Using information gaps in teaching english speaking skills for 10th new program graders

Currently, teaching high school English is the directionfor students to perfect 4 skills Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing, in whichfocusing on developing communication skills for

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Samples of information gap activities for speaking skills in

English program 10 which I have ever applied: 8

3.9 Sample 9: Unit 9: Preserving the environment 26

In order to meet the constant development of society and the country's integrationtrend, the promotion of students' competences in a comprehensive way is a central issue ofVietnam's education and is receiving social special attentions The developmentorientation of learners' competency towards the educational program entails an inevitablerequirement to innovate teaching methods Finding the right method to help students havethe ability to use English independently, and confidently communicate is an importanttask of every classroom teacher Currently, teaching high school English is the directionfor students to perfect 4 skills Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing, in whichfocusing on developing communication skills for students to help students have the ability

to use Using English as a communication tool at a basic level, proceeding to form theability to use English easily and effectively in common communication Therefore,English teachers need to focus on language teaching skills, be flexible in organizingteaching activities, use active teaching methods to bring the highest teaching efficiency According to the need to reform foreign language teaching and learning activities in theproject "National Foreign Language 2020", the Ministry of Education and Trainingemphasized the enhancement of effectiveness in both foreign language teaching andStudents becoming more active in learning foreign languages are two issues that need to

be addressed Students need to develop comprehensively their foreign language abilities

to help them confidently use English in everyday life alongside their native language,Vietnamese, thereby helping students meet their communication needs for integration,cultural, economic & social exchanges between countries

English is widely used in most of the fields in our society today In exams such asgraduating from the national high school, entrance exam for specialized schools English

is one of the compulsory subjects, however, the reality of teaching English in high schoolsstill remains This is a difficult problem, especially in suburban districts like Quynh Luu.Difficulties pile up difficulties For a few selected classes at Quynh Luu 2 High School,learning and communicating in English have met certain difficulties For general classes,students have more difficulties when practicing Listening and Speaking Students areoften very confused, shy, lack of confidence and they have difficulties in using English.One of the reasons may be the lack of communication environment In most classes,students only come to class to listen to the teacher lecture without actually communicating

in English Teachers also often use the tasks that are designed in the textbook withoutcreating a real English communication environment for the students That situation hasmade every teacher in the classroom like me ponder about how to help students not onlyunderstand and deepen their knowledge, but also help them practice a real Englishspeaking environment more so that they can improve their speaking skills and becomemore confident in using English Therefore, I have researched and boldly applied themethod

"Using information gaps in teaching English speaking skills for 10 th new program graders”

When writing this experiential initiative, I just hope to share some types of informationgaps exercises used in teaching speaking skills to students in the English 10th newprogram, as well as application steps to take to help students enjoy learning and improvetheir speaking skills.

II Aims of the study.

The aims of the study are:

- To help students be able to ask yes / no questions about a certain topic such as:housework, television programs, world cultures inventions, types of pollution, sometourist destinations

- To help students be able to form a descriptive sentence about something like chores

- To help students be able to ask and answer simple questions about a certain topic suchas: habits, the TV program, similarities and differences, the use of electronic devices forlearning, certain types of pollution

- To help students be able to talk about what they like / dislikes

- To help students be able to ask and answer questions about a particular invention, itsfeatures, its uses, and its benefits

- To help students express their point of view about a certain topic

III Methods of the study.

- Observation method: document research, observation of students' attitude in speakinglessons

- Method of exchange and discussion: after attending hours of colleagues, my colleagues,

my colleagues and I conduct exchanges and discussions to draw out lessons for lessons

- Experimental method: Teachers conduct experimental teaching of information gapactivities during speaking lessons

IV Scope of the study.

- Practical research on 10th graders of Quynh Luu 2 High School Quynh Luu District Nghe An Province

The main research object that I have ever applied this topic is class 10A1 a generalclass that mainly focuses on average and weak students

PART B: CONTENT

I The theoretical and practical backgrounds.

