Using information gap activities to improve 11th grader¬, speaking skill

In contrast, by using information gap activities, the teacher will motivatestudents to speak English and will create like-real situations where one of themhas some information and other

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study.

In Viet Nam , since the development of market economy, English is notonly a great interest but also an increasing demand for most people Englishnow is therefore a compulsory school subject in many schools and universities

In all the four skills of learning English, speaking obviously plays the most vitalpart in communication However, most Vietnamese learners find it hard to beable to use English in the real life The reasons may come from the fact thattraditional language teaching method like the Grammar- Translation one whichhas been applied to teach English in our country for ages In many Englishclasses, teacher and student exchanges have little communicative value becausethere is no real information being exchanged Teachers often spend a large ofproportion of class time asking “display” questions for which they and theirstudents already know the answers Here are three examples of typical displayquestions:

1 When presenting the new word “book” , the teacher holds up a book andsays: this is a book What is it?”

2 When teaching the sentence pattern for habitual actions, the teacher asks

a student,” Do you go to school everyday?”

3 When demonstrating the present continuous tense, the teacher performsthe activity, such as walking to the door, and while doing so says “ I am walking

to the door What am I doing now?”

These display questions serve only to elicit inauthentic language practiceto: present a new word( example 1), elicit a sentence pattern( example 2) orpractice a grammatical structure (example 3) They are not communicative Theydemonstrate usage rather than use of the target language

In contrast, by using information gap activities, the teacher will motivatestudents to speak English and will create like-real situations where one of themhas some information and other does not; thus, they must use the target language

to share that information The students must speak in order to be able to finishthe task In other words, information gap activities give students opportunities tomanipulate English appropriately not only inside but also outside the classroom.There have been a number of previous studies on how to exploitinformation gap activities in the speaking class Nevertheless, no researchershave examined the practice of using information gap activities to improvespeaking skill for the grader 11th in Chu Van An high school This has given theresearcher desire to carry out a research study on this issue

1.2.Objectives of the study

Doing this research , the researcher expected that the results are useful forthe English teacher of Chu Van An high school in teaching speaking, so that theEnglish teacher can create more communicative and active activities for thestudents by using information gap activities The researcher also hope to helpstudents have a better atmosphere in an English speaking class in which they are

encouraged to speak or to state their ideas, thoughts orally in English.Furthermore, using information gap activities can motivate them to speakEnglish as often as possible, so that they can improve their ability in speakingskills.

1.3 The scope of the study

Due to limited time and experience, this study focuses on how the students’speaking skills can be improved by using information gap activities

The study was limited to teach English language textbook Tieng Anh 11which is now in use in the high schools

The study was applied in the school year 2017/2018, 2018-2019, byimplementing information gap activities

1.4 Research Methodology.

This research is a classroom action research which is intended to make acontribution to the improvement of teaching and learning process by usinginformation gap activities

2 CONTENTS OF THE EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

2.1.THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1.1 Information Gap Activities

An information gap activity, in class terms, means that one student must be

in a position to tell another something that the second student does not alreadyknow

The two following examples offered by Brown and Yule (1983) willdistinguish information gap activity with other ones

Activity 1: The teacher gives the student an object to describe

Activity 2: The student A is provided with a simple drawing of a line, asquare and a triangle with a pen and a sheet of blank paper The student A’s task

is to instruct the student B to produce, as accurately as possible, the drawingwhich the student A can see but the student B can not

In activity 1, the student has to create, for himself, an artificial informationgap between his knowledge and the teacher’s He has to behave as if the teacherdoes not know what the object looks like This behavior is regarded as beingadditional and highly artificial There is no information gap because both theteacher and the student can see the object clearly and then this is not genuinelycommunicative

Differently, activity 2 is more interesting partly because it creates areasonable purpose for the students to perform the task In other words, oneperson has the information that the other does not know, so there is a need tocommunicate

This definition reflects the nature of information gap activities Ininformation gap activities, there is always an information gap amongparticipants which causes a need to communicate This characteristic ofinformation gap activities is similar to the nature of a conversation in real life Infact, the need to communicate is created when one of the participants want to

find out something they don’t know Therefore, Information gap activities can beconsidered as a bridge to bring features of real life communication intoclassroom context

