachers’ questions, students can improve their language store through language understanding and practicing processes. Therefore, the
Questioning as one aspect of teacher talk
According to Ellis (1988), teacher talk is, “... [a] special language the
teacher uses when addressing L2 learners in the classroom... There is systematic simplification of formal properties of the teacher’s language”. From that definition, teacher talk seems to beone of teachers’ strategies in teaching students who has lower proficiency than the teachers themselves. In order to be able to teach those students, the teachers should use a ‘special language’ which can be understood by students and can engage their attention and participation. It means that the teachers should simplify and modify their language to adjust students’ level of proficiency to engage students’ responses which are likely expected to resulton students’understanding and use of the language.
practicing using the target language, the students are expected to be more comprehensible in the language learned.
Teachers’ questions
Cotton (1989) defines teachers’ questions as teachers’ “instructional cues or stimuli that convey to students the content elements to be learned and directions for what they are to do and how they are to do it”. From that definition, teachers’ questions cannot be assumed as insignificant utterances. Teachers’ questions consist of reasons, purposes and functions of language teaching and learning materials that need to be noted and fulfilled to attempt the teaching and
learning success. Eachteacher’squestion can have different reasons, purposes and functions. Therefore, each teacher’s question is delivered in different form in order to fulfill those particular reasons, purposes and functions which may be
carried in.
According to Richards and Lockhart (1996), there are several reasons of
the common use of questions in teaching. The first reason is questions can stimulate and maintain students’ interest. Second, questions may encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. Questions may also
enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. Furthermore, questions enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They can also enable
teachers to check students’ understanding. Lastly, questions encourage student participation in a lesson.
purpose is to arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic. The second purpose is to focus attention on a particular issue or concept. Thirdly, questions are used to
develop an active approach to learning. Fourthly, to stimulate pupils to ask questions themselves and others. Furthermore, questions may be used to diagnose
specific difficulties inhibiting pupil learning. Questions use can also express a genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupils. In addition, questions are used to provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect upon
information.
Further, teachers’ reasons and purposes of using questions in teaching create specific functions through which they can be fulfilled. Kearsley (1976) proposes some questions’ functions which are devided into echoic, epistemic, expressive, social control, attentional and verbosity. With the echoic function,
questions are asked for repetition and reiteration of a statement or verification whether an utterance has been understood as intended (e.g. ‘Excuse me?’, ‘Pardon me?’, ‘What?’, etc.). With epistemic function, questions are asked to acquire information. In acquiring information, questions are further divided into referential and evaluative. Referential questions are intended to provide contextual
information about situations, occasions, activities, purposes, relations or possessions (e. g. Wh-questions). Evaluative questions are asked to check the
asked to maintain power by preserving control of the dialogue. Questions are also asked to fulfill their attentional function by allowing the questioner to govern the
direction of the dialogue (‘Would you like to listen to me?’ or ‘Are you listening to what I have just said?’). Lastly, questions are asked with their verbosity
functions. With this function, questions are asked only for sake of politeness or to sustain conversation (e. g. cocktail party questions).
In order to function effectively, questions are divided into several types based
on Wajnryb’s (1992) categorization. This categorization divides questions into six different types. The first type of question based on Wajnryb’s categorization is yes/no questions. In this category, questions such as‘Here is a picture of woman. Have you seen her face before?’ are asked. This kind of question expects yes/no answers from the students. The second type of question in this categorization is
short answer/retrieval-style questions. The question like ‘What did she say about the film?’ is included in this type of question since the question expects the students to give short/ retrieval-style answer. Thirdly, open-ended questions are listed in the categorization. The questions like ‘Whom could he have telephoned?’ can be included in this category since the question may evoke open-ended answer
from the students which based on their own ideas or analysis. Further, there are display and referential questions in Wajnryb’s categorization of question. Display questions are asked to request for information that has been already known by the teacher or questioner. ‘What color is this pen?’ is one example of display question because the answer of the question has been already known by the
by the questioner, referential questions seek for new information such as ‘What did you study at university?’. The last type of question in this category is non-retrieval or imaginative questions. This type of question does not require the learner to retrieve given information but instead call to inferred information or
information in which an opinion judgment is called for. The example for non-retrieval, imaginative questions is ‘What do you think the writer was suggesting by making the central character an animal?’.
THE STUDY Context of the study
This study was conducted in an English class of Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School, Salatiga, Indonesia, with two main reasons as the basis of
selection. The first reason was that in this class, there had not been any study investigating teachers questioning. The second reason was, based on the
pre-observation conducted in the English classroom, teacher – students interactions through question and anwer sessions in the discussions was evident through the teaching and learning process. Therefore, this study was conducted.
Participant
The participant of the study was a teacher of an English class in Satya
Wacana Christian Junior High School who agreed to take part in this study. The participant was qualified in educational background to teach and had at least 5 years teaching experience in English classes. The teacher was oberved while
English class taught by the teacher met twice a week. The first meeting lasted 3x45 minutes and the second meeting lasted 1x45 minutes.
