Unplanned Questions And Their Effect On Language Learning-The Case Of High School English Language Classrooms

The present research, based on the theories of SLA, interaction & constructivism, and using classroom -based approach, sets out to describe the features of planned & unplanned questions in Chinese high school English classes involving three teachers of different experiences. The study includes ratio of planned questions and unplanned questions; their distribution in different phases of classroom teaching; types of questions raised by the three teachers separately; numbers of turns and words contained in the students' answers aroused by planned & unplanned questions respectively; as well as description about the effect of unplanned questions on students' affect. The study attempts to find out how teachers, by using unplanned questions, facilitate students' language acquisition and positive attitude towards language learning. Results of the research show that, in Chinese high school English classes, planned questions, to great extent, outnumber the unplanned questions, which sets us contemplating about the appropriate relationship between the preset and instantaneous teaching resources; unplanned questioning takes place when teachers & students face the genuine information-gap, which tends to promote more comprehensive input into & output out of students; create relaxing atmosphere liable to initiate genuine interaction ,and lead to learners' affection towards the target language and language teachers. Meanwhile, the results reveal the interrelationship between teachers' background and unplanned questions with the purpose of probing into the necessity of reforming language teachers' beliefs.