The use of information gap activities in improving students speaking skill

iv TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Purposes of the study Research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Method of the study Design of the study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative Language Teaching 2.1.1 Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching 2.1.2 Cooperative Learning 2.2 Speaking skills 2.2.1 What is speaking? 2.2.2 Speaking skill in CLT 2.2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 10 2.2.4 Problems in teaching and learning speaking skill 11 2.3 Information-gap activities 12 2.3.1 Definitions of information-gap activity 12 2.3.2 Roles of information-gap activities 12 2.3.3 Kinds of information-gap activities 13 2.3.4 Roles of teachers and students in information-gap activities 14 2.3.4.1 Roles of teachers 14 2.3.4.3 Roles of students 16 2.3.5 Benefits of using information-gap activities in teaching speaking skill 16 2.3.5.1 Increasing students’ motivation for speaking 16 2.3.5.2 Ensuring equal students’ participation 17 2.3.5.3 Developing both accuracy and fluency of students 17 2.3.5.4 Improving students’ ability of negotiating meaning 17 CHAPTER III: THE STUDY 3.1 Setting of the study 17 v 3.2 The study 18 3.2.1 Methodology 18 3.2.1.1 Subjects 18 3.2.1.2 Methods of data collection 19 3.2.1.2.1 Questionnaires for students 19 3.2.1.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers 19 3.2.1.2.3 Classroom observation 20 3.2.1.2.4 Interviews 20 3.2.2 Data analysis 20 3.2.2.1 Data analysis of students’ survey questionnaire and direct interview 20 3.2.2.2 Data analysis of teachers’ survey questionnaire and direct interview 27 3.2.2.3 Classroom observation 35 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 4.1 Findings 38 4.2 Discussion 40 4.3 Implications 40 4.4 Limitations of the study 42 4.5 Suggestions for further researches 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX I APPENDIX V APPENDIX IX APPENDIX X APPENDIX XI APPENDIX XIV vi ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching CL: Cooperative Learning FICT: Faculty of International Cooperation and Training HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry IG: Information Gap L1: First Language L2: Second Language STT: Student’s Talking Time TTT: Teacher’s Talking Time vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Chart 1: frequency of trainees’ being let join in IG activities in speaking lessons Chart 2: trainees’ opinions of the sufficiency of IG activities in creating motivation Chart 3: trainees’ evaluation of teachers’ performance Chart 4: the learning atmosphere during IG activities Chart 5: the frequency of teachers’ using different kinds of IG activities Table 1: teachers’ grouping techniques for pair/group work (1) Table 2: teacher’s behavior during IG activities Table 3: teacher’s correction of trainees’ mistakes Table 4: trainees’ motivation for using English in speaking lessons Table 5: the degree of trainees’ interest in each kind of IG activities Table 6: trainees’ evaluation of the effectiveness of IG activities Table 7: Teachers’ purposes of using information-gap activities in speaking lessons Table 8: Teacher’s criteria for choosing a suitable IG activity Table 9: Teachers’ adaptation of activities Table 10: teachers’ grouping techniques for pair/group work (2) Table 11: Teachers’ instructions Table 12: Teachers’ monitoring during the activity Table 13: Teachers’ scaffolding Table 14: Teachers’ encouragement to trainees’ use of English in an IG activity Table 15: Teachers’ difficulties in conducting an IG activity Table 16: teachers’ evaluation of the effectiveness of IG activity CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the rationale, purpose, scope, research questions, significance, research methods and design of the study Rationale Nowadays, when Vietnam is on the way to regional and global integration, a demand for training students as competent communicators has been made for Vietnamese education in general and foreign language education in particular A high proficiency of spoken English becomes not only an academic goal but one of the crucial keys to access advanced science and technology However, there exists one problem that teachers and students of English in Vietnam cope with: the target language is mainly used in the classroom and learners have few opportunities to use English in authentic contexts outside the classroom This problem sets a challenging task for teachers of English in Vietnam; that is to design communicative activities which can provide students with “real” contexts for negotiating meaning so that they can develop communicative competence This requires some changes in teaching approach from the traditional one which put emphasis on the production of accurate grammatical sentences into CLT approach which focuses on developing learners‟ communicative