Using questions to scaffold language learning in an ESL classroom: A sociocultural case study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the scaffolding functions of a teacher's questions in an integrated skills adult ESL class during teacher-fronted activities. In addition to general patterns of questions during teacher-fronted activities, patterns of questions across skill and subskill areas (i.e., reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and culture) were examined. The relationship between the teacher's goals and her use of questions to scaffold student learning also was explored. A case-study approach was the primary research methodology in this study, with elements of ethnographic research and discourse analysis incorporated into the methodology. First, the findings indicated a strong relationship between the teacher's goals and her dynamic and decisive use of questions to scaffold classroom participation and learning. Second, a pattern of questions that maintain direction towards the goal of the task and questions that simplify the task step by step was present. In addition, this research informs researchers about the appropriateness of scaffolding as a framework to investigate teacher questions, the significance of teacher goals, and suggests important considerations when using questions in the language classroom.