2.1.2 Factors affecting the choice of information gap activities

In order to select the most effective and appropriate information gapactivities, teachers must take many factors affecting their choice intoconsideration Among them, the four following criteria need to be paid mostattention to: students’ language level, topics and objectives of each lesson, timeallowance, and teaching aids

First and foremost, students’ language level is the most significant factor

affecting the choice of an information gap activity The reason is that the activity

is under or above the students’ language level; the students may lose theirinterest when they find out that the activity is too easy or too difficult to beaccomplished The activity then is just a waste of time and effort

Secondly, the information gap activity which is chosen must suit the

particular objectives of each lesson The teacher should not let his students

perform an information gap activity which is claimed to develop students’ ability

of using common expression in making small talks whereas the topic of thelesson is about technology and the lesson is targeted at developing students’capacity of talking about the uses of mordent invention in daily life Therefore,

in order to pick out suitable information gap activities, the topic and objectives

of each lesson need to be clarified right from the start

Another important factor must be considered carefully is time allowance for

the activity For instance, an information gap activity set for warming up the classshould be spent just below ten minutes while fifteen to twenty minutes can bespent on an information gap activity used in order to practice newly presentedlanguage items

Last but not least, teaching aids (cards, pictures, flashcards, etc.) for the

information gap activities should also take a great deal of attention Sketchy orillegible cards or pictures surely depress students’ interest for the activity Aninformation gap activity that is interesting but hard to find the materials to becarried out also should be eliminated That is why, during the preparation, theteacher should assure that the aids are available, visible and attractivelypresented so he can motive his students to learn best

2.1.3 Strategies of implementing information gap activities

Information gap activities should be implemented via some strategies Thefollowing are some techniques used to implement information gap activities

2.1.3.1 Pair work or group work: In order to elicit information and opinions, the

learners need to interact among themselves They should spend most of theirtime working in pairs or groups, finding out their peers’ points of view,transmitting their own conceptions, exchanging ideas, and questing for clues forsolutions Thus, dividing the learners into pairs and groups is an inevitable andimportant strategy to implement information gap activities This ensures the

successful function of the information gap activities in teaching speaking inwhich group work can help achieve the goals of anxiety reduction andmeaningful communication (Sato,2003) However, effective group work in theclassroom does not occur automatically and thus the teacher’s carefulinvolvement is required as in the following steps:

Firstly, the teacher should plan and prepare for the group work activitiesahead of the speaking lesson ( Sato,2003) because the good designs of theactivities will result in “ more negotiation of meaning, more feedback and fasteracquisition” ( Skehan,2007,p.291)

Secondly, the engagement of the teacher in the group work is important(Ellis,2003.p.70)

Thirdly, the teacher should allot roles to each member within groupreasonably (Sato,2003) As, Ellis(2003,p.271) suggests that mixed groupsincluding different proficient members can work better than “ homogeneousgroup” Additionally, Jacobs( 1998, as cited in Ellis,2003) suggests that “ thestudents ate seated in a way that they can talk together easily, keep eye contact ,share materials and talk in a lower voice”

In fact, information gap activities assist students to achieve their goals ofmeaningful communication Through pair and group work they can get moreopportunities to speak and feel more confident about speaking after cooperating

to practice Furthermore, they get enjoyment from learning language, whichmotivates them to reach a higher level But teachers should take intoconsideration that group work in speaking also has its negative effects Forinstance, students may overuse the first language or “ engage in off tasktalk”( Ellis,2003,p.168)

2.1.3.2 Personalization and individualization: according to Zhang (2004) as

quoted in Defrioka (2009,p.40) information gap activities collect views not onlyfrom others but also from one’s own contributions as well It is both speakers’conceptions that close the gap between them

2.1.3.3 Interest: interest is particular important for the implementation of

information gap activities To stimulate learners’ involvement, interest requiresthat the activities be designed with some essential characteristics, such as those

in games, role playing, curiosity arousing activities, imagination involvingactivities, real life touching experiencing activities, visual or auditory attractingactivities, in addition to a clear goal and a meaningful problem solving process.Making the information gap activities interesting will ensure a high involvement

of learners and keeps the motivation on going

2.1.3.4 Variety: a variety of information gap activities and techniques are

always essential in all teaching and learning They will accommodate varieties

of learning styles and individuals

2.1.3.5 Open ending: this means “ the provision of cues or learning tasks which

do not have single predetermine “right” answers, but a prospectively unlimitednumber of acceptable responses” ( Ur,1996,p.309) Open ended cues in

information gap activities supply possibilities at various levels and dimensions.Thus activate an increase in number of learners’ responses from elementary toadvanced, from simple to sophisticated, and from textbooks to personalexperiences Open ended strategy allow learners opportunities for choosingappropriate languages, topics and paces, which promotes a significant rise in theproportion of learners’ participation

2.2.THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING SPEAKING PART.

