Elicitation and Concept Checking Questions
Elicitation questions and concept checking questions help trainers guide lessons more effectively. In ELT materials, they support learner engagement, check understanding, and make trainer notes clearer and more useful.
Aim
Elicitation is used to activate prior knowledge and get learners talking before or during an activity. CCQs are used after presenting new language to check that learners have understood meaning and use, without simply asking “Do you understand?”.
Elicitation Questions
An elicitation question is a question that a teacher asks during a lesson to elicit ideas, language, or reactions from learners. The aim is to get learners thinking and producing language, not to test a single “right answer”.
- Usually open-ended or semi-open questions.
- Used to spark discussion and encourage learners to share experiences or perspectives.
- Often used as a lead-in to an activity or to build a list of examples on the board.
Example elicitation questions:
• Do you know any phrasal verbs with the word look?
• What can you see in the picture?
• What would you say if you …?
In trainer notes, writers can include short elicitation prompts to help trainers generate language from learners before presenting a rule or model.
Concept Checking Questions (CCQs)
A concept checking question is a short, targeted question that a teacher asks to check whether learners have understood a specific concept, meaning, or use of new language.
- Usually simple yes/no or short-answer questions.
- Written in language that is easier than the target language.
- Do not normally contain the target language form itself.
- Focus on meaning, time, possibility, or other key aspects of the concept.
Example CCQs:
• What is the past simple form of the verb to be?
• What is another word for …?
CCQs are often used after the acquisition phase (after presenting and clarifying the target language) to confirm understanding before moving into controlled practice.
CCQs with Grammar Examples
Another approach to CCQs is to show an example sentence containing the target grammar and ask simple questions about it, without repeating the grammatical form in the questions.
Target sentence: If we plant more trees, more animals will have a home.
Possible CCQs:
• Did we plant the trees? (No.)
• Is it possible to plant more trees? (Yes.)
• Is it possible to save the animals? (Yes.)
• “More animals will have a home.” Is this the past, present, or future? (Future.)
Note that the questions do not contain the target grammar; they focus on meaning and time. Trainer notes should guide teachers to avoid “Do you understand?” and instead use planned CCQs that check specific aspects of the concept.
Writing Trainer Notes
When writing trainer notes, include elicitation and CCQs as simple bullet points the trainer can read out.
- For elicitation, write 2–3 open questions that connect to the topic or target language.
- For CCQs, write 3–5 short questions that check the key concept (meaning, time, possibility, etc.).
- Keep wording clear and graded to the learners’ level.
- Avoid overloading trainers – focus on the most important aspects to check.
Key Takeaway
Use elicitation questions to activate learners’ ideas and language at the start of a task, and use concept checking questions to confirm understanding of new language before practice. In trainer notes, script both clearly with short, level-appropriate questions so trainers can support engagement and comprehension without relying on “Do you understand?”.