A Study on Teacher’s Questioning Practice in an ESL Learning Context in Hong Kong

Abstract

This empirical study intends to explore the questioning behaviors of an English as a second language (hereinafter referred to as ESL) teacher in Hong Kong by quantitatively looking at the distribution of the two types of questions, namely display questions and referential questions, as well as by qualitatively evaluating the universally accepted functions of the questions and the effectiveness of the modification techniques used to enhance the factual value of the questions. Data-based explorations challenging the traditional views toward questions are critically presented, and new findings are excavated and advocated. Pedagogical implications are considerably raised as they serve as a theoretical framework to be applied and further analyzed in future real-life EFL and ESL settings, so as to realize better assessment for learning.