Teachers’ Questioning Behaviour in EFL Classes in Higher Education Institutions at Wolkite University, Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to investigate teachers’ questioning behaviour in EFL classes in Higher Education Institutions at Wolkite University in Ethiopia. The study was a descriptive case study with a mixed-methods approach, but mainly qualitative. Data were collected through classroom observations, interviews and questionnaires. The participants of the study were English language teachers and first-year students of Wolkite University. A simple random sampling technique was used to select and observe seven teachers. Each class was observed twice. A purposive sampling technique was also employed to select the seven sample teachers for interviews. Besides, 31 EFL teachers, who were selected purposefully, filled in the questionnaire. Furthermore, 230 students were taken from the target classes through a stratified sampling technique. Of these, fourteen students (i.e., two students from each observed class) who were randomly chosen were interviewed face-to-face. The findings were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative data were analysed using open Code 4.02 and corpus analysis toolkit (AntConc) software programs, and for the quantitative data, percentages were used. The result of the study showed that EFL teachers largely utilised close-ended/display types of questions in the classes. The findings also showed that learners’ outputs were related to the types of questions that teachers utilised. The finding further indicated that when learners were asked open-ended and/or referential questions, their utterances were longer and more complex for they strived to clarify their outputs and negotiate the meanings with their interlocutors. Moreover, it was found that when teachers opted for closed-ended/display questions, learners’ oral contributions were so simple, short, and restricted, and often comprising one or two words. The findings also suggest that the formulation of questions should be given emphasis in the English language methodology courses. Finally, it would be useful if such research undertakings are conducted at different levels of the educational system of the country. More importantly, teacher-training institutes would benefit if some research on teachers questioning behaviour is carried out.