Research instrument
Observation was conducted to gain the data needed in attempt to fulfill the
purpose of this study using time-sampling protocols. The time-sampling protocols were used to record or gather the data; theteacher’s questionsasked in the English classroom, by following the time order of occurrence during the observation. The
protocols had title, class name, day and date, class time, class length, initial of the teacher, total number of students, topic/skill of the lesson and a table which
includes types of teacher’s questions, sample of expression and occurrence.
Audio-Recording was also made for this study. However, it was only used to help the researcher ensure the validity of the data captured in the time-sampling
observation protocols.
Data collection procedures
The classroom observation was conducted 8 (eight) times to find the recurring patterns of questioning in the English class and to ensure that the data captured in the observation were not coincidental data. In each observation, the
researcher always prepared the recording device at the beginning of the class. Afterwards, the researcher sat at the back of the class to have the best position in
observing the class. While observing, the researcher noted down the classroom discussion activities in time-sampling protocol as a way of capturing data.
The data captured in the observations were qualitative data which were
Data analysis procedures
The data gathered from the classroom observations using the
time-sampling protocols were analyzed in several steps to answer the research questions of the study; ‘What are types of questions used by the teacher in an English class in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School?’and ‘What are the teacher’s purposes of asking the particular types of questions?’. At the first step, the researcher checked the validity of the teacher’s questions noted in the time-sampling protocols by comparing the data with the audio recording which had been transcribed. After the first checking process was done, the researcher
checked and analyzed the grouping ofthe teacher’s questions based on Wajnryb’s (1992) categorization of question to answer the first research question. Afterwards, the questions were grouped and analyzed based on the Brown and
Edmonson’s (1985) categorization of teacher’s purposes in using questions to answer the second research question. The data were also be analyzed in term of
frequency of occurance.
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
This section discussesthe usage of teacher’s questions in the English class of Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School in term of question types based on
Wajnryb’s (1992) categorization and question purposes based on Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) categorization. Firstly, the discussion about teacher’s questions usage in term of types and purposes is presented with the help of
specifically by presenting some significant excerpts of teacher’s questions. Further, teacher’s questions were discussed in term of purposes by presenting some significant episodes.
Teacher’squestions usage
This sub-section discusses the teacher’s questions usage in term of types and purposes by employing diagrams.
1. Teacher’squestions in term of types
Diagram 1. The usageof teacher’s questions based on Wajnryb’s(1992) categorization of question types.
Diagram 1 shows the teacher’s questions usage in the English classroom based on Wajnryb’s (1992) question type categorization. The diagram shows that Display, Yes or No and Referential questions were the major questions asked by the teacher. Display questions were the most frequent teacher’s questions asked as the questions were used for 36,01% from the total of questions usage. Yes or No
questions followed in the second position with 35,05% of classroom usage. In the third position, Referential questions were asked with 20,26% of usage. Further,
Diagram 1 shows that the frequency of the three prior types of questions usage was significantly higher than the other three types of questions; Short
Answer/Retrieval-style, Open-ended and Non-retrieval/Imaginative questions. Short Answer/Retrieval-style and Open-ended questions were only asked in the
English classroom with each 6,43% and 2,25% of usage. Moreover, the usage of Non-retrieval/Imaginative questions could not be found in the English classroom.
2. Teacher’squestions in term of purposes
Diagram 2. The usage of teacher’s questions based on Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) categorization of question purposes.
Diagram 2 shows the teacher’s questions usage based on Brown and Edmonson’s (1985)categorization of question purposes in the English class. The diagram suggests that teacher’s objective to develop an active approach to learning was the most frequent purpose expressed in asking questions as more than half (53,05%) of the total frequency refers to this purpose. In the second
position,teacher’s purpose to express a genuine interest in the ideas and feelings
1,29% 2,57%
53,05% 9,65%
32,80%
0,64%
Purposes of Teacher's Questions
To arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topicTo focus attention on a particular issue or concept
To develop an active approach to learning
To stimulate pupils to ask questions themselves and others
To diagnose specific difficulties inhibiting pupil learning
of the pupil was expressed through 32,80% of classroom usage. Further, Diagram 2 shows that the frequency of the two prior purposes of questions usage was
significantly higher than the other five purposes of questions. In a quite significant gap with the prior purposes, teacher’s objective to diagnose specific difficulties
inhibiting pupil learning followed in the third position with only 9,65% of usage. Teacher’s purpose in asking questions to focus attention on a particular issue or concept (2,57%) and to arouse interest and curiousity concerning a topic (1,29%)
followed in the fourth and fifth position. In the sixth positions, teacher’s purpose in asking questions to provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect
upon information followed with 0,64% of usage. Moreover, the diagram suggests that the question purpose of stimulating pupils to ask questions themselves and others was not found in the English classroom.
Types of teacher’squestions asked
This sub-section specifically discusses the usage of teacher’s questions in term of types with the help of some significant excerpts in presenting the discussion of each question type.
1. Yes/No Questions Excerpt 1
(Discussing a student’s house in a question and answer session with the topic
of‘House Description’)
Teacher : “Okay. Now, Felis, I want you to stand and give example to your friends.”