competence, i.e the ability to communicate through language In CLT, learner-learner interaction is paid more attention through some classroom tasks like problem solving, decision – making, opinion exchange, picture dictation and jig saw tasks, etc However, if teachers want to make these tasks beneficial and motivative to students, they should take into consideration the following questions raised by Hedge (2002: 263, cited in Rong & Lanying, 2008): Which activities encourage participation from all students and so ensure that they all get practice opportunities? Which activities oblige negotiation of meaning? In order to determine the effectiveness of classroom activities, a search for teachers and students‟ opinions of these activities is necessary because students may undervalue the activities assigned by teachers if there are any differences between their beliefs and teachers‟ ones This may cause students‟ inactive participation and gradual loss of motivation to learning The above reasons have urged the author to conduct a study to show a picture of students and teacher‟s opinions concerning the effectiveness of classroom activities with a focus on information gap tasks and try to draw some implications for effectively teaching spoken English for pre-departure trainees who are at elementary level at FICT – HaUI It is hoped that this study will lay a foundation on which subsequent research into this matter is based and developed Purposes of the study The study is to investigate the use of information-gap activities in improving pre-departure trainees‟ speaking skill, specifically: - To investigate the current practice of information-gap activities in speaking lessons at FICT, HaUI - To explore pre-departure trainees ‟ attitudes towards the implementation of information-gap activities in speaking lesson - To explore teachers‟ attitudes towards the implementation of information-gap activities in speaking lesson Research questions a What are pre-departure trainees‟ attitudes towards the implementation of information-gap activities in speaking lessons? b What are teachers‟ attitudes towards the implementation of information-gap activities in speaking lessons? c How effective is the implementation of teaching speaking through information-gap activities to pre-departure trainees at Faculty of International Cooperation and Training? Scope of the study Learners‟ success or failure in learning speaking can be affected by many factors which are closely related Among these factors, their opinions about what the teacher implements in speaking lessons need taking into consideration However, this study only focuses on predeparture trainees ‟ opinions about the implementation of information-gap activities in teaching speaking, particularly, their evaluation of the effectiveness of these activities in terms of promoting their participation and encouraging them to use English in speaking lessons The 200 subjects chosen for this research are pre-departure trainees at preparatory stage at FICT – HaUI Therefore, it cannot be said that the results of the study are general to all Vietnamese non-English majors In addition, due to the time limitation, the researcher observes only two classes, it seems not reliable enough to come to the conclusion Significance of the study The study is carried out with the hope to provide teachers of English at FICT – HaUI with a deeper understanding about benefits of using IG activities in teaching speaking skill In addition, it is hoped that the study will be of great use in helping teachers find an effective way to increase their students‟ participation as well as encourage them to use English in speaking lessons Methods of the study A survey is done by delivering a questionnaire to 30 teachers of English and another questionnaire to 200 pre-departure trainees at FICT - HaUI who are being taught speaking skills under the process-based approach Furthermore, interviews with pre-departure trainees and teachers and a class observation are also carried out to investigate how information-gap activities are implemented in speaking lessons at FICT – HaUI and the trainees‟ participation All the collected information and data are analyzed and discussed Design of the study The thesis consists of four chapters as follows: Chapter provides a general introduction, including the background for the research topic and its aim, significance, scope, research questions and the design of the thesis Chapter is an attempt to review some theoretical background for the study The two underlying theories: communicative approach and cooperative learning which are the background for information-gap activities to occur are discussed In addition, the teaching of speaking and an overview of information-gap activities are also presented Chapter presents the methodology underlying the study, including the background information of the context where the study is conducted, the subjects, the