The worst way to check whether learners have understood something you
have just presented or not is to ask:
“Do
you understand?”
The reason, of course, is that even if learners have
understood and they answer ‘yes’ in
unison, you do not get clear evidence
of understanding. So, ‘yes’ might as
well mean ‘no’ for all we know – and
we do not want to wait for the autopsy!
So, here’s a way of designing a set of concept checking questions (CCQs) to get better evidence of
understanding in the classroom.
Scenario:
Imagine you are presenting the 2nd conditional to a group of intermediate learners, i.e.
- ‘If I got filthy rich, I’d quit my
job.’
- ‘If I told you, it wouldn’t be a
secret anymore.’
etc.
Step 1: Analyse the language.
Study the grammatical structure to find out the rules of meaning, form,
etc. You could use grammar books for teachers/learners, coursebooks, online resources, etc.
So, following the scenario mentioned above, we study and find that:
The 2nd conditional:
1.
Impossible
/ contrary to fact situations
2.
is about
now or the future
3. 'if' clause:
past tense
4.
main
clause: would + base form
5.
I would =
I’d
6.
we often
use 'were' instead of 'was' in the ‘if’ clause
Step 2: Turn these rules into questions
Do not forget to simplify the language in these
questions, however, trying to avoid using terminology learners might not be familiar with.
So, you'll come up with the following CCQs:
1.
Is it
possible (for X) to happen? Is it true? NO
2.
Is it
about now or the past? NOW
etc.
However, it’s quite easy to come up with CCQs that
will not help you or the learners; in fact, they might end up confusing
everyone – including the people observing your lesson.
So, let’s have a quick look at some poor CCQs and why
they are not good enough.
CCQs
|
DON’Ts
|
If
I got filthy rich, would I quit my job?
|
Don’t
use the target language in the CCQ.
|
Do
I use the base form, or the past participle of the verb ‘quit’ in the main
clause?
|
Don’t
use terminology.
|
I
am currently well off?
|
Don’t
use difficult language.
|
Why
am I not rich now?
|
Don’t
ask questions that do not check understanding of meaning/use, form, etc.
|
Why
did I use the past simple in the ‘if’ clause?
|
Don’t
ask questions that cannot be answered in one or two words.
|
Students,
I’d like you to tell me what the ‘d’ stands for in the main clause
|
Don’t
ask questions which are indirect and are worded in a complicated way.
|
Hope you find this useful! 😊
