A Case Study On Teacher Questioning In English Reading Class In Junior High School From The Perspective Of Scaffolding Theory

Teacher talk is an important aspect of English classroom study.In recent years,studying teacher talk from the sociocultural theory perspective,and combining the scaffolding theory has been a research hotspot.Teacher questioning is an important feature of teacher talk,which is very crucial in English reading class.Scholars abroad investigate how teacher questioning promotes teaching and learning in language class from the perspective of scaffolding theory;however,a paucity of research at home focus on the scaffolding functions and scaffolding means of teacher questioning in language class.Based on the sociocultural theory and employing the scaffolding theory as the research perspective,this research investigates the particular significance of each scaffolding function in reading class and how these scaffolding functions are achieved.The following are the research questions:1.What sorts of teacher questioning are used in junior high EFL reading class?2.What scaffolding functions are used in teacher questioning in junior high EFL reading class?3.How are these scaffolding functions achieved in teacher questioning in the junior high EFL reading class?The researcher saw and recorded the 17 reading lessons of the 13 th Junior High School English Classroom Teaching Observation and Training Activity using the classroom observation method,and then transcribed the videos into transcriptions for micro-analysis and coding.The following are the research findings based on qualitative and quantitative data analysis:First,three styles of teacher questioning are used in junior high English reading class.There are three types of questions: Epistemic,Echoic,and Managerial.Text-explicit,Text-implicit,and Beyond-the-text questions are types of Epistemic questions.Comprehension check,Clarification request,and Confirmation check are types of Echoic questions,among which text-implicit questions are used frequently,confirmation checks and managerial questions are in the following order,and clarification requests are the least.Second,teacher questioning in junior high English reading class has eight scaffolding functions.There are: Recruitment,Simplifying the Task,Direction Maintenance,Marking Critical Features,Frustration Control,Demonstration,Feedback,and Facilitating Thinking.Direction Maintenance is the top-ranking scaffolding function,with Feedback,Facilitating Thinking,Making Critical Features,Recruitment,Simplifying the Task,Frustration Control,and Demonstration following in descending order.Third,these scaffolding functions of teacher questioning are achieved in junior high English reading class by using eight scaffolding means.There are Modeling,Repeating,Reformulating,Hinting,Explaining,Questioning,Encouraging,and Telling;and different scaffolding functions are achieved by different means.According to the conclusions of this study,English teachers should pay close attention to teacher questioning in reading instruction,give full play to teacher questioning’s scaffolding functions,and flexibly achieve varied scaffolding functions through various scaffolding means.