Teacher : “Okay, Felis. Well, I want to visit your house. I want to meet your parents to talk about your performance. By the way, is it easy to
find your house?” Student A2 :“Yes, it is.”
...
Excerpt 1 shows an example of Yes/No question category. The question of “By the way, is it easy to find your house?” in the excerpt can be categorized as a Yes/No question since the question likely owns the most significant characteristic of Yes/No question based on Wajnryb’s (1992) description as it seems to expect the student to only give a yes or no answer. Through the question of “By the way, is it easy to find your house?” the student was only required to decide whether she considered her house to be
easy or difficult to find. After the process of consideration had been made by the student, she decided to give an answer of“Yes, it is.”, as she considered her house to be easily found.
Excerpt 2
(Discussing a student’s house in a question and answer session with the topic
of‘House Description’)
Student D2: “In front of my house, I have trees.” Teacher : “How many trees?”
Student D2: “Two.”
Teacher : “Oh, starfruit. It’s nice.Oh, well, is there any decorative thing? Benda-benda dekorasi, maybe, that you hang on the wall or the
door.”
Students :“Yes, I have a beautiful handicraft from Tana Toraja.” ...
Excerpt 2 demonstrates another example of Yes/No question category. In the excerpt, teacher’s question of “Oh, well, is there any decorative thing?” also shows the main characteristic of Yes/No questions as the question seems to simply expect the students to give a yes or no answer without any demand of
reason explanation. By asking such question, the teacher seemed to only want to know whether there was or there was not any house decoration owned by the student. As the student owning a particular house decoration in her house (‘A
handicraft’), she finally decided to answer “Yes, I have a beautiful handicraft from Tana Toraja” to show her ownership of the questioned thing.
2. Short Answer/Retrieval-style Questions Excerpt 3
(Discussing about the Indonesian version of various fruit names)
Teacher :“’Mangosteen’?”(Asking for the Indonesian version of the fruit
name)
“Mastin.” (Giving a clue)
Excerpt 4
(Discussing about the Indonesian version of some vocabularies found in a
movie)
Teacher : “Hurt. H-U-R-T. What is that?” (Asking for the Indonesian version of the vocabulary)
Students : (Keep guessing)
Teacher : “’You hurt me because you go with the other girl. Who is she? You hurt me somuch.’” (Giving an example as a clue)
“What is ‘hurt’? Menya...” Students :“Menyakiti.”
Excerpt 3 demonstrates an example of Short Answer/Retrieval-style question category. The question of “’Mangosteen?’” which was asked for the
Indonesian version of the fruit name can be included in this category of question types since it seems to own the primary characteristic of a Short
Answer/Retrieval-style question described by Wajnryb (1992) as the question likely expects the students to simply give a short answer without any concentration on the answer structure. Therefore, to emphasize the teacher’s
expectation of short answer regarding her question, she added a clue. The clue given was ‘Mastin’ which is well-known by the students as a brand name that
answer may also indicate that they did not really pay attention on the answer structure as they briefly said “Manggis” rather than to answer in a complete sentence of “It is called Manggis in Indonesian”.
Excerpt 4 shows another sample of Short Answer/Retrieval-style
questions. As the teacher asked the question of “What is ‘hurt’?”, the students seemed to be only desired to give a short and less structure-concentration answer in which the expected Indonesian version of the word ‘hurt’should be delivered. To achieve that expectation, the teacher likely gave some clues to the students. The first clue was an example of the word (‘hurt’)usage in daily conversation (’You hurt me because you go with the other girl. Who is she? You hurt me so much.’). The second clue was the front part of the Indonesian version of the word ‘hurt’ (Menya... from the word Menyakiti) which seemed to significantly lead the students to deliver the expected answer as they shortly and simultaneously answered “Menyakiti” rather than gave a complete sentence answer (“’Hurt’ is ‘menyakiti’ in Indonesian”).
3. Open-ended Questions Excerpt 5
(Discussing detail information of a text about whale) Teacher :“’Whale’ itu apa?”
Students : “Paus.”
Teacher : “Betul, paus. Ukurannya berapa?” Students : “33m in.”
‘long’?”
Students :“’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang.” Teacher :“What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?” Students :“’Length’ itu lonjong, bu.”
Teacher : “Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to
the word‘length’)”. ...
Excerpt 5 demonstrates an example of Open-ended question category.
The question of “What is the difference between ‘length’ and ‘long’?” and “What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?” can be categorized in this type of question since they follows Wajnryb’s(1992) description of Open-ended question as a question that evokes open-Open-ended answers based on students’ ideas or analyses. By asking those two questions, the teacher likely expected the students to use their ability of thinking to find the difference of the word ‘length’ and ‘long’ (The word class). As a response, the students seemed to use their analyses ability as they firstly concluded the difference of the two words as “’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang”. Since the first answer did not match the teacher’s expectation of a correct answer, again she asked“What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?”. The students who were stimulated by the question tried to do another analysis that came to the
answer of “’Length’ itu lonjong, bu”. The question and answer process of the teacher and the students shows how the students tried to do some analyses based on their own background knowledge in order to answer the questions
Excerpt 6
(Discussing detail information of a text about whale)
Teacher : “’Whale’ itu apa?” Students : “Paus.”
