High Cognitive Questions in Nns Group Classroom Discussion: Do They Facilitate Comprehension and Production of the Foreign Language?

Abstract

This article is based on a study which attempted to examine the use of high cognitive questions in non-native student group classroom discussions. The main purpose of the study was to determine if higher frequency of high cognitive questions in NNS group classroom discussions had an effect on foreign language learning. Two groups of non-native Spanish students and four non-native English teachers participated. One of the groups was trained in incorporating high cognitive questions in student- student discussions; the other group was not provided with training. After the training, both groups listened to a narrative told by the non-native teacher,discussed it, and then summarized the story they had heard. Results indicated that the training group asked more high cognitive questions than the control group. The quantity of verbal interaction was not different between the groups, but the understanding and written production of the foreign language was higher in the treatment group than in the control group. The higher achievement in the training group indicates that the use of high cognitive questions, demonstrated and adopted in NNS group classroom discussion, promotes the kind of verbal interaction which facilitates comprehension and written production of the foreign language.