2.2.1 An overview of Chu Van An high school

Teacher

Most of the English teachers think the aims of teaching speaking English ishow to make students communicate effectively and naturally in real life.However they found some problems in getting students’ attention andparticipations in speaking class Furthermore, the students are so active andnoisy They are hesitant and unconfident when they speak in front of class Thus,when asking English teacher about what causes these problem most of themthought that the cause may be because of the teacher’s teaching method.Students are not motivated enough in learning English The English teacheroften use the same method in every speaking lesson They often give a sampledialogue to students, ask them to read and practice with their partner After that,the teachers ask students to make a similar dialogue with the teacher’s help byproviding words, structures Whenever students do not understand theirinstruction, the teacher uses Vietnamese to explain Then, teachers asks them tomemorize and perform in front of the class

In addition, English teachers see that most of their students speaking ability

is low They are shy and hesitant when they speak English even inside or outsideclassroom They can not express idea or give opinion in real communicationwell

The English teacher teaching method is boring, unmotivated and uncreative.They rarely facilitate the students in communicative activities

Students

Most of students want to learn English well, they like it but they are notmotivated in learning because English is very boring and difficult The studentsmeet some problems in speaking English They do not understand what theirteacher explains There are so many new words and structures They do notbrave to speak English The causes for these problem may be because they arelack of confidence , lack of motivation and lack of vocabulary, etc

From the above fact, the researcher see that He should use an active andcreative activity to motivate students’ speaking skills Information gap is veryuseful for organizing these such activities The teacher is able to improve thestudents’ speaking ability because information gap activities increase studenttalk and promote interaction among students for communicative purposes ratherthan the students become comfortable to speak everything

2.2.2 The English Language syllabus

Our school’s 11th Grade English Language textbook “ Tieng Anh 11” It is

a traditional textbook structured with a priority towards theme-based or based learning models The textbook has desirable aims of providing studentswith a foundational knowledge of numerous fields, a favorable attitude towardsthe English Language, and the four skills generally recognized as buildingproficiency in language study: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing

For each topic, related vocabulary and word studies are presentedcommunicatively The book contains sixteen units, with each unit presentingfive lessons with four different skills and a language focus Speaking is thesecond unit in each lesson.Some tasks in the text book are difficult while someothers are not really challenging This disparity requires teachers to creativelymotivate students by adapting exercises to their interest levels Being effective atthis adaptive skill is what sets teachers apart (average from excellent)worldwide

2.3 METHODOLOGY

2.3.1 Research design.

This research is a Classroom Action Research (CAR) Action research is

an action that is done by the teachers to improve the teaching and learningprocess in their classes This research consisted of 2 cycles and each cyclesconsisted of 4 elements The researcher used the scheme of action researchdesigned by Kemmis and McTaggart as follow:

Figure Action research cycles by Kemmis and McTaggart

Based on the model above, the first step is planning In this step, theresearcher found some problems in classes Then, after planning the actions, theresearcher took actions to solve the problems While taking actions, theresearcher also observed the teaching learning process to know the effect of theactions This is also the stage where the researcher collected information asmuch as possible related to the implementation of the actions The last step wasreflection where the researcher evaluated and reflected on what he had done Inthis research , the researcher used information gap activities to improve thespeaking skills of grade 11 students in Chu Van An high school

2.3.2 The implementation of information gap activities in teaching

speaking

In this implementation, the researcher arranged the pre-test and post-testorally The pre-test was administered to the students under study before thetreatment was given to know the students’ pre-existing ability in speaking.Besides, the post-test were administered to know the students’ progress after thetreatments were given

In the pre-test, the students under study were asked to construct and

perform the descriptive monologue The students could choose the topics whichwere provided by the researcher They could describe their best friend, dailyactivity, family or school in front of the class within 2 until 3 minutes Theresearcher scored the students’ performance by using the rubric which had threecategories The categories were grammar , fluencies and comprehension ( seeappendix 3)