Teacher : “Betul, paus. Ukurannya berapa?” Students : “33m in.”
Teacher : “33m in length. What is the difference between ‘length’ and ‘long’?”
Students :“’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang.” Teacher : “What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?” Students : “’Length’ itu lonjong, bu.”
Teacher : “Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to
the word‘length’).‘Panjang buku itu’, itu adjective atau kata benda?”
Students :“Benda.”
Excerpt 6 shows another example of Open-ended question. The question of “‘Panjang buku itu’, itu adjective atau kata benda?” likely indicates the characteristic of Open-ended questions as it seems to expect students’ open-ended answer which is based on their ideas and analyses. After given the
difference of the word ‘long’ and ‘length’ (“Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to the word ‘length’”) in term of word class, the
students likely were also hoped to be able to recognize the difference of the
context. Therefore, through the question of “‘Panjang buku itu’, itu adjective atau kata benda?”, the teacher indirectly stimulated the students to analyze the
word (‘length’ which is translated as ‘panjang’ in Indonesian) that had been implemented in a particular context (‘Panjang buku itu’) in order to recognize the word class of the word. As a response, the students likely tried to use the given information of the two words’ classification as their basic of analysisthat resulting in a correct answer of “Benda”.
Excerpt 7 also demonstrates another sample of Open-ended question. By asking the question of “Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?” the teacher likely tried to implement the primary characteristic of an Open-ended question which is to evoke open-ended answers based on students’ ideas or analyses. Through the question of “Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?” the students seemed to be stimulated to analyze a text and conclude the main idea of the text. The students likely tried to read the text and noticed some keywords of the text.
Based on their finding of the keywords, the students concluded“Circus” as the correct answer of the teacher’s question.
Excerpt 7
(Discussing a text about circus)
Teacher : “Okay, the last section, this is for ulangan next week. You should write translation for the ulangan. After that, you can ave a break for a week. Okay lah, untuk yang bisa jawab soal yang kali ini bisa keluar kelas lebih awal.”
Teacher : “Pay attention first. Kalian coba observasi. Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?”(Refers to the text about circus)
Students :“’Circus.” 4. Display Questions
Excerpt 8 demonstrates a sample of Display questions. The question of “’Holy’ itu biasanya artinya apa?” can be categorized in this question type since the question likely owns the main characteristic which is to check
students understanding about a topic or issue that has been already known by the teacher. The question of “’Holy’ itu biasanya artinya apa?”was used by the teacher to check students’ knowledge about a vocabulary (‘Holy’) which is in pronounciation similar with the name of the tree discussed (‘Holly’). By using their background knowledge of the vocabulary, the students came to the answer
of “’Holy’ itu suci”. The students’ answer likely matched the teacher’s expectation of a correct answer so that the teacher might conclude that her
students understand the vocabulary (‘holy’) well. Excerpt 8
(Discussing about ‘King Holly Tree’ text which can be found in students’
handout)
Teacher : “The oldest. What is the oldest thing there?” (Refers to the text)
Students : “A plant.”
Teacher : “Ya, a plant. Namanya apa? What’s the name?” Students : “A spicemen of King’s Holly.”
Students :“’Holy’ itu suci.”
Teacher : “Kalau ini sejenis apa?(refers to the King’s Holly tree). Pohon berdaun hijau. Kita nggak punya ya di Jawa.
Students : “Dimana?” Teacher : “Di Tasmania.” Students : “Pohon apa?”
Teacher : “Holly. Pohon yang berwarna hijau...” Excerpt 9
(Discussing a text about circus)
Teacher : “Ya.Nama sirkusnya apa? What is the name of the circus?” Students :“Rodriguez Circus.”
Excerpt 9 shows another example of Display questions. The question of
“Nama sirkusnya apa? What is the name of the circus?” in the excerpt can be included in this category of question as they likely implement the primary
characteristic to check students’ understanding of a particular topic or issue. By asking the questions to the students, the teacher may stimulate students to give an answer. As the students delivered the answer (“Rodriquez Circus”), the
5. Referential Questions
Excerpt 10 shows a sample of Referential questionsbased on Wajnryb’s (1992) categorization. The question of “What is the color of your house?”can be categorized as a Referential question since it likely seeks for new
information which is unknown by the teachers. The teacher tried to get a new information about a student’s house color by asking the question of “What is the color of your house?”. As a response, the student A2 delivered the new information for the teacher as she answered“White and grey”.
Excerpt 10
(Discussing about the ’ House Description’)
Teacher : “I will give you questions. Jadi memancing kamu dengan pertanyaan. Example. Whatis the color of your house?” Student A2 :“White and grey.”
Excerpt 11 shows an example of Referential question as the teacher
asked the question of “Afraid of what?”. The question delivered by the teacher indicates the main characteristic of referential question which is to find a new information that is unknown by the teacher. It likely expected the student to
(“As I told you, English is a habit, kebiasaan. Kita belajar membiasakannya. Jadi jangan takut. Ayo berlatih.”).
