A CASE STUDY OF A TEACHER’S QUESTIONS IN AN ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) CLASSROOM THESIS Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION (ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE)

ABSTRACT
This research study seeks to explore and understand the way a Form C (the third year of high school) teacher asks questions in an English second language (ESL) classroom in a high school in Lesotho.
As this is a small-scale study on a teacher’s questions in a familiar setting, an ethnographic stance was adopted.  The researcher adopted the role of non-participant observer, recorded three different lesson types and took observational notes.  She transcribed the lessons and used the transcription to interview both the teacher and the students.   The interviews were recorded and transcribed by the researcher.  She then analysed the classroom and interview data and invited the teacher to respond to the analysis she had made.  The interview was also recorded and transcribed.
The findings indicated that the teacher asked most questions in the three lesson types. He asked mainly lower order question. However, the nature of the questions varied according to the intentions of the teacher, even when the lesson type was the same.
Although it is difficult to generalize from a small-scale study like this one, it is believed that this study has been beneficial in raising awareness about the nature and role of questions in classroom interaction, and also in raising awareness of the teacher. Consciousness raising may be essential to educators and researchers. Moreover, this research may enable educators to theorize their practice.