instruments used to collect data, and the procedures of data collection Besides, the teaching and learning English at FICT – HaUI is described Furthermore, a detailed description of data analysis is presented Chapter is the conclusion of the study Some explanations, interpretations of the findings of the study and some pedagogical implications are given in this chapter In addition, some possible suggestions for further research are also discussed CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter aims to explore the theoretical background for the thesis, focusing on the following points: an overview of Communicative Language Teaching, speaking skills and information-gap activities 2.1 Communicative Language Teaching 2.1.1 Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching The communicative approach (Communicative Language Technique or CLT) emphasizes communication as the means and goal of foreign language learning The communicative approach aims to help students use the target language in a variety of contexts Its primary focus is to help learners create meaning rather than help them develop perfect grammar or acquire native-like pronunciation This means that successfully learning a foreign language is assessed in terms of how learners have developed their communicative competence (Hymes, 1972) The communicative approach is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching rather than as a teaching method As such, it is most often defined as a list of general principles One of the most recognized of these lists is five features of CLT pointed out by Nunan (1989): - An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language - The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation - The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language, but also on the Learning Management process - An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning - An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom These five principles show that the communicative approach is focused on the needs and desires of their learners Unlike L1 acquisition where the contexts for language use are always available both inside and outside the classroom, when students learn a foreign language or second language, they not have such many opportunities to use the target language outside the classroom Therefore, bringing authentic materials into the classroom is very important, and CLT meets this demand when it provides students activities which have a close relationship to real communication everyday In other words, CLT makes the classroom closer to real-life language situations Only when students are exposed to reallife situations, their true desire for communication is created That is the way that CLT create desire for communication for students Richards and Rodgers (1986: 71) also points out some main features of CLT as follows: - Language is a system for the expression of meaning - The primary function of language is for interaction and communication - The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses - The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse These features are prerequisite to come to a conclusion that CLT is rich or combine whatever seem the best or most useful things from many different areas or systems at the level of language theory Based on these principles of CLT, it can be concluded that any teaching practice that helps students develop their communicative competence in an authentic context is considered an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction Therefore, in the classroom, the communicative approach often takes the form of pair work and group work, i.e cooperative learning, requiring negotiation and co-operation between learners, fluency based activities that encourage learners to develop their confidence, role plays in which students practice and develop language functions, as well as discreet use of grammar and pronunciation activities 2.1.2 Cooperative Learning (CL) CL has received much attention of many researchers and become popular for the past decade In general, CL is one instructional strategy which is under the learner – centered approach According to Slavin (1995), CL is “an instructional program in which students work in small groups to help one another master academic content.” Holding the same opinion with Slavin, Brown (1994) states that “CL involves students working together in pairs or groups, and they share information They are a team whose players must work together in order to achieve goals successful” Kressler (1992) gives a more specific definition of CL in terms of language learning context He claims that CL is one way of grouping students of different levels of language proficiency when working together on specific tasks so that all of them can gain benefit from the “interactive experience” As Johnson, Johnson and Holubec (1994) state “cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups through which students work together to maximize their own and each other‟s learning." In classrooms where collaboration is practiced, students pursue learning in groups of varying size: negotiating, initiating, planning and evaluating together Rather than working as individuals in competition with every other individual in the classroom, students are given the responsibility of creating a learning community where all students participate in significant and meaningful ways CL requires that students work together to achieve goals which they could not achieve individually According to Johnson (2005), cooperation is not assigning a job to a group of students where one student does all the work and the others put their names on the paper It is also not having students a task individually with instructions that the ones who finish first are to help the lower students On the contrary, CL is a teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject Each member of the group is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping their partners learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement Most teachers understand the value of collaborative work in classrooms and plan for their students to work in pairs and groups Students come to understand and extend the concepts they need for their learning as they interact with each other and negotiate new learning Different learning activities have different purposes – for example, activities in which students are asked to share different points of view or to reach a consensus help them come to grips with a range of perspectives on a particular topic or concept Such activities can also support students‟ language learning If teachers want their students to engage in negotiation and interaction that promotes language learning, there are particular ways that we can structure their learning tasks Teachers are familiar with the use of the terms „task‟ and „learning task‟ to describe any piece of work a teacher assigns to students to advance their learning In the context of language learning and teaching, Ellis (1999) defines the word „task‟ in a more specific way, to describe a learning activity in which learners use the language they are learning for real communication A „task‟ in Ellis‟s sense is called a „language-learning task‟ Ellis describes a task as an activity that:  requires the learners to focus primarily on meaning  has some kind of gap that the learners can close by communicating 42 clarification and confirmation When they know these strategies, not only L2 meaning negotiation in group contexts is encouraged, but students‟ confidence to communicate in the target language is also built Students should also be taught more about strategic competence such as how to initiate, terminate, maintain, repair and redirect communication as well as the appropriate language to use in certain situations When students have fewer problems with language, they are more likely to take active roles in the class Moreover, interesting topics of acceptable language level are suggested to motivate students to use more English in class - When students are working in groups or pairs, teachers should circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right track and see whether they need your help Staying at their seat and ask for students‟ participation, teachers cannot involve all students into the activity as well as control students‟ use of English - Teachers should give corrective feedback on students‟ performance at the end of the task in order to avoid making students discouraged As the research result indicates, students sometimes receive too much criticism for their speaking task, which makes them desperate Therefore, teachers should also balance positive and negative responses Finally, IG activities themselves cannot work effectively Also it takes time and effort of teachers as well as students for stable effectiveness to take place 4.4 Limitations of the study Although the study is carefully and clearly designed and based on reliable data, it has the following major limitations: First, the study only considers the implementation of IG activities in one particular pedagogical situation – the pre-departure speaking class Second, there are many other communicative activities which can help students to improve their speaking skill; however, the study only focused on IG activities as an effective tool to improve students‟ speaking skill Third, the suggestions made in the study focus on English teachers only There are no suggestions on other aspects as changes in the University disciplines, improvement of the textbook and so on 4.5 Suggestions for further researches Using communicative activities in teaching speaking still remains a wide area to study Further research should have a deeper insight into the exploitation of other communicative 43 activities to develop speaking skill As for exploiting