Excerpt 11
(Trying to practice describing someone’s house)
Student B2: “Yes. Mam, well, I’m afraid. Aku takut.” Teacher :“Afraid of what?”
Student B2:“Making mistake. Membuat kesalahan.”
Teacher : “As I told you, English is a habit, kebiasaan. Kita belajar membiasakannya. Jadi jangan takut. Ayo berlatih.”
Excerpt 12 demonstrates other sample of Referential question as the teacher asked the question of “Besides trees and bridges, what are the other thing that you can notice from Arum’s house?”. The teacher’s questionseems to show her effort to seek for new information which is the primary characteristic of this category of question types. The question of “Besides trees
and bridges, what are the other thing that you can notice from Arum’s house?” likely enabled the teacher to get a new information about her student’s house (There is a big stone in front of student A2’s (Arum’s) house) as the student gave an answer of“Big stones”.
Excerpt 12
(Discussing about a student’s house description)
Teacher :“Besides trees and bridges, what are the other thing that you can notice fromArum’s house?”
Purposes of teacher’squestions asked
This sub-section presentsdiscussion of teacher’s question usage in term of purposes by presenting the analysis of each question purpose. According to its nature as coherence sequence of sentences within a particular theme or topic of
interaction that is created by identical participants, time, location or global event or action (Van Dijk, 1981), episodes are used in this discussion with the expectation to provide a more complete and contextual illustration of analysis
concerning the use ofspecific teacher’s questions. 1. To arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic
Episode 1
(Discussing about ‘King Holly Tree’ text which can be found in students’
handout)
Student B1 : “A spicemen of king’s holly, a plant found in the rainforest of Tasmania, is one of the oldest plants on Earth–over 43,000
years old.” (Reading the text)
Teacher : “The oldest. What is the oldest thing there?” (Refers to the text)
Students :“A plant.”
Teacher : “Ya, a plant. Namanya apa? What’s the name?” Students : “A spicemen of King’s Holly.”
Teacher : “Yes, good. Baru tahu kan? ‘Holy’ itu biasanya artinya apa?” Students :“’Holy’ itu suci.”
Students : “Dimana?” Teacher : “Di Tasmania.” Students : “Pohon apa?”
Teacher : “Holly. Pohon yang berwarna hijau.Ditemukan dimana? Where can be found?”
Students : “Tasmania.”
Teacher : “The rain forest of Tasmania. What is ‘rainforest’?” Students : “Hujan. Hutan hujan.”
Teacher : “Hutan hujan tropis. How old is king’s holly?” Students : “43,000 years old.”
Episode 1 demonstrates an example of Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) category of question purpose which is to arouse interest and curiosity
concerning a topic. The question of “’Holy’ itu biasanya artinya apa?” may best match the main characteristic of this category of question purpose as the
teacher’s question likely relates the present vocabulary learned (The name of a tree “Holly”) and the previous learned vocabulary (‘Holy’) which have similar way of pronunciation to arouse students interest as two similar word might
have different meaning or usage. Students’ interest and curiousity which was expected in asking such question seems to be successfully attained as after they
2. To focus attention on a particular issue or concept Episode 2
(Discussing a text about circus)
Teacher : “Okay, the last section, this is for ulangan next week. You should write translation for the ulangan. After that, you can have a break for a week. Okay lah, untuk yang bisa jawab soal yang kali ini bisa keluar kelas lebih awal.”
Students : “Yes!”
Teacher : “Pay attention first. Kalian coba observasi.Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?”(Refers to the text about circus)
Students :“’Circus.”
Teacher : “Ya. Nama sirkusnya apa? What is the name of the circus?” Students : “The Rodriguez Circus.”
...
Teacher : “Okay, lanjut. True or false. Just raise your hand.” Students : “Okay.”
Teacher : “The circus comes to the town twice a week.” Students : “False.”
Teacher : “False. It should be? It should be? Maksudnya, the correct sentence?” (Asking for the correct answer)
Students : “Yang mana ya. Oh! Every year.”
Teacher : “True. They wear? What color is their shoes?” Students : “Red.”
Teacher : “Which is the father of the clowns?” Students : “Pot.”
Teacher : “Yes. Next. Leopold’s father is the strongest.” Students : “False. It should be Leopold.”
Teacher : “Next. People don’t come to the circus because of the animals.” Students : “True.”
Episode 2 shows a sample of teacher’s purpose to focus attention on a particular issue or concept in asking question based on Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) categorization. The question of “Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?” begun the discussion of a text about circus. The teacher seems to ask this question to
focus the students’ attention to the content of the topic. The students who were likely expected to know what they were going to discuss answered the
teacher’s question with the word “Circus” after they tried to do some quick reading and analysis of the text. As the students had found the main topic of the text, they likely become focus to the particular topic (Circus) since they had
3. To develop an active approach to learning Episode 3
(Discussing a text about circus)
Teacher : “Okay, the last section, this is for ulangan next week. You should write translation for the ulangan. After that, you can have a break for a week. Okay lah, untuk yang bisa jawab soal yang kali ini bisa keluar kelas lebih awal.”
