Plain English Meaning

Asking the student questions out loud to find out what they actually understand and where they need more work.

Full Definition

An assessment method in which the instructor asks the student spoken questions to evaluate understanding, identify gaps, and confirm readiness to proceed. Effective oral questioning uses clear, specific questions that require the student to explain reasoning rather than simply recall facts.

Context Anchor

You will encounter oral questioning during flight training reviews, stage checks, and FAA tests where the evaluator wants to hear how you think through aviation situations.

Derivation

From Latin 'oralis' (relating to the mouth) and 'quaestio' (a seeking, an inquiry). The pairing simply means inquiry conducted by speech rather than writing -- which matters here because the -and-forth of spoken exchange lets the instructor probe deeper than a written can.