IG activities in teaching and learning speaking skill, I would suggest that research on developing a collection of IG activities for particular course books would contribute to deal with the shortage of applicable materials for teachers Besides, studies on teachers‟ difficulties in selecting and adapting IG activities or criteria to choose suitable activities would be worth considering 44 REFERENCES Bailey, K.M (2005), Practical English language Teaching: Speaking, McGraw-Hill, New York Basturkmen, H (unknown date), Using learners‟ writing for oral information-gap activities Retrieved 23 December, 2010, from http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol32/no1/p50.htm#special_21 Breen, M & Candlin, C N (1980), The essentials of a communicative curriculum in language teaching, Applied Linguistics, (1), 89-112 Brown, G & Yule, G (1983), Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Brown, H (1994), Principles of language learning and teaching, Prentice Hall, New Jersey Bygate, M (1987), Speaking, Oxford University Press, New York Byrne, D (1976), Teaching Oral English, Longman Group Limited, London Craft, H (1978), An Introduction to English Language Teaching, Longman, London Ellis, R (1999), Learning a Second Language Through Interaction, John Benjamin Publishing Company, Amsterdam 10 Ellis, R (2003), Task-based Language Learning and Teaching, Oxford University Press, New York 11 Ellis, R (2005), Instructed second language acquisition: A literature review, Ministry of Education, New Zealand 12 Harley, B., Allen, P (Eds) (1990), The development of L2 proficiency, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 13 Harmer, J (1991), The practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, New Work 14 Harmer, J (2007), How to teach English, Longman, London 15 Hubbard, P & Thornton, B (1987), A Training Course for TEFL, Oxford University Press, Oxford 16 Hymes, D (1972), "On communicative competence", in J.B Pride and J Holmes (eds.), Sociolinguistics, Penguin, Harmondworth 17 Johnson, D (2005), Cooperative learning: Resources for teachers, Laguna Niguel, CA: Resources for teachers 45 18 Johnson, K & Morrow, K eds (1981), Communication in the classroom: applications and methods for a communicative approach, Longman, London 19 Johnson, R.T., Johnson, D.W & Holubec, E.J (1994), Cooperative Learning in the classroom, ASCD 20 Kressler, C (1992), Cooperative Language Learning: A teacher resource book, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 21 Littlewood, W (1981), Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 22 Liu, X & Long, R (2008), Teacher roles in information-gap activities, Retrieved 28 November, 2010, from http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/uc200803/uc20080304.pdf 23 Long, M.H (1990), Task, group, and task-group interactions, In S Anivan (Ed.), Language teaching methodology for the nineties (pp 31-50), SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore 24 Morrow, K (1981), Principles of communicative methodology, In: Johnson, K & Morrow, K (eds.), Communication in the Classroom, Longman, London 25 Norman, D., Lewis, U & Hedequist, J.A (1986), Communicative Ideas: An Approach with Classroom Activities, Language Teaching Publication, London 26 Nunan, D (1989), Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 27 Platt, J., Richards, J.C., & Platt, H (1992), Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (2nd ed), Longma, New York 28 Richards, J.C & Rodgers, T.S (1986), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching A description and analysis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 29 Rong, R & Lanying, X (2008), On designing group information gap tasks in college English classrooms – A comparative study of students and teachers perceptions Retrieved 18 November, 2010, from http://www.celea.org.cn/teic/78/08070220.pdf 30 Slavin, R (1985), Learning to Cooperate, Cooperating to learning, Teachers Colleges Press, New York 31 Trent, J (2009), Enhancing oral participation Across the Curriculum: Some lessons from the EAP Classroom Retrieved 21, December, 2010, from http://www.asianefl-journal.com/March_09-jt.php 46 32 Ur, P (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 33 Ur, P (1981), Discussion that works, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 34 Wright, T (1987), Roles of Teachers and Learners, Oxford University Press, Oxford I APPENDIX - Phiếu điều tra sinh viên Phiếu điều tra thực nhằm biết thêm thông tin xem hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” áp dụng việc dạy kĩ nói thu thập ý kiến em hoạt động Các em cho biết ý kiến xác việc sử dụng hoạt động “khoảng trống thơng tin” học nói lớp Thơng tin em cung cấp đóng góp lớn vào thành công nghiên cứu Xin cám ơn cộng tác em! I Thông tin cá nhân Giới tính: Nam Nữ Tuổi: Em học tiếng Anh lâu rồi? …… năm II Phần điều tra tần suất e tham gia vào hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” học