Students : “Yes!”
Teacher : “Pay attention first. Kalian coba observasi.Ceritanya tentang apa sih ini?”(Refers to the text about circus)
Students :“’Circus.”
Teacher : “Ya.Nama sirkusnya apa? What is the name of the circus?” Students :“The Rodriguez Circus.”
...
Teacher : “Okay, lanjut. True or false. Just raise your hand.” Students : “Okay.”
Teacher : “The circus comes to the town twice a week.” Students : “False.”
Teacher : “False. It should be? It should be? Maksudnya, the correct sentence?” (Asking for the correct answer)
Students : “Yang mana ya. Oh! Every year.”
Teacher : “True. They wear? What color is their shoes?” Students : “Red.”
Teacher : “Which is the father of the clowns?” Students : “Pot.”
Teacher : “Yes. Next. Leopold’s father is the strongest.” Students : “False. It should be Leopold.”
Teacher :“Next. People don’t come to the circus because of the animals.” Students : “True.”
Episode 3 demonstrates an example of Brown and Edmonson’s (1985)
category of question purpose to develop an active approach to learning. The question of “Nama sirkusnyaapa? What is the name of the circus?”likely used by the teacher to stimulate the students to actively learn the detail information
from text discussed. As the students tried to find the answer of the teacher’s question by doing scanning or highlighting the key words, they are indirectly
being active in learning the text discussed. As a result of their learning process, they accurately found that the name of the circus discussed in the text is ‘Rodriguez Circus’.
Episode 4
(Discussing a student’s house in a question and answer session with the topic
of‘House Description’)
Teacher :“Okay. Now, Felis, I want you to stand up and give example to your friends.”
Teacher :“Okay Felis. Well, I want to visit your house. I want to meet your parents to talk about your performance. By the way, is it easy to
find your house?”
Student A2 :“Yes, it is. I live in a new complex, so they have houses with the same design with blue roof and no fence. And the wall, they are all white and grey. There is small bridge in front of every house.” Teacher :“Later on, do not read.”
Student A2 :“Okay.
Teacher :“I will give you questions. Jadi memancing kamu dengan pertanyaan. Example. What is the color of your house?” Student A2: “White and grey.”
Teacher :“And how about the roof? (Asking about the color) Is it colorful or black or brown?”
Student A2 :“It is blue.”
Teacher :“Nanti tidak boleh baca tapi boleh bawa catatan kecil. You can bring the picture. You can also write down the clues. Boleh tulis kata kuncinya. Kalau semua nggak boleh. So, Felis, I still
confuse to find your house. Maybe, you can tell a little bit about the picture.
Student A2 :“It has a handicraft from Tana Toraja in front of the door.” Teacher :“But, if we open the door, we can’t see the handicraft, right?” Student A2 :“Yes. In front of my house, there are two trees, one of them is a
Teacher :“Okay. Well, I got it. I think I can find your house. Thank you, Felis.”
Episode 4 demonstrates a sample of Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) category of question purpose to develop an active approach to learning. The
question of “What is the color of your house?” was straightly directed to an individual student while discussing the topic of ‘House description’ so that the individual student was required to answer the question. As a response to the
question, the individual student deliveredan answer of “White and grey” to the teacher as a result of her thinking process. That reponse given by the student to
answer the teacher’s question seems to be one of learning participation which shows the success of active approach to learning attempted by the teacher through the question since the student had to use her knowledge of describing a
house in answering the question. Episode 5
(Discussing a student’s house in a question and answer session with the topic
of‘House Description’)
Teacher : “Marcel, I want to make a bank account in Bank Jateng. So, I want to meet your mother at home. By the way, is it easy to find
your house?”
Student D2 : “Yes. I think it is. I live in a new housing complex.” Teacher : “Oh, is your house in a complex?”
Student D2 : “Yes.”
Student D2 :“Yes.”
Teacher : “What’s the color of your house?”
Student D2 : “My house is white and grey and it has blue roof.”
Teacher : “Well, that’s not enough, that’s not enough. Maybe you can tell me whether there are any tree, bridge, statue, stone.”
Student D2: “In front of my house, I have trees.” Teacher : “How many trees?”
Student D2: “Two.”
Teacher :“What kind of trees?” Student D2 :“I have starfruit trees.”
Teacher : “Oh, starfruit. It’s nice.Oh, well, is there any decorative thing? Benda-benda dekorasi, maybe, that you hang on the wall or the
door.”
Students :“Yes, I have a beautiful handicraft from Tana Toraja.”
Teacher : “Oh okay, we can see it when the door open. Usually in housing complex there is a playing ground.”
Student D2 : “Yes. But it is not mine. In front of my house, there is a big stone. I usually climb and play there.
