This is quite true Julia. In addition, I think the teacher should also reinforce positively the student attempt to answering a question even when they are wrong instead of using negative remarks that may make the student afraid to attempt answering future questions.

Thanks Julia for starting such an interesting discussion. In my country's education system we are encouraged that while teaching  we are to tell the students what they are expected to learn at the end of a lesson( stated objectives) .  Like this approach we can also tell students at the onset that in class  giving a wrong answer is nothing to fear. An article i read  ' Learninig from Mistakes: Helping Kids See the Good Side of Getting Things Wrong' (rootsofaction.com) reiterated these points:  Learning from mistakes helps develop wisdom and good judgement as well as learning from mistakes  is part of how we challenge ourselves to learn to do things differently. Here the teacher will be setting the climate of trust  and positive relations with her students.

Thanks for your contribution Julia. The leaner when identified can always be supported by asking the learner questions and subtly giving prompts and lead answers to build on whereby encouraging the learner to participate and building the learners confidence.

In an English language lesson, a comprehension passage instead of reading  the whole passage at ones, learners could be asked to read different paragraphs and important ideas discussed generally at the end of the paragraph. In the process the slow learners are given the opportunity to participate fully through assignment of roles.