Don't Know the Answer to a Student's Question? Try These Strategies.
Your student asks a question.
You don’t know the answer or can’t answer right away.
Do you:
- Secretly look up the answer?
- Admit you don’t know, but promise to get back to the student?
- Look up the answer with the student?
- Freak out? 😱😱😱
We’ve all experienced moments like this. After all, we can’t be prepared for every question! But what should we do?
Decide If A Question Needs To Be Answered
First, keep in mind that not all questions need to be answered.
Imagine that a beginner student asks you the following questions:
- What’s the difference between “astounded” and “amazed”?
- What’s the difference between “listen” and “hear”?
To answer the first question, you can just say “both words mean ‘really surprised’; there’s not much of a difference.” After all, it’s not important that a beginner understand the distinction between these higher-level words.
However, the second question (“listen” vs. “hear”) is appropriate to the student’s level and deserves a detailed explanation.
So if you get a question like this and just need some extra time to think of a good explanation, then try the following tactics!
Tactic 1: Stall and Search
Did your student ask you for the meaning of a word that you can’t define right away? Or maybe they asked you for the difference between “large” and “big”? You probably have an idea, but need a little more information to explain it well.
Thanks to the internet, you can quickly look up answers – without the student knowing!
Our tutors recommend using noise-canceling microphones (so your student doesn’t hear you typing) and keeping online dictionaries open in different tabs. Here are some great options:
While you look up the definition, you can stall (buy time) with a comment like “Good question! That’s a difficult word. It’s a little hard to explain.” This will make the student feel good about their question.
However, the “stall and search” method won’t work for all situations – especially when you have no idea what the answer is. What should we do in situations like this?
Tactic 2: Admit That You Don’t Know
It’s OK to admit that you don’t know. In fact, many tutors say they do this. As Tutor Joca (🇷🇸) says, “It’s important for students to know that we aren’t human dictionaries!”
Some students are even reassured to see that their tutor doesn’t have all the answers. It helps them realize that they don’t need to know everything to become fluent.
However, you shouldn't just say, “I don’t know” or say it too much. As another tutor (🇲🇰) shares, “I tell my students that I don’t have a clear answer off the top of my head, but I promise them a comprehensive answer during our next lesson.”
Tactic 3: Work Together To Find the Answer
Sometimes, you can work together to find the answer. After all, learning is a collaborative process. As an experienced tutor (🇧🇦) says, “I've never had a bad experience using this technique even with adults and high-level students.”
For instance, let’s say your student asks you the difference between “amazed” and “astounded.” You might want to look up the definitions in an online dictionary.
In the meantime, your student can look up examples of how the word is used in Daily News articles. An advantage of searching on Daily News (as opposed to Google) is that students can filter results by level. For example, here are some intermediate articles that use the word “amazed”:
You can then come together to discuss what the word means.
Another piece of information your student might find helpful is the difficulty level of the words. You can get this information by using Vocab Kitchen’s CEFR Vocabulary Profiler. Simply type the words in and click “Profile”:
Our search shows that “amazed” is a B1-level word. A-level words are for beginners, B-level words are for intermediates, and C-level words are for advanced students.
On the other hand, “astounded” is an “off list word.” This may mean that the word is less commonly-used.
In other words, we now know that “amazed” is an intermediate word, so you can suggest that your student practice using it and not worry about “astounded.”
📌 Takeaways
To sum up, here are three ways you can handle a question that you don’t know how to answer:
- Stall and search
- Admit you don’t know, then look it up later
- Find the answer together
Some tutors only use tactic #1 (stall and search), while others use a combination of tactics #2 and #3. Which ones have you been using? Which ones do you want to try?
Whichever you choose, your students will surely be grateful for your help!
