Questioning and Selective Noticing in Synchronous Online CFL Tutoring: A Study of Novice Peer Facilitators

Questioning plays a central role in organizing interaction and shaping learning opportunities in language teaching. However, less is known about how novice peer facilitators document their questioning practices and notice learner-language problems in synchronous online Chinese as a foreign language tutoring. This mixed-methods study investigated Taiwanese university students serving as International Companions in a 13-week online Chinese conversation program with Czech learners. Data included structured post-session teaching journals, a questionnaire, and group interviews. The journal dataset comprised 494 entries, from which 1,170 questions and 505 learner-language problems were identified and analyzed. Results showed that the documented questioning repertoire was concentrated at lower cognitive levels, with Yes/No questions being the most frequently recorded form. Rather than indicating limited pedagogical sophistication, these questions appeared to function as low-risk entry points that helped facilitators initiate and sustain interaction. The findings also revealed that learner-language problems most frequently documented were phonological. However, interview data indicated that facilitators’ noticing was shaped not only by the perceptual salience of problems but also by their confidence in identifying and responding to them in real time. Overall, the study suggests that questioning and selective noticing are coexisting and potentially related aspects of facilitative interaction in peer-led tutoring, and that novice peer facilitation should be understood as a distinct pedagogical practice rather than a simplified form of teaching. The findings have implications for the preparation of peer facilitators, particularly in supporting sequenced questioning and context-appropriate feedback in real-time interaction.