After knowing that the students’ speaking ability is low, that can be seen inthe result of pre-test score, the researcher prepared 2 cycles Each cycle consists

of four steps They were planning, action, observation and reflection After eachcycle was done, the researcher conducted post-test to know the improvement ofspeaking ability The description of each cycle can be explained as follow

2.3.2.1 Cycle 1

a Planning

Planning was focused on preparing the lesson plan , teaching aids fordoing an action in the classroom The lesson plans were suitable with the 11thgrade and the information gap activities that is sharing information withunrestricted cooperation It was divided into two meeting, 45 minute for the firstmeeting and 45 minute for the second meeting The researcher prepared somepictures and the activities related to the topic This cycle was carried out to solvethe problem in the pre-test, which was students still low in speaking ability Toavoid the students’ boredom, the researcher designed different activities in eachmeeting

b Action

Action means the activities that the researcher really did in the classroom There were two meetings in this cycle In this phase, the researcher taught and

the teacher sat down, observed and monitored all the activities that happened inthe classroom.

First meeting.

Date: March, 25 th , 2018

Topic: Sources of energy.

The researcher began the lesson with a warm up activity by watching avideo of sources of energy and answer questions about it The researcher alsosupplied new words and structures Then, the researcher gave a student onepicture of sources of energy while he had six ones His duty was to ask anddescribe about the advantage and disadvantage of these sources of energy inorder to find out which one is student’s energy picture This activity was asample activity to help student practice later

After giving the sample activity, the researcher asked students to work inpairs with their partner This time, the partner given 6 pictures of sources ofenergy and the other was given a picture The student had to practice with theirpartner the activity which had been performed before The teacher called thestudents to go in front of the class with their partner The teacher gave sixpictures to the other They performed what they had practiced, but a picture held

by a partner was selected by the teacher At this time, there are some studentspractice and the teacher motivated them by giving additional score for theperson who was volunteer to perform in front of the class

The researcher asked students to work in pairs Each student had 5 pieces

of paper on that the researcher wrote 5 hobbies that people often like to do.Student A arranged the pieces of paper in his/her way and the student B had torearranged his/her paper the same sequences as student A but he/she may not seestudent A’ papers Student A’s duty is to instruct and direct student B bydescribing, asking questions so that student B can arrange the same sequence asstudent A’s If they finished , they could change the turn to each other

After practicing with partner, the researcher asked two students went infront of the class to perform but at this time the papers are different from thepapers given to them before and the researcher was the person to arrange thepaper

c Observation

The researcher observed the teaching learning process in order to get thedata from students’ progresses From the result of the pre test, the researcherfound that before using information gap activities, students were not running

well They were hesitant and unconfident when they perform in front of theclass They had difficulties in expressing ideals and thought orally However ,the researcher found that in the first cycle , after using information gapactivities, the student may speak English more confidently They are initiative inspeaking by using grammar and vocabulary correctly They could makequestions and answer them fluently Especially, they are motivated by theteacher Most of them were ready to perform in front of the class Although therewere some students still have difficulties in using vocabulary and grammar butthey understood how to use them They only need more activities to apply them.

d Reflection.

After analyzing the data and evaluating the result of observation ofteaching learning process in cycle 1, the researcher should pay attention to thestudents who were shy and not confident enough to speak English Furthermore,

he should recognize the student who got difficult to understand and oftenproduce incorrect speaking

When the researcher categorized these kinds of students, first the researchercould ask them to speak English with him so that the researcher can correct theerrors that they made, second the researcher could put them in pairs or groupswho have a good ability in speaking English They can give peer correction

To sum up, after using information gap activities in cycle 1, the researcherfound that the students’ speaking English is more fluently and correctly

2.3.2.2 Cycle 2

a Planning

After cycle 1, the researcher found that using information gap activitieshelped students improve their speaking English better However, the researcherdidn’t satisfy with this result because there were some students who still havedifficulties in using grammar structures and vocabularies correctly Thus, theresearcher decided to continue the next cycle to improve the students’ speakingability The second cycle was carried out to improve the problem in cycle 1

b Action

The researcher continued applying information gap activities in this cycle

to improve students’ speaking ability There were three meeting in this cycle ,including post - test They are described as follow

Fist meeting

Date: April, 14 th , 2018.