nói em Các em có thường xuyên tham gia vào hoạt động khoảng trống thông tin học nói khơng? Thường xun Thỉnh thoảng Rất Không Theo em hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” đủ để tạo hứng thú cho em học nói chưa? Em đánh dấu (x) vào thể ý kiến em Chưa đủ vừa phải đủ III Phần điều tra thực tế việc áp dụng hoạt động “lỗ hổng thơng tin” học nói Em đánh dấu (x) vào ô cho thấy cách giáo viên em thực hoạt động “khoảng trống thơng tin” học nói Em lựa chọn nhiều đáp án Nếu em có ý kiến khác, em vui lịng nói chi tiết bên cạnh ô “Khác” Khi thực hoạt động “lỗ hổng thơng tin”, em chia nhóm nào? Chọn ngẫu nhiên Theo vị trí lớp ngồi gần Theo trình độ Theo nhóm sinh viên có trình độ khác Khác (nêu cụ thể): Để hút học sinh tham gia vào hoạt động này, giáo viên em làm gì? II Cử trưởng nhóm để điều hành hoạt động nhóm Kiểm tra hoạt động nhóm điều sinh viên lệch hướng Đứng quan sát kêu gọi ý học sinh Đi xung quanh giúp đỡ nhóm Khác (nêu cụ thể) Giáo viên chữa lỗi em nào? Giáo viên can thiệp chữa lỗi sinh viên mắc lỗi Giáo viên khuyến khích sinh viên tự chữa lỗi Giáo viên chữa lỗi cho học sinh Giáo viên chữa lỗi chung mà nhiều học sinh mắc phải Khác (nêu cụ thể): Trong học nói, sử dụng hoạt động “lỗ hổng thơng tin” giáo viên làm để khuyến khích em sử dụng tiếng Anh? Dạy trước số từ Đưa yêu cầu không sử dụng tiếng Việt học nói Giáo viên giúp đỡ học sinh gặp khó khăn Chọn chủ đề thú vị phù hộ với trình độ sinh viên Khác (nêu cụ thể): IV Trong phần em cho biết ý kiến em việc áp dụng hoạt động “lỗ hổng thơng tin” học nói Em đánh dấu (x) vào cột cho biết ý kiến em Em cho biết mức độ hứng thú hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” em Rất ghét Trị chơi đốn tranh, vật, người, v.v Phát khác hai tranh, đồ, v.v Sắp xếp (mỗi học sinh giáo cho phần câu chuyện, bác tranh, câu hay đoạnvăn học sinh phải xếp thành câu chuyện, tranh, câu văn hay đoạn văn hoàn ghét Hơi Hơi ghét thích thích Rất thích III chỉnh) Trao đổi thơng tin cá nhân Hoàn thành bảng (theo cặp, sinh viên giao bảng trống, sinh viên lại giao cho phần thơng tin có sẵn học sinh phải hỏi trả lời để hoàn thành bảng đó) Em đánh việc tiến hành hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” giáo viên Em đánh dấu “X” vào thích hợp Tiêu chí Rất tốt Khá tốt Khơng tốt Khơng tốt chút Sự hướng dẫn giáo viên cách thực hoạt động Cách giáo viên tổ chức hoạt động Sự phản hồi giáo viên nói sinh viên Việc chữa lỗi giáo viên Em cho biết khơng khí lớp học lúc hoạt động diễn hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” nào? Yên lặng Tập trung Khuyến khích Ồn Lộn xộn 10 Em cho biết đánh giá em tính hiệu hoạt động “khoảng trống thơng tin” học nói em Em đánh dấu (x) vào thích hợp Tiêu chí Phù hợp với trình độ sinh viên Rất tốt tốt Không tốt Không tốt chút IV Khả gây hứng thú cho sv Khả khuyến khích sinh viên sử dụng tiếng Anh nhiều Tăng tham gia bạn lớp Cải thiện độ xác việc nói tiếng Anh Cải thiện độ trơi chảy việc nói tiếng Anh CÁM ƠN SỰ CỘNG TÁC CỦA CÁC EM! V APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for teachers I would like to ask you to help me by answering the following questions concerning foreign language teaching This survey is constructed to better understand how information-gap activities have been used in speaking lessons as well as to identify your perception about the implementation of information-gap activities in speaking lessons This is not a test so there are no “right” or “wrong” answers and you not even have to write your name on it We are interested in your personal opinion Please give your answers sincerely as only this guarantee the success of the investigation Thank you very much for your help I Personal information Your gender: Male Female Your age: How long have you been teaching English? …… years II This section will identify the frequency of use of information-gap activities in your speaking lessons How often you use different kinds of information-gap activities in speaking lessons? often sometimes rarely never Guessing game Detecting differences between versions of the same pictures, story, map, etc Jigsaw activities Exchanging personal information Completing a grid (in pairs, one student has the text and the other is given the grid) Role-play III This section will look at more specific the current practice of information-gap activities in your speaking lessons Please put an “X” in the box that best indicates the way you implement information-gap activities when you teach speaking skill in your class You may have more than one choice and if you have other ideas, please write in detail beside the alternative “Others” Thanks For what purpose you use information-gap activities when teaching speaking skill? (You can tick more than one answer) To motivate students to speak To ensure students’ equal participation To improve students’ ability of negotiating meaning To help students develop accuracy and fluency VI Others (please specify) Do you prepare