Comprehension (Reading and Listening) Questioning Strategies
NOTE: Use or adapt the Question Templates for Open-Ended Question responses. The Examples show how the templates can be adapted for use when embedded into GRASPS modelled tasks.
Intermediate Target Functions
- response must demonstrate comprehension of information explicitly stated in the input
- response must demonstrate comprehension at the sentence or phrase level
- single sentence or phrase answers or single word answers are not enough
- task must work optimally with input
| Level | Purpose | Question Template | Example appropriate for GRASPS model |
| Intermediate | |||
| Simple description | What did you find out/learn about… | Read the news report to find out what the situation is like. | |
| Simple explanation / How-to | Tell what you need to do in order to… | Read the information on the website and write what you need to do to register for the Summer course. | |
| Following directions | What is the best way to…
Find out whether / if/ what to do |
Listen to the phone message so you know the best way to get to the party.
Read the website about travel restrictions so you know what you can do or not do. |
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| Simple comparison | Compare two / or three … | Compare the two restaurants / hotels / cities
Compare the two vlogs about living in a big city/small town (L) |
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| Simple comparison based on criteria | Compare the XXX so you can decide / choose | Compare the weather reports for the next three days to decide what you will do
Compare two posts about university life in (country) |
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| Simply “why” questions | Why … List all the reasons you can find. | Why is it a problem to have too many tourists?
Why does this Summer program call itself “the most effective – and the most fun!”? |
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| List at sentence/phrase level | List all of the XXX | Based on the vacation brochure, list all of the activities available to you. | |
| Simple narration | Tell what happened when… | You hear a news report, tell what happened during the flooding. | |
Advanced Target Functions
- response must demonstrate comprehension of information explicitly stated in the input
- response must demonstrate comprehension at the paragraph level
- response must also show comprehension of input organization
- the fullness of the response depends on BOTH the richness and appropriateness of the input, and the structure of the prompt
| Advanced | Purpose | Question Template | Example appropriate for GRASPS model |
| Read to make a decision | |||
| Detailed summary | Summarize by focusing on the (x) main points and their supporting details | Listen to the interview and summarize what the politician says about the issues facing (country or city) currently, as well as what concrete ideas she has to deal with them. | |
| Pros and cons | List the pros and cons / advantages and disadvantages | Read the webpage and list the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, including possible mitigation of the problems that arise. | |
| Explain | What are the precise steps necessary in order to… | Watch the professor’s online video so you know what you need to do to complete all three parts of the project. | |
| Main point and supporting details | Note each point and its details. | For a presentation to a neighborhood group, you read an article about composting that describes multiple benefits. Explain each one and the details that make it so advantageous. | |
| Information related to a specific topic | Read / listen and focus on the information related to …. | Listen to the interview with the poet and note all the details he shares about his childhood and growing up in (country). | |
| Description | How does the author describe… | How does the writer describe the ceremony, both in terms of its rites and traditions and how those play a role for the members of that culture? | |
| Compare descriptions | How do the descriptions differ / how are the descriptions the same based upon… | The two descriptions are of the same place – but they are quite different. How do they compare, in terms of their negative viewpoint and the way they use examples? | |
| Compare narrations | How does (this) have an impact on (that) | How does the author describe events during the war and how those have impacted her current life? | |
| Compare points of view | How do the two editorials compare, both in terms of their positive stance and the examples they use? |