An Examination of the Impact of Teachers’ Functional Questions on Students’ Oral Production in Algerian EFL Classrooms

Abstract

This research explores the functions of questions used by EFL teachers and the impact they have on students’ oral production. The main aim is to examine the distribution of questioning techniques and the length of language output elicited by each category. The study will fill the research gap, in the local context, regarding the effects of functional questions on the length of students’ responses. The following main question is sought to be answered: What is the epistemic category of questions that can prompt students to produce more extended language output in EFL? The study involves descriptive correlational research that makes use of a quantitative method for answering the research questions. It implements Long and Sato’s (1984) taxonomy (based on Kearsley, 1976) for the categorization of functional questions. The database of this study included 566 questions, of which 420 were epistemic and 111 were echoic in function. The data collection procedure took place at the departments of English of two academic institutions, namely: the University of El Chadli Ben Djedid-El Tarf and the University of Badji Mokhtar-Annaba. The major findings of the study revealed that despite the primacy of referential questions in eliciting learners to produce lengthier language output, evaluative questions were more frequently asked by teachers. Further research is needed to be carried out in the context of Algeria to reach more comprehensive results.