Which is the appropriate question for 'He worked long hours.'?

[learning54]

Hi teachers,
This is what the students listen to, 'He worked long hours.'
Which is the appropriate question?
'How many hours did he work?' I don't think so. I really have no idea this time.

Thanks in advance

 

[Raymott]

Hi teachers,
This is what the students listen to, 'He worked long hours.'
Which is the appropriate question?
'How many hours did he work?' I don't think so. I really have no idea this time.

Thanks in advance

"Who worked long hours?"
"What did he work?"
"What did he work which were long?"
"What long things did he work?"
"What sort of hours did he work?"
"How would you describe the hours he worked?"
"What did he do with long hours?"
"What was special about the hours he worked?"
"What did he do?"
...

Why do you think there is one appropriate question for a putative answer?

 

[learning54]

Hi Raymott,
Thank you for you reply and examples.
Why do you think there is one appropriate question for a putative answer?
Sorry, instead of, 'Which is the appropriate question?' I should have written, Is this a possible question?

Could 'How much time did he work?' also be a possible question to 'He worked long hours.'?

Thanks

 

[Raymott]

Hi Raymott,
Thank you for you reply and examples.
Why do you think there is one appropriate question for a putative answer?
Sorry, instead of, 'Which is the appropriate question?' I should have written, Is this a possible question?

Could 'How much time did he work?' also be a possible question to 'He worked long hours.'?

Thanks

I find the whole concept of thinking of questions to answers somewhat strange. But I'd say, no, that question shouldn't generate that answer.

 

[learning54]

I find the whole concept of thinking of questions to answers somewhat strange. But I'd say, no, that question shouldn't generate that answer.

Hi Raymott,
Thank you for your reply. The execise is for listening. The students don't have the text, so first they have to listen and according to it write the answer.

 

[Raymott]

Hi Raymott,
Thank you for your reply. The execise is for listening. The students don't have the text, so first they have to listen and according to it write the answer.

Yes, I understand. But there are many sentences that cannot be generated from a sensible question. This seems to be one of them. If there is something in the text such as "Since he works long hours, he doesn't get time to read" you could ask, "Why doesn't he read?" and the answer would be "[Because] he works long hours". But there's no way that the question "Why doesn't he read?" can be reconstructed from "He works long hours" without having the complete text and context.
And that's why I think it's silly (in many cases) to ask what question you need to ask to get a specific sentence as a reply.

 

[learning54]

Yes, I understand. But there are many sentences that cannot be generated from a sensible question. This seems to be one of them. If there is something in the text such as "Since he works long hours, he doesn't get time to read" you could ask, "Why doesn't he read?" and the answer would be "[Because] he works long hours". But there's no way that the question "Why doesn't he read?" can be reconstructed from "He works long hours" without having the complete text and context.
And that's why I think it's silly (in many cases) to ask what question you need to ask to get a specific sentence as a reply.

Hi Raymott,
Thank you for you reply and advice. If I find sentences that can't generate anwers, I'll just give them question which the answer can only be 'yes'. Like in this case, 'Did the Inspector work long hours? Yes, he did.' Even though it sounds redundant. it is just to follow the listening. I'm sure I won't find many like that one. the ercise is longer than that. The thing is I don't know how to attach it here.

 

[Raymott]

Is there a reason why the students must come up with the exact sentence? I've noticed this is a few of your questions. Are they listening for comprehension or to be able to parrot back what they've heard?
A student with a good aural memory might reply "The Inspector worked long hours" in reply to "Tell me about the inspector and the hours he worked" without any understanding at all. The students hears "Inspector, hours" and replies with the only sentence containing those words. If the student answered "The Inspector worked quite hard" (thereby demonstrating understanding, but not giving the exact sentence) do you mark it wrong?

 

[learning54]

Hi Raymott,
Good question!! The exercise is just to parrot back what they've heard.
Your suggestion is fantastic, 'A student with a good aural memory might reply "The Inspector worked long hours" in reply to "Tell me about the inspector and the hours he worked without any understanding at all'. I've never thought about that; I have to switch, I have to make a switch to your idea.
Here is my plan, For a couple of pages I'll give them questions just to parrot back what they've heard, then I'll switch to real 'listening comprehension'. Do you think it will work for low intermediate students?
Please let me know what you think.

If the student answered "The Inspector worked quite hard" (thereby demonstrating understanding, but not giving the exact sentence) do you mark it wrong? I can't answer you because I've never done it.

 

[Raymott]

Hi Raymott,
Good question!! The exercise is just to parrot back what they've heard.
Your suggestion is fantastic, 'A student with a good aural memory might reply "The Inspector worked long hours" in reply to "Tell me about the inspector and the hours he worked without any understanding at all'. I've never thought about that; I have to switch, I have to make a switch to your idea.
Here is my plan, For a couple of pages I'll give them questions just to parrot back what they've heard, then I'll switch to real 'listening comprehension'. Do you think it will work for low intermediate students?
Please let me know what you think.

I think it would be better to test comprehension than memory. But this is harder because you have to decide whether what the student writes is close enough to what the text said. In a very short text, for lower intermediate students it's probably best to test memory. But for advanced students, and a longer text, I'd expect some evidence of understanding - which might include paraphrasing the text in the students own words.
(I'm not an expert on testing though.)

 

[learning54]

Hi Raymott,
Thank you so much for your reply once again.
After reading your last post this is what I'll do. For lower intermediate students I'll test both: listening comprehension and memory. The first one when it won't be too difficult for them. This way they will get used to listening comprehension, and it won't be so difficult when they'll jump to high intermediate or advance level. Let me me know what you think about it.

PS Though I'll be posting my question on these matters. ;-)