Strand 1 · Oral Language
English Language Year 3 Learner Material, Section 13: Using Questioning Techniques
In this section, you’ll learn how to use different types of questions to help us better understand what we hear in interviews, conversations, and stories. Asking the right questions—both simple (literal) and deeper (inferential) can help us listen more carefully, think more clearly, and engage in meaningful discussions. You’ll practise making predictions before listening, taking useful notes while listening, and thinking about the speaker’s tone, language, and message afterwards. These activities will help you become a better listener and communicator. You'll also build on skills you’ve learned in past lessons and see how asking good questions is useful not just in school, but in everyday life too.
Let’s get started!
KEY IDEAS
• Background Knowledge is what you already know from experience or learning that helps you understand new information.
• Comprehension is understanding what you hear or read.
• The Main Idea is the most important point or message the speaker is trying to share.
• Prediction is a smart guess about what will happen or what the speaker will say, based on clues.
• Questioning is asking yourself or others questions to help understand something better.
• Tone is generally the speaker’s mood or attitude.
Asking questions while listening helps you focus, think critically, and recall more.
Questioning is like having a conversation with the speaker in your mind. The more curious you are, the more you understand. Here’s how to use questioning at different stages of a listening task.
Before Listening (Pre-Listening Questions)
1. What do I already know about this topic? Helps you connect with your background knowledge
2. What do I think the speaker will say? Make predictions based on the title, image, or short description
3. What do I want to find out? Set your purpose for listening While Listening (During Listening Questions)
1. What is the main idea so far? Helps you focus on the big picture.
2. What examples or details support the main idea? Look for evidence or important points.
3. Do I understand the speaker’s tone or attitude? Is the speaker happy, serious, angry, etc.?
4. Am I confused by anything? What should I listen for next? Note unclear parts to review or ask about later.
After Listening (Post-Listening Questions)
₁. What did I learn? Summarise the key ideas in your own words
2. Did the speaker answer my questions or confirm my predictions? Check your understanding
3. What questions do I still have? Use them for discussion or further research Tips for Better Questioning
1. Use “WH” questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
2. Don’t wait to be asked—ask yourself questions to stay focused. Write your questions down if possible.
3. Be curious! Good questions help you become a better listener and thinker.
When you are involved with others in this set of scenarios, remember to offer support and encouragement. Learning to collaborate and to cooperate with others here will be central to your language development.
https://procurementtactics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Questioning-and- Listening-Skills.jpg NARRATIVE https://youtu.be/pVXkTMj1Ut8 Click on the link or scan the QR code to listen to the narrative.
Questions
a. Where did the family go on their vacation?
b. Who was driving the car?
c. What didn’t they have in the car?
d. Why didn’t the children like the destination?
e. What were their parents doing at the site?
CONVERSATION Click on the link or scan the QR code to listen to the dialogues.
https://youtu.be/isMpyCkKuDU Before each dialogue, there is a question. Practise listening and answer each question.
Activity 13.1 Predicting And Answering Questions On Narratives
1. Pair up with a friend and do the following activities. Click on the link or scan the QR code to listen to the narrative in 2 minutes.
https://youtu.be/lyX-wqd0hlo
a. Pause the recording and write down at least one question you have about what you’ve heard so far.
b. Call another pair and discuss your questions with them.
c. Continue playing and in 1 minute, pause and predict the ending of the story.
d. Play the rest of the story to the end and compare your predictions with the actual ending.
2. Now answer the following questions.
a. Why was Tom nervous?
b. Why didn’t Tom’s parent answer his questions?
c. What did Tom see out of the car?
d. Where were his parents taking him?
e. What was Tom’s expectation of his new home?
Activity 13.2 Listening and Sequencing Task
1. In groups of three, listen to the story and rearrange the scrambled events on a worksheet.
Click on the link or scan the QR code to listen to the story.
https://youtu.be/Cj-_Zfsb8HM Scrambled Events
a. She brought her community together.
b. They cleared the land, planted seeds and nurtured the plants.
c. She read books, watched videos and joined online forums.
d. She transformed her balcony into a productive space.
e. Maya began researching urban gardening.
f. Seeing the transformation of hr balcony, Maya’s neighbours became interested.
2. Share your answer with members of a different group for feedback.
Listen to this short narrative: 'Maya lived in Accra and wanted to grow vegetables. She began researching urban gardening. She read books, watched videos, and joined online forums. She transformed her balcony into a productive space. Seeing this, her neighbours became interested. Maya brought her community together. They cleared a nearby land, planted seeds, and nurtured the plants.' What is the main idea of the narrative?
Listen to this short narrative: 'Maya lived in Accra and wanted to grow vegetables. She began researching urban gardening. She read books, watched videos, and joined online forums. She transformed her balcony into a productive space. Seeing this, her neighbours became interested. Maya brought her community together. They cleared a nearby land, planted seeds, and nurtured the plants.' According to the narrative, what did Maya do to learn about urban gardening?
Listen to this short narrative: 'Maya lived in Accra and wanted to grow vegetables. She began researching urban gardening. She read books, watched videos, and joined online forums. She transformed her balcony into a productive space. Seeing this, her neighbours became interested. Maya brought her community together. They cleared a nearby land, planted seeds, and nurtured the plants.' What does Maya's action of bringing the community together suggest about her attitude?
Before listening to a story, you see the title 'From Balcony to Community Garden'. Based on this title, what is the most reasonable prediction about the story?
While listening to a narrative, which question would best help you focus on the main idea?
