Articles > The Art of Asking Questions

Posted in Tips for Educators on Tuesday, December 15, 2009

In our program, Language is the Key we encourage adults to ask children questions in order to get them talking, and learning language. ("Ask questions" is the A in the CAR strategies). Questioning is a research-based, language-building strategy. Still, some questions elicit more language than others.

Questions can be "conversation starters" or "conversation stallers." Questions are more likely to be "conversation starters" when the question is about something the child is interested in and when the adult really wants to hear the child's answer.

But questions can be "conversation stallers" when they are just test questions that the adult clearly already knows the answer to (for example, "What color is this?"). You can also stall a conversation when you ask questions that don't relate to what the child is interested in.

Here are some ideas from the Language is the Key program that will help you use questions to get young children talking and using language.

Mix asking questions with other strategies. Some adults tend to ask children lots and lots of questions. Questions are just one language-building tool. Remember to mix in other language-building strategies, like making comments and responding by adding more. The child's response to you will usually indicate when you are getting a good mix for that particular child. If they are engaged with you, listening and looking and talking, you probably got it just right!

Ask a variety of questions. Ask questions that require more than one word to answer. These are open-ended questions like: "What do you think is going to happen?" or "Why did the dog jump in the trunk?" Answering these questions requires more language and there is no "right" answer. Less demanding questions can be useful, too. For example, "What's this?" might be a good question to engage a toddler in conversation, or as a warm-up question, just to get the talk flowing. But it's important to monitor your own questioning to make sure you encourage more complex language by asking open-ended questions.

Ask only one question at a time. Young children can get confused by too many questions. Asking a second or third question before you receive an answer to your first question is distracting and can lead to confusion.

Wait a long time. Wait some more. After you ask a young child a question, you may need to wait a "long" time for an answer. We adults are comfortable with fast-paced conversations, where you only have a few milliseconds to respond. But with young children it is critical to wait patiently for a response. (Count to five.) Waiting gives young children time to process the question and come up with an answer...maybe even use a few new words!

When you use questions as one part of your conversation with a child, follow the interests of the child, and match the questions to the child's ability level, you will probably see more attention from the child, more talking, and more fun for both of you!