1 Theoretical background.

Considering the great advantages of information gap mentioned, there are a variety ofdifferent ways to use information gap in the classroom I myself have applied someuseful information gap above to help students get movitated and improve the learningatmosphere in English classroom I have been using information gap in English learningclassroom in 10A6 grader And I amazingly found that they have made teaching andlearning easier, faster and more pleasing:

2 Practical background.

Unlike traditional method of teaching and learning in which teacher is seen as a

disseminator who will bring all necessary informations to students passively The

assessment mainly relies on paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that simply presents established facts or portrays a smooth path to knowledge instead ofposing questions, problems, or scenarios Thus, students may have few opportunities to develop their cooperative learning skills and self-evaluation.Students are even learned in boring classes without media Information gap to help students get movitated and

improve the learning atmosphere in English classroom,where students work in

collaborative real-world investigations They will become centered-learner of the

learning process and assessment Almost students have motivation in learning English They are more attentive to the lesson and eager to learn

As a result, they use the language with great interest and students feel relaxed while learning

II The solutions

1 Some information gap operations:

According to many research papers, there are different ways to classify informationgap activities In this outline of the initiative, I would like to highlight some common,relevant and easy-to-apply information gap activities which I have ever applied:

1.1 Guessing activities:

 Guess the picture

- Teacher prepares some simple pictures (like clothes, food, action, )

- Teacher selects each picture in turn and does not let students know the content ofthe picture Students guess by asking questions

T: Guess how I went to X

Ss: Did you go by car? Did you go by bus? Did you walk?

 Guess the sentence

- Teacher writes a sentence on a card without the students’ seeing, but he writesthe basic structure of the sentence on the board Students will ask questions toguess

For example: The teacher writes the structure:

I went to (somewhere) to (do something).

- Students guess the teacher's sentence correctly by asking:

Did you go to the park? Did you go to school?

Did you go to the stadium? Did you play football?

 Mime

- The teacher calls a student to the board This student will receive a description

of an action and then describe the action for you to guess

For example:

You are mending a puncture

You are mending a plug.

You are changing a light bulb.

 Guess famous people

- The teacher calls a student to the board This student will receive a description

of an action and then describe the action for you to guess

For example:

Are you still alive or dead?

Are you English?

Are you a singer?

 “What’s my line?”

- A student will choose a career and perform a typical career action The rest oneswill guess the job by asking questions

For example:

“Were you mending something?”,

“Were you digging?” or

“Do you work outside?”

 What and where:

Teacher invite 2 students out The rest of the students will hide something in theclassroom After two students enter, they will have to guess what the hidden object

is and where it is hidden

For example:

“ Is it made of wood?”,

“Is it a pencil?”,

“Is it high or low?” or

“ Is it on this side of the room?”

1.2 Exchange personal information activities:

This is one of the easiest and the most enjoyable activities in a speaking class inwhich students exchange information about themselves Students will feel morecomfortable and natural when talking about life, hobbies, with their friends Thus, anatural information gap will be formed Depending on the lesson topic, the teacher canapply this activity For example, students work in pairs and ask their friends about theirdaily routine:

“When do you get up?/ When do you have breakfast?/ What do you have for breakfast? / When do you go to school?/ How do you go to school? etc.

1.3 Jigsaw activities:

In this activity, students can be organized into individual, pair, or group form

- Each student will be assigned a different information

- Students will move around the class, in pairs, groups, to find out students withthe same information (by asking questions), or asking information in pairs, in groups

- Teachers ask students what information they have, or students give informationthey asked,

2 Tips for using information gap

- Teachers should start with familiar information gap Take real-world topic and begin an in-depth investigation Base your information gap on authentic situation or topic

Besides, the information gap should be a “now” information

– The information should be suitable with students’ age and easy to understand

- When designing a technique, teacher should have in mind which content standards will

be addressed, what kind of information to support and what materials and resources will

be accessible to the students to assist them

3 Samples of information gap activities for speaking skills in English program 10 which I have ever applied:

3.1.Sample 1: Unit 1: Family life:

Activity 1: Guessing game:

- Objective: Help students ask yes / no questions about housework.

