A sociolinguistic investigation of pupil interpretations of the functions of questions and responses was applied to 165 pupils in a multiethnic, lower socioeconomic status elementary school. Procedures involved videotaping of language arts lessons and family conversations. Videotapes were played back to pupils, who were then asked to explain "What reasons people had for saying these things." Pupils reported that responses made to questions occuring in family conversation served an informative function, but that the questions asked in a classroom situation served an instructional or routinely interactive function. There were no significant ethnic differences in pupil perceptions of the function of questions; there were, however, significant differences in teachers' use of questions, which appeared to relate to classroom differences in final reading achievement. (LH)