© 1991 by Oxford University Press
Articles |
Questioning roles in the classroom
Lecturer at the Institute for Applied Language Studies at the University of Edinburgh, working principally with EAP learners. He is the author of books on listening comprehension (Study Listening, Cambridge University Press, and Listening, Oxford University Press, with Anne Anderson), and is currently editor of Edinburgh Working Papers in Applied Linguistics. He and Kenneth Anderson recently completed work on a course in oral skills for academic purposes—Study Speaking, Cambridge University Press.
Teachers and learners may be comfortable with their traditional classroom roles, but that does not mean that these roles are necessarily helpful in providing effective language practice or in reflecting the patterns of interaction in the real world. The conventional demarcation of teacher/questioner and learner/responder is a case in point. This article examines the arguments for a realignment of these discourse roles, describes some materials designed to bring about that shift, and discusses the effects of their use with EFL students.