0th Nationa 1TTN ELT Conference 2334 5anoi

USING INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE COMMUNICATION IN EFL CLASSES

By Tran

Lam Son

Deputy Director, Nghe An Continuing Education Centre

*Definition of Information Gap Acti ity An information gap activity is an activity where earners are missing the information they need to comp ete a tas! and need to ta ! to each other to find it"# E!amp"e Learner A has a $iography of a famous person with a the p ace names missing, whi st Learner % has the same te&t with a the dates missing" Together they can comp ete the te&t $y as!ing each other 'uestions" The information gap activities invo ve a transfer of given information from one person to another( or from one form to another or from one p ace to another" The participants each have some !now edge or information not shared $y any other one and can on y so ve the pro$ em if they poo their information" # Benefit$ of %$in& information &ap More comm%nication ta'e$ Moti ation can (e )i&)* p"ace ) ,ive students a reason to ta !" ) E&tending spea!ing practice" ) -eep them thin!ing" ) *a!e earners to concentrate on ) .epresent rea communication and the communication for factua earning information" ) E'ua opportunities of earning for mi&ed ) Learners ta ! a ot+ produce more a$i ity c asses" speech" ) Learners he p one another" B%i"+ $t%+ent$, confi+ence ) Less intimidating than presenting in front of the entire c ass" ) Comforta$ e, casua and non) threatened atmosphere ) /ree interaction with peers De e"op ot)er $%(-$'i""$* ) C arifying meaning, ) .e)phrasing, ) Negotiating meaning, ) Sso ving pro$ ems, ) ,athering information, ) *a!ing decision

# Ot)er type$ of &ap$ T)e e!perience &ap. A students in c asses have had different e&periences in their ives, so this type is good tas! for communication" 6uestionnaires can $e e&p oited the e&perience gap 7 particu ar y those that aim to practice past form, e"g" a 'uestionnaire to find out what games peop e p ayed when they were chi dren8" T)e opinion &ap. Every one has different opinions, fee ings and thoughts a$out the wor d" /inding out a$out someone9s fee ings and opinions he ps c ose the gap $etween peop e" The num$er of persona ised activities in many te&t$oo!s shows the va ue of this gap" T)e 'no/"e+&e &ap. Students !now different things a$out the wor d" This gap can $e e&p oited in $rainstorms and genera !now edge) sty e 'ui::es" T)e teac)er,$ ro"e$ in t)e information 0 &ap acti itie$ 1 Faci"itator /irst, as faci itator of communication, the teacher may need to perform in a variety of specific ro es, separate y or simu taneous y" These inc ude the fo owing; <=> 5e may perform the fami iar ro e of "an&%a&e in$tr%ctor" 5e is the materia" pro i+er and acti ity initiator" The students may not have the capacity to $egin the communicative information gap activity direct y $ecause they may ac! the !now edge in inguistic forms or s!i s, which compose communicative a$i ity" <2> 5e is the or&ani2er of the c assroom activities" The main aim of the teacher when organi:ing an activity is to te the students what they are to ta ! a$out <or write or read a$out>, give c ear instructions a$out what e&act y their tas! is, get the activity going, and then organi:e feed$ac! when it is over" This sounds remar!a$ y easy, $ut can $e disastrous if teachers have not thought out e&act y what they are going to say $eforehand" ?n addition to this, the teacher has to $rea! the who e c ass into pairs or groups, and decide on procedures of pair, group or c ass wor!" @hen the information gap is $eing fi ed, the teacher has to wa ! around the c assroom and ma!e sure the communication is going smooth y"

<A> 5e may $e the error-corrector" At the stage of pre)communicative activity, the inguistic errors shou d $e strict y monitored and corrected, $ut at the group wor! and c ass wor! eve s in the process of communicative activity, errors are viewed as the unavoida$ e $y)products of communication and can $e ignored un ess they hinder communication" <B> 5e may choose to $e a (y-$tan+er, ma!ing no intervention after initiating the proceedings, and et communication ta!e p ace through independent activities" <0> @hi e such an independent activity is in progress, he may act as con$%"tant or a+ i$er, wa !ing to and from in the c assroom and he ping where necessary or when as!ed" The students may have 'uestions a$out the anguage items and the map" And the teacher9s presence in this capa$i ity may $e an important psycho ogica support for many students, especia y for those who are s ow to deve op independence" 3* Participant There is no reason why the teacher shou d not participate as an e'ua in the activity" 5e can offer his information, and at the same time stimu ate and present new anguage, without ta!ing the main initiative for communication away from the students themse ves" @hen engaging in such activities, the teacher has to $e c ear in mind that he shou d act as one e'ua in position to the students and one on y authoritative and superior in anguage a$i ity and anguage teaching s!i s" 4* O($er er an+ "earner The teacher may a so act as an o$server and earner" @hen the independent activity is in progress he may move a$out the c assroom in order to monitor the strengths and wea!nesses of the students, as a $asis for p anning future earning activities" 5e can use the wea!nesses as signs for earning needs which he must cater for ater, pro$a$ y through more contro ed, pre)communicative activities"