A Correlational Study On Classroom Reticence And Teacher Questioning Strategies In Senior High School Classes

The English course in regular senior secondary school is set for senior high school students to learn and use the English language.In the English classroom teaching,the teacher-students communication proceeds with classroom questioning.And the classroom questioning is one of the main ways for students to acquire language knowledge,improve language expression and cultivate language awareness.However,classroom reticence exists in different English learning stages,especially in the senior high school stage of basic education.When the teacher asks a question,some students will hang their heads and keep silent.It hinders the communication between teacher and students.As facilitator of classroom activities,the teacher should take actions to solve students’ classroom reticence.And the appropriate use of questioning strategies is significant in improving the classroom interaction and students’ learning ability.Based on the domestic and foreign researches on classroom reticence and teachers’questioning,this study analyzes the relationship between classroom reticence and teachers’ preference for using questioning strategies,and tries to find out ways from teachers’ questioning strategies to solve students’ classroom reticence and reconstruct an active English classroom atmosphere.This study mainly discusses the following issues:(1)What are the reasons for students’ reticence in senior high school English classes?(2)What are the teachers’ preferences for using questioning strategies in senior high school English classes?(3)What is students’ attitude toward teachers’ questioning strategies in classroom interaction?And what kinds of questioning strategies can reduce students’reticence effectively in English classes?In view of the above problems,this study adopts the methods of classroom observation,questionnaire survey and interview.It is carried out in two phases.Firstly,this study takes 1050 students of Grade One and Grade Two in a Senior High School in Wuhu as the questionnaire research subjects,aiming to find out reasons for students’ being silent and their attitude towards teachers’ questioning.Secondly,it carries out in-depth classroom observation and research on 203 students from four classes taught by two teachers of Grade One and Grade Two,intending to record the real interaction between teachers and students.At the same time,the author makes use of teachers’ spare time to interview six experienced teachers,three in Grade One,the other three in Grade Two for exploring the effect of questioning strategies on students’ reticence and finding out ways to eliminate students’ reticence.The study concludes that classroom reticence is a common phenomenon in senior high school English teaching.And among different factors that give rise to students’ reticence during the class time,teachers’ preference for using questioning strategies is a key factor,which includes the questioning design in the preparing stage,questioning ways and subjects during the class time,the waiting time after giving questions and feedback to students’ answers.And it can be seen in the following aspects.Firstly,the imbalance of questioning types and numbers leads to low participation of students in class.Secondly,the answering ways dominated by nominating students is simple and the waiting time after giving questions is usually not enough.These two factors are important reasons causing students’ classroom reticence.Thirdly,the use of inducing strategies is incomplete.Students’ enthusiasm in answering questions is generally not high.Fourthly,the feedback is often simple,which cannot intrigue students’ learning.Based on the findings,the author puts up with some recommendations.To begin with,the planning strategies should be proper in number and type.Secondly,based on the controlling strategies,the questioning ways can be flexible rather than fixed according to the seats.And the waiting time after questioning can be longer to allow students to think deeply and freely.Furthermore,teachers need to be patient with inducing students and pay attention to the output of students.Finally,teachers’feedback can be more concrete.