Eliciting (elicitation) is term which describes a range of techniques which enable the teacher to get learners to provide information

Eliciting (elicitation) is term which describes a range of techniques which enable the teacher to get learners to provide information rather than giving it to them.

Commonly, eliciting is used to ask learners to come up with vocabulary and language forms and rules, and to brainstorm a topic at the start of a skills lesson. The definition of the term in the Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, ‘Techniques or procedures which a teacher uses to get learners to actively produce speech or writing', suggests that there may be wider applications.

Principles and advantages

Eliciting is based on several premises:

- Collectively, students have a great deal of knowledge, both of the language and of the real world. This knowledge needs to be activated and used constructively.

- The teaching of new knowledge is often based on what the learners already know.

- Questioning assists in self-discovery, which makes information more memorable.

Eliciting helps to develop a learner-centred classroom and a stimulating environment, while making learning memorable by linking new and old information. Eliciting is not limited to language and global knowledge. The teacher can elicit ideas, feelings, meaning, situations, associations and memories. For the teacher, eliciting is a powerful diagnostic tool, providing key information about what the learners know or don't know, and therefore a starting point for lesson planning. Eliciting also encourages teachers to be flexible and to move on rather than dwell on information which is already known,[...]