Seminar Script: Formulating Effective Questions
Good morning, everyone.
Now, let us move on to the next section, which focuses on
how the questions are formulated.
1. Always Use Simple and Everyday Language
Let me begin with the first criterion: the use of simple and
everyday language.
The questionnaire does a good job here. It avoids technical
ELT terms such as “L2 /kəˈmjuː.nə.keɪ.t̬ɪv/ communicative
/ˈkɑːm.pə.t̬əns/ competence,” “affective filter,” and “/ek
ˈstrɪn.zɪk/ extrinsic motivation.” Instead, it uses accessible
expressions such as “talking to friends,” “reading books,”
and “confidence.”
This is appropriate for language learners because difficult
wording may cause respondents to answer according to their
understanding of English rather than their actual opinions.
Therefore, simple language reduces cognitive load and
improves response accuracy.
2. Do not use ambiguous questions
Moving on to ambiguity, several questions lack clear
boundaries or sufficient context.
Let’s take a look at Question 3 ”Do you like to learn English
by” includes the option:
“Studying English.”
This option is too broad because it may include reading
books, having conversations, playing games, or watching
television. It overlaps with the other options, making the
results difficult to interpret.
A clearer question would be:
“Which activities or materials do you enjoy using to learn
English?”
The options should then describe separate activities.
Another one is Question 8:
“Do you speak English out of the class?”
The phrase “out of the class” is unclear. It could mean
speaking with friends, at home, online, or in
extracurricular activities, which leads to inconsistent
responses.
3. Do Not Ask Double-Barrelled Questions
Having discussed ambiguity, I will now turn to the third
issue: avoiding double-barrelled questions.
Item 11 asks:
“Do you have enough confidence to speak to a group of
people in English?”
The phrase “a group of people” covers several different
situations. A learner may feel confident in a small group of
friends but anxious when presenting to the whole class.
However, the Yes/No format forces the respondent to give
only one answer by combining all speaking contexts into one
broad question. This may weaken construct validity because
speaking confidence varies with context.
The question should be deconstructed into distinct, single-
variable statements:
“I feel confident speaking English when practising in small
groups or pairs.”
“I feel confident speaking English when presenting in front of
the whole class.”
These revised items allow the respondent to accurately isolate
their feelings based on the classroom setting.
4. Do Not Ask Leading Questions
The fourth issue is the possibility of leading respondents
through the question format.
The questionnaire presents several positively worded Yes/No
questions /kənˈsek.jə.t̬ɪ[Link]/ consecutively:
“Do you like to learn English with the whole class?”
“Do you like to learn English by talking in pairs?”
“Do you feel happy when you speak English?”
After repeatedly choosing “Yes,” respondents may continue
selecting the same answer without carefully considering each
question. This is known as /ˌæ[Link]ˈes.əns/ /ˈbaɪ.əs/
acquiescence bias.
Furthermore, Yes/No questions are too limited for measuring
complex attitudes such as happiness, confidence, and comfort.
A better solution is to use a balanced 6-point Likert scale
matrix:
Strongly Agree
Agree
Slightly Agree
Slightly Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
The questions could be rewritten as:
“I enjoy speaking English during class.”
“I prefer practising English through pair-work activities.”
“I feel happy when speaking English.”
This scale allows respondents to express different degrees of
agreement and produces more detailed quantitative data.
5. Do not ask questions that are based on presumptions
Finally, questions should not be based on assumptions
about respondents.
The questionnaire commits a major error regarding
presumptions in its very first question.
Item 1 begins:
“Do you like to learn English by…?”
This question assumes that every student likes learning
English and already has a preferred learning method.
However, in a mandatory general English university context,
some students may have low motivation or no clear
preference. The question may therefore force them to select an
option that does not accurately reflect their attitude.
A more /ˈnuː.trəl/ neutral version would be:
“If you were to focus on developing your English this
semester, which skill would you prefer to prioritise?”
At this point, this is the revised version of the
questionnaire. Please take a moment to look through the
changes.
Thank you for your attention. I am now ready to take any
questions you may have.