Question Types in Teacher-Student Interaction

Abstract

The present contribution gives an overview of the types of questions led by teachers. Teacher-led question-and-answer routines are bound to occur within various teaching settings, in particular teaching foreign languages both for general and special purposes to students of different age ranges at any level of language proficiency. Questions initiated by the teacher serve the overall aim of guiding attention and stimulating thinking. Moreover, they are intended to raise awareness of certain language phenomena or facts referring to a certain area of professional expertise, enhance students’ engagement, check the progress at various stages of foreign language instruction, thus contributing to its positive outcomes.