Checking understanding
EAL learners have a double job to do – learning English and learning through English at the same time. As a result, checking for understanding effectively is a key skill to be able to clarify what learners have understood and where any gaps in understanding might lie. Is it due to unfamiliar language? A lack of grasp of the concepts being taught? Or a combination of both?
When checking learners’ understanding, it can be tempting to use the most obvious route and ask: “Do you understand?”. This is problematic, especially when used with EAL learners, because a “yes” answer could mean any of the following:
- The learner fully understands.
- The learner thinks they understand (but doesn’t).
- The learner partly understands (but we don’t know which part).
- The learner doesn’t understand (but doesn’t want to admit it).
So, what are the alternatives? A better approach is to ask short/closed answer questions that are linguistically simple to answer (e.g. require a single-word or short answer). These questions can be categorised into two groups:
- Instruction-checking questions (ICQs)
- Concept-checking questions (CCQs)
Instruction checking questions allow you to check that learners know what they have to do, how much time they have to do it, and so on. Examples might be: How many sentences do you have to write? How many minutes do you have? What do you have to do first? For learners at the earlier stages of learning English, it is important to break tasks down into clear chunks and present instructions before each chunk rather than give them all at once, which can cause cognitive overload.
When you want to check if a learner has understood a particular word or chunk of language it can be tempting to ask: “What does this mean?”. But learners in the earlier stages of learning English may not have the language needed to provide an explanation. Instead, concept-checking questions can be used to check understanding of vocabulary or grammar in more detail.
- Is this a verb or a noun? (or for younger learners – is this an action or a thing?)
- Do you know another word with a similar meaning?
- Is this sentence talking about the past or the future?
- Do we know who did the action in this sentence?
For example, in an English literature class, the phrase “slender branches” appears in a poem. The teacher wants to check for understanding of the word “slender”. They might ask questions such as:
- Is this an adjective or an adverb? (an adjective)
- Do you know any words with a similar meaning? (thin, narrow, slim, skinny)
- Does “slender” have a positive or negative meaning? (positive)
- Can you use it to describe a person or a thing? (both)
- Would you use it to describe a friend in conversation? (probably not, it’s more poetic/literary)
Whilst concept-checking questions can be helpful, beware of overusing them. Often, a visual or a translation can be a much more efficient way to convey meaning. Too many questions with obvious answers can quickly confuse or disengage learners so careful consideration of which checking questions will be useful is necessary.
Conclusion
Examining questioning strategies through a multilingual lens is an object lesson in “what is good for EAL learners, is good for all”. Most techniques require minimal or small adaptations to make them effective and ensure plurilingual learners of English can contribute effectively and feel like valued members of the class, regardless of their language proficiency.
References:
Five Tips for ‘Cold Calling’ in the Classroom
English teachers, are you asking the right questions? | British Council