Teacher : “Oh ya. I think I can find your house. Thank you, Marcel. Give applause for Marcel. Now Marcel, you will be the one who ask. Menjadi penanya.”
there any decorative thing?”, the teacher seems to encourage her student to practice using the knowledge of the topic (‘House Description’) in order to make the student learn more. As the student tried to answer the question, he likely used her knowledge and practices her ability of describing something
(‘handicraft’) as he presented his description with adjective word (‘beautiful’) which is highly useful in the descriptive presentation (“Yes, I have a beautiful handicraft from Tana Toraja.”).
Episode 6
(Learning about Indonesian‘fruits’vocabulary)
Teacher : “Kita akan membahas buah-buahan ya. Kalian harus menebak Bahasa Indonesianya.”
Students : “Okay!”
Teacher :“’Mangosteen’?”(Asking for the Indonesian version of the fruit
name)
“Mastin.” (Giving a clue)
Students : “Manggis.”
Teacher : “What is ‘soursop’?” (Asking for the meaning of the word) Students : “Sirsak.” (Continue to read and translate the text)
Teacher : “Buah itu rasanya enak, manis, dan...” Student A3 : “Sedap.”
Teacher’s purpose to develop an active approach to learning is represented in Episode 6. The question of “Mangosteen?” which likely required the student
background knowledge to learn the new vocabulary. Further, the clue given (“Mastin”) which is a brand name that is famous with its usage of mangosteen specifically led the students to their knowledge of its famous television commercial which is made in Bahasa Indonesia. As the result, the students
answered the teacher’s question correctly by saying “Manggis”. This answer indicates that the students have successfully learned a new vocabulary.
4. To diagnose specific difficulties inhibiting pupil learning
Episode 7 shows an example of teacher question which is belong to the Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) question purpose category which is to diagnose specific difficulties inhibitung students learning. The question of “What is the differencebetween ‘length’ and ‘long’?”was asked to know the students’ level of understanding concerning the two vocabularies. Through the question, the
teacher could diagnose her students’ difficulties regarding the two words (‘Length’ and ‘Long’) as the students could not appropriately answer the question as they said“’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang”. Then, the teacher tried to ask the similar question for the second time (“What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?”) . However, the students’ incorrect answer of “’Length’ itu lonjong, bu” clarified that the students having difficulties in understanding difference between the two words (‘Length’ and ‘Long’). Consequently, the teacher had to explain the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’ explicitily to the students (“Ini kata sifat (refers to the
Episode 7
(Discussing detail information of a text about whale)
Student A1 : “The longest whale recorded was over 33m in length.” Teacher : “Attention please. Ya. Jadi, longest. Apa yang terpanjang di
situ?” (Discussing the question B)
Students : “Apanya ya? The whale.” Teacher : “’Whale’ itu apa?” Students : “Paus.”
Teacher : “Betul, paus. Ukurannya berapa?” Students : “33m in.”
Teacher : “33m in length. What is the difference between ‘length’ and ‘long’?”
Students :“’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang.” Teacher :“What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?” Students :“’Length’ itu lonjong, bu.”
Teacher : “Inikata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to
the word‘length’).“Panjang buku itu”, itu adjective atau kata benda?”
Students : “Benda.”
student to answer the question C)
5. To express a genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupils
Episode 8demonstrates an example of teacher’s question which purpose is categorized based on Brown and Edmonson (1985) to be a question that
expresses a genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupils. The question of “Afraid of what?” indicates how the teacher concerned with the student’s idea that giving someone’s house description was a ‘scary’ thing that made her feels ‘afraid’. As the student gavethe specific reason of her anxiety (“Making mistake. Membuatkesalahan.”), the teacher tried to give appropriate advice (“As I told you, English is a habit, kebiasaan. Kita belajar membiasakannya. Jadi jangan takut. Ayo berlatih.”) which may help the student to change her idea and feeling about trying to do the practice of house
description in the class. Episode 8
(Trying to practice describing someone’s house)
Students : “Kenapa kalau bingung cari rumah harus nanya? Kan pakai alamat kan bisa?”
Teacher : “Bisa, tapi kan kita belajar untuk mendiskripsikannya. Who wants to be the first?” (Asking a student to be the first speaker)
Students : “Felis, ma’am.” Teacher : “Felis again?”
Student B2:“Making mistake. Membuat kesalahan.”
Teacher : “As I told you, English is a habit, kebiasaan. Kita belajar membiasakannya. Jadi jangan takut. Ayo berlatih.”
6. To provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect upon information
Episode 9
(Discussing detail information of a text about whale)
Student A1 : “The longest whale recorded was over 33m in length.” Teacher : “Attention please. Ya. Jadi, longest. Apa yang terpanjang di
situ?” (Discussing the question B)
Students : “Apanya ya? The whale.” Teacher : “’Whale’ itu apa?” Students : “Paus.”
Teacher : “Betul, paus. Ukurannya berapa?” Students : “33m in.”
Teacher : “33m in length. What is the difference between ‘length’ and ‘long’?”
Students : “’Length’ itu panjang, ‘long’ itu juga panjang.” Teacher : “What is the difference between ‘long’ and ‘length’?” Students : “’Length’ itu lonjong, bu.”
