67 a teacher’s time is taken up by asking questions, and that almost 60 of
classroom time is spent in a question-response session. It can be seen from the result of the questionnaire in question--- does your
teacher frequently ask question, all students said yes. They admit that their English teachers always ask them question. This supports the obtained data from
video-tape that the teachers do ask a lot of question during their teaching time. Meanwhile, when the students were asked about the difficulty of teacher question,
mostly said that the difficulty should be equal to their level of knowledge. They stated that it is normal to ask such question that in the same level as their
understanding. Only few students stated that the question should be below their level. Thus, the teacher should take into account the students’ level of knowledge
in asking questions.
1. Type of Question
Research question 1 reveals that in the lessons observed in this research, there was a tendency for the teacher to employ more display questions 92 than
referential questions 8.1. The finding supports the conclusion made by Long Sato 1983. In Long Sato’s study, they found that teachers use more display
than referential questions in the classroom. Therefore, Long Sato drew a conclusion that the second language classroom offers very few opportunities for
the learner to practice genuine communicative uses of the target language. That is why Pica Long 1986 drew a similar conclusion that when teachers pose too
many display questions, there will be less negotiation of meaning in classroom settings and as a result, there will be less target language output.
68 However, Freeman Larsen 2000 state that the goal of most methods used
so far is for students to learn to communicate in the target language. Students may produce sentences accurately in a lesson, but cannot use them appropriately when
genuinely communicating outside classroom. Relating to asking display question, this phenomenon happens when students can answer all teachers’ questions
correctly. It is in four words at the most. They just give the intended answer related to the lesson. No other verbal responses that the students give to promote
real English communication in the classroom. “True communication is purposeful” Freeman and Larsen 2000:129. This
means, the teacher can evaluate whether or not her purpose has been achieved based upon the information she receives from her students. If the students do not
have the opportunity to provide the teacher with such feedback, then the interaction and communication are not happen. It is found in the data that the
teachers only ask such rhetorical questions to the students. When the teacher asks “What is the example of wild animal?” and the students’ answer is “lion” then
the exchange of information is not really communication, even though they use English in doing so.
It is inferred from the obtained data that display questions require short answers containing small pieces of information, for example at the word level, for
word pronunciation and meaning, and for comprehension checks. It serves to facilitate the recall of information and check the understanding of knowledge
rather than to generate students’ ideas and classroom communication. “Display questions tend to elicit short answers, learners supply the information for didactic
purposes only, they would have less communicative involvement in producing a
69 display response, and thus less motivational drive for using the target language.”
Chaudron, 1988. It is generally believed that referential questions tend to generate longer
responses from students than display questions Nunan, 1991. Brock 1986 found that the learners responded with significantly longer and more syntactically
complex utterances to referential questions than to display questions. When teachers use referential questions, students are more likely to produce complex
target language structures and their output is more likely to be produced in naturalistic settings. Learners will attain a much higher proficiency. Therefore,
teachers are expected to employ more referential questions. However, in the current study, this was not the case. In the lesson, display
questions resulted in a much longer response time than referential questions. There are a number of reasons for this result. First, referential questions might
have been too advanced for these particular students, since they did not get much exposure to English outside the classroom. Second, the students simply did not
understand the questions or they did not even realize that they had been asked a question. The third reason is, for teachers, by asking display questions they can
easily check students’ understanding of the texts. Referential questions need students to think and discuss which will take a lot of time. However, because of
teaching schedules, teachers cannot spend much time on class discussions. The fourth is for students, they just want to answer questions correctly. Display
questionshave exact answers that they can easily find in books or previous memory. Maybe students are used to answering display questions. Meanwhile,
70 referential questions do not have an exact answer, which will take them a lot of
time to think and discuss. Students may be lazy to use their minds to think. Therefore, the case is eliciting language from the learners. It is not merely
about asking display or referential questions to get learners to speak, it is about getting them to speak by using the target language. As the participants in this
study are in 8
th
grade of junior high school, some factors related to their psychological situations should be considered. Li and Hou 2004 state that
English becomes a headache to a large number of learners who suffer repeated frustration and in learning it, which is, in turn, harmful to their self-esteem and
confidence. Chuska 1995 also mentions that when questions such as those mentioned referential are asked, students will usually not know how to respond
and may answer the questions incorrectly. Thus, their feelings of failure may cause them to be more hesitant to participate in class.
Additionally, in terms of question types, this study suggests that display questions play important roles in enhancing psychological support and facilitating
the cognitive process for EFL learners at the intermediate stage. Meanwhile, in relation to students’ engagement in the learning process, the study reveals that
most of the students do participate in classroom activities such as responding to teacher question, working in group, and voluntarily writing their answer on the
board. Since students’ engagement requires motivation Barkley 2010, it can be seen that students have great motivation in learning English through the topic
being discussed. In addition to that, when such display question is related to the criteria of
good questioning proposed by Clark and Starr 1991 it can be said that that
71 question is effective considering the way itis asked, it is adaptable to the students’
age, and it is also appropriate to its purpose. A successful question should be asked definitely in simple, clear, and straightforward English that the students can
understand. In all questions being asked, the teacher use simple English that the students can easily understand what she means. It is proved when the students
mostly can answer the questions correctly. Another criteria is good question is adapted to learners’ ages, abilities, and
interests. There is no good point in embarrassing or frustrating students by asking those questions they cannot answer. In here, all teachers’ questions are balanced
with students’ ages and abilities in using English. The teachers do not ask thought provoking questions that make students struggling to think of the answer. All
questions are on the lesson the students had learnt before. One last criterion is the questions that appropriate to its purpose. In asking
display question, the purpose is to elicit language and knowledge from students. Display question is used to check students understanding about the lesson. The
students mostly use English in responding to teachers’ questions. They answer the questions as the realization of their knowledge on the lesson or the topic they have
studied.
.2. Function of Question
As for research question 2, the results show that five functions are found in this study, and they are consistent with the literature reviewed by the researchers.
These five functions which emerged from the data in this study were mostly in line with the function categories presented by Nunan and Lamb 1996 and others.
It is also found that there is some relationship between the types and the functions
72 of teacher questions. For example, referential questions cannot be used to control
the classroom. This is because referential questions ask for information that the teacher does not know Lynch, 1991. It requires interpretation and judgment on
the part of the person whom it is directed towards Shomossi, 2004. Therefore, to control the classroom it does not need a high order thinking question referential
question. This specific function of teacher questions is simply for organizing and controlling the class to enable the teaching to be conducted smoothly.
According to Richard Lockhart 1994:185, questions may “encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson”. Questions can enable
teachers to check students’ understanding and mastery of grammar and the content of texts. In a word, enhancing students’ language learning is one of the important
functions of teacher questioning. This study also concludes that the main aim of teachers’ questioning is to improve students’ language learning.
3. Students’ Responses
