Why Eliciting Matters More Than You Think in the ESL Classroom

ESL-Wise: Blog 7

Why Eliciting Matters More Than You Think in the ESL Classroom

By Alan David Pritchard

There’s a moment in every ESL lesson, sometimes subtle and sometimes obvious, when we face a choice.

Do we just give them the answer? Or do we guide them to it?

Telling is quicker and makes us feel like we are teaching. It reassures us that the material’s “covered.” But here’s the truth: the more we tell, the less they remember.

I saw this clearly in an observation lesson recently. I’d planned a starter on irregular verbs. On the board, I’d written the objective:

To practise the use of irregular verbs (verbs that don’t end in –ed in the past tense).

Then, just before class, I looked at it and erased the brackets. Why? Because I realised I was doing the thinking for them before they even sat down.

That’s where eliciting comes in. It’s not a tick-box warm-up; it’s a deliberate choice.

When it’s done well, eliciting changes the energy in the room. Students stop being passive listeners and start being contributors. The lesson becomes about what they know, what they half-know, and what they’re about to figure out.

Back to that observation. By leaving the definition off the board, I gave them space to tell me instead. I wrote two verbs on the board (one regular and one irregular) and used questions to guide them to the difference.

That simple shift, guiding them to explain, might be one of the most powerful things we do.

What Is Eliciting, Really?

Eliciting isn’t throwing out random questions and hoping someone guesses right. It’s not “Who knows what this means?”

Done well, it’s structured and purposeful. It:

• Draws on what students already know

• Builds confidence by starting where they can succeed

• Gets language out early

• Brings misconceptions to the surface before they stick

• Opens up thinking instead of narrowing it.

At its best, eliciting connects what students know to what they’re about to learn.

Yes, it does take longer. But in all the right ways. It slows the pace just enough for real thinking to happen, which is why I think that’s where learning sticks.

And where I have found joyous teaching moments to reside: when we draw out understanding through purposeful questioning and students eventually get it, that's when we know we are teaching effectively.

What Does Eliciting Look Like?

Consider the following:

Instead of: “Generous means giving.” Try: “Think of someone who gives a lot, even when they don’t have to. What would you call them?”

Instead of: “The third conditional is used for unreal past situations.” Try: “How do we talk about something that could have happened, but didn’t?”

Instead of: “Let me read this text to you.” Try: “What do you already know about volcanoes? Let’s build a word bank first.”

Small change. Big difference. Suddenly, students are invested before the teaching even begins.

I have found that, when teaching tenses, it is better to show students two similar tenses, and ask them to discern the difference between them. Here is an example, with the questions to elicit desired responses.

Here, I show students two sentences and, using eliciting questions, guide them to deduce the rules.

Why Eliciting Matters (Far More Than You Think)

Let’s look at the real benefits, backed by cognitive science and classroom experience:

1. Eliciting makes knowledge stick. Students remember what they pull from memory

(however roughly) far better than what we simply tell them.

2. It gives quieter learners a way in. Good questions lower the stakes. They make the lesson feel like a conversation, not a test.

3. It shows us the gaps. Questions like “What do we know about this word?” or “What might happen next?” tell us what’s clear and what isn’t.

4. It models how to learn.When we elicit, we show students how to tackle new language: stay curious, take a risk, make links.

Here is an example of speaking and writing frames to elicit inference thinking skills for images and text. I created levels so students could choose a level that suited them best in terms of their abilities - but encouraged them to try harder levels as the term progressed.

But Let’s Be Honest: Eliciting Can Go Wrong

I’ve seen it (and done it): you ask a question… silence. You rephrase, you gesture, you hint… nothing. Suddenly you’re playing 20 Questions.

That’s not eliciting. That’s guessing.

Here’s what helps:

• Ask focused questions that build toward the goal

• Accept partial answers and build on them

• Layer in visuals or examples when language stalls

• Know when to model and move on

Above all, know your learners. Aim for what they can realistically reach.

Here, sometimes, when my questions are met with silence, I will layer visual clues to encourage the response I am looking for.

In the End, Eliciting Is About Trust

Eliciting is about trust. Trust that students are thinking, even if they’re quiet. Trust that half-formed ideas can grow.

Because when we elicit, we’re saying: Your thinking matters here.

Start with what they know. Then build, ask, nudge and reframe.

When students feel what they know has value (even if it’s incomplete) they are more invested in the learning process. And the classroom stops being just a place for input and becomes a space for shared contribution.

Final Thought:

When students feel you have invested time to help them express what they didn't think they knew or were capable of doing through purposefully eliciting, and you respond with encouragement and praise, their confidence soars.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.

I’d love to hear from you.

Further Reading

• British Council – “Eliciting”https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/knowing-subject/d-h/elicitation

• British Council – Eliciting Techniques and Rationalehttps://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/eliciting

• Shanjida & Tanzina Halim – Elicitation: A Powerful Diagnostic Tool for Actively Involving Learners in the Learning Process (Arab World English Journal, 2019)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337942579_Elicitation_A_Powerful_Diagnostic_Tool_for_Actively_Involving_Learners_in_the_Learning_Process

• Dylan Wiliam – Embedded Formative Assessment, Chapter 4: Eliciting Evidence of Learninghttps://www.scribd.com/document/560497991/Wiliam-2018-Chapter-4-Eliciting-evidence-of-learning-1

Right Fast is my teacher-designed, classroom-tested game series that helps learners build academic language through fast-paced retrieval and timed oral rehearsal. Perfect for ages 14+

 Click the image or explore all 10 categories and 100 sets HERE.