Don’t Say ‘Do You Understand?’ — 5 Better Tools
Don’t Say ‘Do You Understand?’ — Better Ways to Check
I had a trainer who put ‘Do you understand?’ in a red box on the board — the danger zone. The problem: it’s a yes/no question with social pressure to say yes. After 120 hours of teaching practice I had five better tools. Here they are.
5 ways to check comprehension without ‘Do you understand?’
1. CCQ — concept-checking question (see previous lesson)
2. Demonstration — show, don’t tell. ‘Can someone show me?’
3. Peer checking — ‘Check your answer with your partner.’
4. Mini-task — ‘Do exercise 1. I’ll check while you work.’
5. ICQ — instruction-checking question: ‘Are you working alone or in pairs?’
1. “Before you start — are you doing this alone or with a partner?” (ICQ)
2. “Tell your partner one thing you remember from last lesson.” (peer recall)
3. “Write one sentence using this structure — I’ll walk around and check.” (mini-task)
Quick check
1. What is an ICQ? Instruction Checking Question — checks students understood the task instructions (not the language).
2. Why is ‘hands up if you’re confused’ unreliable? Students rarely admit confusion publicly. Better to walk around and check individually or use pair-check.
3. Name one checking technique from the list above. Any of: CCQ, demonstration, peer checking, mini-task, ICQ
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