China: How to avoid "Do you understand?"

[Noego]

I'm having a hard time not using "do you understand?" Although some students will admit they do, most of them won't.

It's hard for me to determine whether or not they understood what I said.

According to the article I've mentioned before:

"Nor should you expect students to ask questions in class if they don’t understand something. A former student of mine told me: “In China, a student who asks questions is considered a pain in the neck.” Check understanding by asking students to paraphrase or write questions they have in groups."

I understand this is this person's opinion but do you think it's true?

It's true that my Chinese students seldom ask any questions at all.

The thing is, I'm always available for them if they have questions, even in my free time. I would really wish they would ask me more things but they don't.

Sometimes I teach something and they say they understand but when I ask them later I find that they didn't. How can I avoid this? How can I evaluate their understanding of what I'm saying? Is there any effective way to do this?

Would it be better to form team and write questions in groups? Has anyone tried this?

[Tdol]

Instead of asking whether they have uderstood ask something that will; demonstrate their understanding. In some cultures admitting that you don't understand can be seen as a sign of failure, rather than asking for a better or different explanation.

[Noego]

Ok, I'll try it. I'll try to ask them to explain to me what I said in their own words.

Thanks.