Eliciting — Stop Telling, Start Asking
Eliciting — Stop Telling, Start Asking
🎙 From the classroom: I once watched a tutor walk into a classroom, write a word on the board, and spend twelve minutes explaining it. Then she asked if anyone had questions. They didn’t — because they’d stopped listening at minute four. Eliciting the word from learners first would have taken two minutes and stuck far longer.
💡 The Idea
Eliciting means drawing language or ideas out of students rather than putting it in. It reduces TTT, activates prior knowledge, and engages learners emotionally. Elicit before you explain. Always.
🗣 Example
Teaching the word ‘exhausted’
❌ Tell: ‘Exhausted means very, very tired.’
✅ Elicit: Show a picture of someone who ran a marathon. ‘How do they feel?’ → ‘Tired.’ ‘More than tired — what’s a stronger word?’ → ‘Exhausted!’ Students discover the word; it sticks.
🎯 Try It Now!
You want to teach the word ‘furious’.
Write three eliciting steps you would use before giving the word. Use a situation, a picture, a question — not the definition.
✅ Check Your Answers
✅ Example steps: (1) Mime slamming a door / show image of angry person. (2) Ask: ‘How does this person feel?’ → ‘Angry.’ (3) ‘More than angry — what’s the word for extremely angry?’ → Elicit ‘furious’. (4) Then CCQ: ‘Is furious stronger or weaker than angry?’ → Much stronger.
Independent project — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.
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