Teacher questions in 6th grade EFL classes: An exploratory action research in online learning environments during the Covid-19

Teacher questions are crucial elements of teacher talk that provide a lot of detail about what happens in the lessons regarding classroom interaction. Different aspects of teacher questions have been frequently explored by researchers so far. However, teacher-researchers have not yet given sufficient attention to this topic and explored their questions by carrying out action research studies. Moreover, teacher questions have not been researched extensively in online classroom settings. In order to both fill out this gap in the literature and to develop an awareness of my questioning practices, I conducted this qualitative action study as a teacher-researcher. I collected data from the online lessons I had with two 6th grade EFL classes in a public secondary school setting. The data collection process took place for seven weeks, during which I recorded online lessons for six weeks and administered an open-ended questionnaire to my students in the final week. Then, I analysed data by identifying the frequency, types, and functions of the English questions I asked in 50 online lessons. My analysis revealed that I asked 1588 questions in total. Of these questions, I used epistemic questions more than echoic questions and display questions more than referential questions. Besides, my questions served mostly procedural function, followed by convergent function, and divergent function. The analysis also revealed that I hardly made use of questions enhancing the critical thinking skills of my students. Moreover, my students expressed in the questionnaire that they were content with my questions in general. However, they preferred referential questions to display questions. Consequently, this study was of great importance for me to reflect on certain aspects of my questions and take necessary actions to improve these aspects. Moreover, this study may inspire other teachers to take a step to develop consciousness of their questions as well by means of carrying out similar studies. Keywords: action research, classroom interaction, English as a foreign language, online learning, reflective teaching, teacher questions