Teacher : “Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to
Students :“Benda.”
Teacher : ““Panjang buku itu”, ‘panjang’ nya kata sifat. Terus kata benda gimana? Ya itu tadi, “yang panjangnya...”. Nah, itu baru kata benda. Ya to. Paham ya? Jadi ‘length’ sama ‘long’ itu sama kok, panjang. Cuman ‘length’ itu kata benda. C. C? (Asks for a student to answer the question C)
Episode 9 demonstrates a sample of teacher’s questions which likely belongs to Brown and Edmonson’s (1985) category of question purpose in which the question is aimed to provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate
and reflect upon information. The question of “‘Panjang buku itu’, itu adjective atau kata benda?”was addressed to the students after the difference of the word ‘long’ and ‘length’ in term of word class had been provided (“Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to the word‘length’)). By asking that question, the students were likely expected to recognize the word
class of the word ‘length’ or ‘panjang’ (In Indonesian) after it had been implemented in a particular context (‘Panjang buku itu’). Indirectly, the teacher question required the students to assimilate their knowledge about the word
(“Ini kata sifat (refers to the word’ long’), ini kata benda (refers to the word‘length’)) and then reflect the knowledge in the particular context
CONCLUSION
This study was conducted with the aim at investigating the types and
purposes of teacher’s question used in an English class in Satya Wacana Christian Junior High School. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the teacher
made use of Yes or No, Short Answer/Retrieval Style, Open-ended, Display and Referential questions, while she did not make use of Non-retrieval/Imaginative question. It was also found that the teacher made use of question’s purposes to arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic, to focus attention on a particular issue or concept, to develop an active approach to learning, to diagnose specific
difficulties inhibiting pupil learning, to express genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupils and to provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect upon information, while she did not make use of question’s purpose to
stimulate pupils to ask questions themselves and others.
Based on the findings, the English teacher may do some considerations in
using the Non-retrieval/Imaginative questions in her future lesson since this type of question is categorized as a higher thinking-level question that can stimulate her students to give information in which their opinion judgment is called for.
As the investigation was only conducted in limited period of data collection and only focused on one English teacher while teaching in one English
class of Satya Wacana Junior High School, this study can only give limited illustration and discussion concerning the use of teacher’s question in term of types and purposes. Therefore, the future studies concerning this topic can be done within longer data collection period which may allow the researchers to cover wider area and include much more participants. Besides, including the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my God and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. My study and my final work in the English Department would be impossible to complete without Him. Secondly, my gratefulness goes to
my thesis supervisor, Athriyana Santye Pattiwael, M. Hum, for always being detail and 100% in knowledge sharing and advice giving. Thirdly, I would like to thank my thesis examiner, Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, MA, for the suggestions and
helpful criticism. I also want to thank my family (Ayah, Mama and Nyami) for always being such a great support for me in doing this final work. I also thank my
REFERENCES
Banbrook, L., & Skehan, P. (1989). Classrooms and display questions. In C. Brumfit and S. Mitchell, Research in the Language Classroom (pp. 141-152). London: MEP/The British Council.
Benham, B., & Pouriran, Y. (2009). Classroom discourse: Analyzing teacher/learner interactions in Iranian EFL task-based classrooms. Porta
Linguarum, 117-132.
Brown, D. H. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to
language pedagogy (3rd edition). London: Longman, Pearson Education.
Brown, G. A., & Edmondson, R. (1985). Asking questions. In E. C. Wragg (Ed.),
Classroom teaching skills (pp.97-120). London, UK: Croom Helm.
Cotton, K. (1989). Close Up #5: Classroom questioning. School Improvement
Research Series: Research You Can Use. Northwest Regional Education
Laboratory. Retrieved on October 22, 2014, from www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/3/cu5.html
David, F. (2007). Teacher questioning behavior and ESL classroom interaction.
Humanity and Social Sciences Journal, 2, 127-131.
Ellis, R. (1988). Classroom second language development. Oxford: Pergamon. Hamiloğlu, K. (2012). The impact of teacher questions on student learning in
EFL. Journal of Education and Instructional Studies in the World, 2(2). Kearsley, G. P. (1976). Questions and question-asking in verbal discourse.
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 5:355-375.
Long, M. (1996). The role of linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. Bathia (eds.), Handbook of research on
second language acquisition (pp.413-468). New York: Academic.
Nunan, D. (1989). Understanding language classroom. New York: Prentice Hall. Richards, J., & Lockhart, C. (1996). Reflective teaching in second language
classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shomoossi, N. (2004). The effect of teachers’ questioning behavior on EFL classroom interactions. The Reading Matrix, 4, 41-47.
Van Wijk, Teun A. (1981). Episodes as units of discourse analysis. In Deborah Tannen (Ed.), Analyzing discourse: Text and talk (pp. 177-195). Georgetown: Georgetown University Press.
Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom observation tasks: A resource book for language
Walsh, S. (2002). Construction or obstruction: teacher talk and learner involvement in the EFL classroom. Language Teaching Research, 6(1), 3– 23.