- Proceed: + Teacher calls 1 student on the board

+ This student will choose a random picture, the rest of the students willask yes / no questions to guess what the house is about.( kind of household chores)

- Handout:

Activity 2: miming:

- Objective: help students be able to form sentences to describe chores

( do household chores)

- Procedure: The teacher calls a student to the board This student will receive a

description of a chore, and then act it out for their guesses

For example:

e.g You are sweeping the floor

You are ironing the clothes.

You are shopping for groceries.

- Handout:

Activity 3: Exchanging personal information:

- Objective: To help students be able to ask simple questions about similarities and

differences

- Proceed: + Students work in pairs

+ Teachers give handouts to students

+ Based on handouts, students will ask and answer to find the similarityand difference

+ Students present their answers

Do the washing

Do the washing-up

Mopping the floor

Cleaning the floor

Taking out the rubbish

Other:

Activity 4: Jigsaw

- Objective: Help students be able to talk about what they like / dislikes (likes /

dislikes)

- Proceed: + Students work in groups, 04 students / group

+ Each student / group receives 1 card with specific household choresrequirement

+ Students work in groups and make a chore list for each person (Famillychore chart)

+ Students practice talking about the habits they have

- Handout:

3.2.Sample 2: Unit 2: Your body and you:

Activity 1: Jigsaw:

- Objective: Help students practice talking about the habit

- Proceed:

+ Teacher gives each student a piece of paper with a different habit

+ Students will move around the classroom and ask questions to find out who has thesame habit

+ Students practice talking about the habits they have

- Handout:

leaving things until the last minute

watching TV all daynever giving upLitteringarriving just in time

Getting up early doing regular exercisesaving moneyreading regularlyeating what you like

Activity 2: Exchanging personal information:

- Objective: Help students be able to ask and answer questions about habits.

- Proceed:

+ Students work in pairs

+ Each student will be given 2 handouts

+ Students work in pairs, ask and answer questions to find out what habits theyhave in common and compare the frequency of that habit

- Handout:

Doing regular exercise

Leaving things until

the last minute

Arriving just in time

Reading comic books

3.3.Sample 3: Unit 3: Music

Activity 1: Guessing game:

- Objective: Help students ask yes / no questions about television programs.

- Proceed: + Teacher calls a student to the board

+ Students choose a picture of a TV show (TV show)

+ The rest of the students will ask yes / no questions to guess the name ofthat program

- Handout:

Activity 2: Jigsaw:

- Objective: Help students be able to ask and answer questions about the TV

program

- Proceed: + Students work in pairs

+ Teacher gives each pair 2 cards with missing information

+ Each student will ask and answer questions to complete theirquestionnaire, and then guess the name of the program

- Handout:

3.4 Sample 4: Unit 4: For a better community:

Activity 1: Guessing game:

- Objective: Help students be able to ask and answer yes / no questions.

- Proceed: + Teacher calls a student to come up to the board and choose one of the

available activities (prepared by the teacher)

+ Other students ask yes / no questions to guess what the activity is

Lists of activities:

+ Building houses

+ Fixing running water

+ Building schools + Widening roads

+ Teaching children

+ Directing the traffic

- Handout:

Activity 2: Jigsaw:

- Objective: Help students be able to ask and answer questions about the available

activities

- Proceed: + Students work in pairs

+ Teacher gives each pair 2 cards with missing information

+ Each student will ask and answer questions to complete theirquestionnaire, and then guess the name of the available activities

- Handout:

CARD A Activity: Teaching children.

Place :

Students taught are: orphans.