The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how three teachers’ ways of verbally asking questions and following up student’s utterances either create opportunities or hinderances for dialogue about religious related topics for grades 5-6. This study answers these questions:

1. What types of questions does the teacher ask in the classroom?

2. What types of response does the teacher give to the students’ answers?

3. Do the questions create opportunities or hindrances for dialogue in the classroom?

The method used for this study is qualitative observations which were done in three different classes. Each class was observed three times. The theories used are Michail Bakhtin’s dialogic theory and Olga Dysthe’s theories about the monologic and dialogic classroom. Dysthe’s dialogic classroom is categorized into authentic questions, follow-up and positive assessment. IRE and IRU communication patterns are also used. The result differs in each class. Teacher A created opportunities for dialogue by asking authentic and closed questions, following up the students’ answers and giving a positive assessment. A reason for this could be that she sat down together with the students while initiating interaction and showing interest in students’ experiences. Teacher B created hinderances for dialogue by only asking closed questions and giving responses that indicated if students’ answers were right or wrong. Teacher C had possibilities to create dialogue by asking open questions. Instead, they hindered dialogue because the teacher gave a response that indicated if the students’ answers were right or wrong.