Abstract:
This study examined the challenges associated with the explicit delivery of questiongeneration
strategy with 8 Arab Canadian students from the perspective of a bilingual
beginning teacher. This study took place in a private school and involved 2 stages
consisting of 9 instructional sessions, and individual interviews with the students. Data
gathered from these interviews and the researcher's field notes from the sessions were
used to gain insights about the participants' understanding and use of explicit instruction.
The themes that emerged from the data included "teacher attitude," "students' enhanced
metacognitive awareness and strategy use," "listening skills," and "instructional
challenges." Briefly, teacher's attitude demonstrated how teacher's beliefs and
knowledge influenced her willingness and perseverance to teach explicitly. Students'
enhanced metacognitive awareness and strategy use included students' understanding and
use of the question-generation strategy. The students' listening skills suggested that
culture may influence their response to the delivery of explicit instruction. Here, the
cultural expectations associated with being a good listener reinforced students'
willingness to engage in this strategy. Students' prior knowledge also influenced their
interaction with the question-generation strategy. Time for process versus covering
content was a dominant instructional challenge. This study provides first hand
information for teachers when considering how students' cultural backgrounds may affect
their reactions to explicit strategy instruction.
