In this guide
Cambridge Veritas · Original TESOL self-study resources
Understand the idea
A display question checks knowledge the teacher already has; a real question seeks information the teacher does not know. Both have a purpose. A lesson needs opportunities to exchange meaning as well as demonstrate language knowledge.
What you will practise
- Explain the key idea in “Real questions and display questions” using a concrete example.
- Choose a teaching response that fits the learner and the purpose.
- Identify evidence you could collect to evaluate that response.
A closer look at the teaching
A display question can be a precise diagnostic when it targets a known distinction. A real question creates a different opportunity: the teacher must listen to information that is not predetermined. Plan both, but leave room for genuine follow-up. A personal-sounding question is still a display task if only one rehearsed sentence is accepted regardless of the learner’s message.
Teaching involves a succession of role choices rather than one constant performance. The teacher may organise a task, provide a model, listen to a learner’s message, clarify a distinction or help the class evaluate an answer. These actions become purposeful when they respond to the learning stage. Plan what learners should be doing and ask which teacher action will enable it. Observe the result so a busy teacher is not automatically mistaken for a productive lesson.
In the classroom
“Which word is the verb?” is followed by “Which part of your job do you enjoy most?”
Before choosing an activity, identify what the learner needs to understand or communicate. Separate the language demand from other demands such as reading instructions, managing equipment or speaking to a large group.
A teaching sequence you can adapt
Use these stages as a starting point for this topic. Keep the language goal visible, and change the support when learner responses show a different need.
- 01
Define the learner action for the stage and anticipate what explanation or demonstration will make it possible.
- 02
Set up the task clearly, check the likely procedural difficulty and let learners begin.
- 03
Monitor a manageable focus and provide support where it enables learners to continue their own work.
- 04
Respond to the task outcome, select useful feedback and reflect on whether the teacher role supported the intended learning.
Inspect whether the next response depends on what the learner actually said.
A common mistake to avoid
Do not label every display question unhelpful or every personal question genuinely communicative.
When reviewing the activity, distinguish what you observed from what you inferred. Use the task outcome and a fresh example to decide whether another explanation, a different scaffold or more independent practice is needed.
Adapt it for your learners
Make the task accessible.
Prepare a short demonstration and a few useful checking questions instead of relying on a long improvised explanation.
Extend the thinking.
Observe a colleague with one agreed focus and compare the evidence with an alternative way of organising the same stage.
Keep the intended outcome consistent when comparing responses. Record which support was available so you do not confuse a supported performance with the same task completed independently.
Try it, then compare.
Take a moment to make your own decision. Compare your reasoning with the example, then adapt it for a teaching context you know.
Try it in a teaching context
Explain the different purposes and propose a follow-up.
Your questions, answered.
What is a common mistake with Real questions and display questions?
Do not label every display question unhelpful or every personal question genuinely communicative.
How can I check whether the teaching worked?
Inspect whether the next response depends on what the learner actually said.
How can I support learners who find the task difficult?
Prepare a short demonstration and a few useful checking questions instead of relying on a long improvised explanation.
How can I add a useful extra challenge?
Observe a colleague with one agreed focus and compare the evidence with an alternative way of organising the same stage.
Quick revision
- The key idea: A display question checks knowledge the teacher already has; a real question seeks information the teacher does not know.
- The context to remember: “Which word is the verb?” is followed by “Which part of your job do you enjoy most?”
- A useful next step: Explain the different purposes and propose a follow-up.
For your teaching portfolio: keep a brief plan, a note of what learners actually did and one change you would make next time. Use anonymous examples.
Take the module self-checkSources and authorship
This module maps to the supplied syllabus PDF, What do teachers do? (3 pages). The study notes, examples, application tasks and self-checks on these pages are original Cambridge Veritas resources.
View the supplied PDF ↗ · Publication reference: source chapter
Written by Cambridge Veritas. Updated .
Use these resources for preparation and reflection. Browser self-check results are for personal study and do not award a qualification or replace observed teaching practice.