Topic: Space conquest

To motivate students in the new lesson, the researcher warm up them with asmall game ( quiz game) The questions in the game were related in the topic.Then , the researcher divided students into groups, each group had fourmembers The researcher prepared 10 important events in space exploration.However, each event was cut up into pieces of paper The students worked ingroups Each member in group handed one or two pieces of the event Without

seeing each other ‘s paper, the student in the group must decide the originalsequence of the event

After that they discussed about the event and created a story withoutwriting it The researcher helped students if necessary After discussing, theresearcher called two member of each group to perform their story in front ofthe class The researcher chose the students to perform randomly This activityhelped students to improve their description and narration language

The second meeting.

Date: April, 25 th ,2018.

Topic: The wonders of the world

The researcher warmed up students with a suitable activity that was related

to the topic ( such as brainstorming the wonders of the world) She also preparedtwo kinds of paper The first paper is the list of wonders of the world Thesecond paper is the list of the characteristics of these wonders ( construction,special features, attraction….) Then the researcher asked students to work inpairs , one student had a paper consists of the names of wonders, one had apaper consists of their characteristics The students may not see the other’spaper Students worked in pairs to decide which characteristics belongs towhich wonder by describing and asking questions Students took turn in thisactivity In order to help students to understand how to do this activity, theresearcher asked a student who has a good ability in English to come forwardand perform this activity with the researcher in front of the class After studentspracticed with their partners, the researcher called students to perform in front ofthe class

Third meeting ( post - test).

Date: May, 2 rd ,2018.

Topic: The beauty of Vietnam

The researcher gave warm up activity related to the topic The activity used

in this test was the same activity with the second meeting but the topic wasdifferent The researcher asked students to work in pairs Then , he gave astudent in each partner a paper consists of 10 provinces, while the other wasgiven a paper consists of 20 things that may be found in these provinces Then,the researcher asked them to work with their partner to decide things that might

be found in each province by discussing and arguing After practicing, theresearcher called students’ name two by two She selected the name randomly.Then she gave them two papers as the papers that had been given to thembefore The researcher also invited the English teacher to assess students’performances The test run for 45 minutes

c Observation

After observation the second cycles, the researcher found that by usinginformation gap activities students’ speaking English become better They werevery enthusiastic to follow the teaching learning process Most of the students

are more confident and initiative in expressing their idea or thought orally inEnglish They are willing to be volunteers when the researcher asked them tospeak or answer the questions They could use grammar structures correctly.

d Reflection

Based on the result of the observation, the researcher evaluated the result ofimplementation of using information gap activities for the 11th grader as follow.Most of the students are braver, more confident and easier to understand Englishspeaking and easier to use grammatical rules and vocabulary items fluently andcorrectly Furthermore, students may use English in real communication Theyare willing to speak, and communicate with their teachers and friends outsideclassroom To know the progress of the students’ speaking ability afterconducting the research for 2 cycles ( with 5 meetings), the researcher displayedstudents’ progress on their pre-test and post-test

2.3.3 SOME EFFECTIVE INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES TO

TEACH SPEAKING TO 11 GRADERS 2.3.3.1 Speaking activities based on information gap activities

The teacher should design the speaking activity so as to provide anopportunity for learners to produce language that they had recently learnt inorder to prepare the learner for later communicative activity by providing themwith the necessary linguistic form and the necessary links between forms andmeanings

According to William Littlewood (p.40,2006) speaking activities based oninformation gap principle can be divided into some categories, those are:

1 Identifying pictures: learner A has a set of four, five or six pictures which

are very similar in content, but contain a number of distinguishing features.Learner B has a copy of these pictures , learner A must find out which of thepictures learner B is holding, by asking him questions about it

2 Discovering identical pairs: In this activity the students work in groups,

for instance, one group consists of five students Four pictures are given amongfour students and the fifth learner in the group holds a duplicate of one of thesepictures He must ask the others to discover which learner has the pictureidentical to his own

3 Discovering sequences or location: learner A has a set of six patterns.

These are arranged into a sequence from one to six Learner B has the same set

of patterns, but these are not in sequence Learner B must discover the sequence

of A’s pictures and arrange his pictures in the same way

4 Discovering missing information or features: learner A has information

represented in tabular or picture form However, some items of information havebeen deleted from the table or picture Learner B has an identical table or picturebut different items of information have been deleted Each learner can completehis own table or picture by asking his partner for the information that he lacks

5 Communicating patterns and pictures: learner A has an assortment of

shapes which he arranges into a pattern Learner B has the same shapes They