beforehand a plan of how an IG activity will proceed in the real speaking lesson? a Yes b No If yes, what does the plan often include? Objectives Time allocation Teaching aids How to conducts (steps, instructions) Work arrangement Others (please specify) What are the criteria you take into consideration when choosing a suitable an informationgap activity to develop speaking skill for students? Lesson’s topic and objectives Students’ language level Time allowance Teaching aids Others (please specify) Once deciding a particular information-gap activity to be used, what kinds of adaptation you usually make? Work arrangement The subject matter No adaptation Others (please specify) How are students chosen to form a pair/group/team when information-gap activities are conducted? At random According to proximate seat positions Of the same ability Of mixed ability Others (please specify): How you give instructions to students? Be simple, clear and explicit Make a model for students Write brief instructions on board Check students’ understanding How you keep students taking part in the activities? Appoint a group leader to regulate participation VII Go round to check students’ performance and keep them on right track Stay at your seat and ask for students’ participation Go around and help inhibited students Others (please specify): How you provide help to students? Observe and wait until asked for help Give clues to inhibited students Jump in whenever students make mistakes Others (please specify): 10 In which ways have you encouraged students to use English in an information-gap activities Pre-teach some vocabularies Set a rule of no Vietnamese during the activity Provide help in time Choose interesting topic of acceptable language level Others: _ 11 When you give students correction? Right after they make mistakes After one student’s turn At the end of the activity Others (please specify): 12 How you correct your students’ mistakes? Encourage students’ self-correction Use peer correction Provide your own correction on all mistakes Provide your own correction on serious mistakes Others: _ 13 What difficulties you encounter in conducting an information-gap activity? Select suitable activities Organize the class Give instructions Make adaptation Involve all students Encourage students to use English in class Give feedback VIII Others (please specify): IV This section will explore your perception about the implementation of informationgap activities in speaking lessons 14 In the following table please indicate your evaluation of the effectiveness of IG activities that you have implemented in speaking lessons by putting a tick (√) in the appropriate box Criteria Strongly Agree Neutral agree Information-gap activities can create motivation Information-gap activities can encourage students to use more English in class Information-gap activities can promote students’ participation Information-gap activities can improve students’ accuracy Information-gap activities can improve students’ fluency THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION! Disagree Strongly disagree IX APPENDIX Câu hỏi vấn sinh viên Các em có thường xuyên tham gia vào hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” học nói khơng? Theo em hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” đủ để tạo hứng thú cho em học nói chưa? Khi thực hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” giáo viên em chia cặp/nhóm/đội nào? Em cho biết ý kiến em cách chia Giáo viên em thường làm để lơi học sinh tham gia vào hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin”? Em cho biết ý kiến em cách làm Mỗi em mắc lỗi giáo viên em chữa lỗi nào? Em cho biết ý kiến em cách chữa lỗi Trong học nói em, giáo viên làm để khuyến khích sinh viên tích cực nói tiếng Anh hoạt động “khoảng trống thơng tin”? Em cho biết hứng thú hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” sau: trị chơi đốn tranh, vật, v.v., tìm điểm khác hai tranh, trị xếp, hồn thành bảng, trao đổi thơng tin cá nhân Vì em thích hoạt động ấy? Em cho biết ý kiến việc thực hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” giáo viên lớp (các giáo viên hướng dẫn, cách tổ chức hoạt động, cách chữa lỗi, cách phản hồi với sinh viên) Em cho biết khơng khí học tập lớp em tham gia vào hoạt động “khoảng trống thông tin” nào? 10 Theo em hoạt động “khoảng trống thơng tin” có hiệu học nói hay khơng? Nếu có hoạt động hiệu nào? X APPENDIX Questions for teachers Do you use information-gap activities in speaking lessons? How often you use them? Which kinds of information-gap activities you use? For what purpose you use information-gap activities when teaching speaking skill? Do you prepare beforehand a plan of how an information-gap activity will proceed in the real speaking lesson? If yes, what does the plan often include? What are the criteria you take into consideration when choosing a suitable an informationgap activity to develop speaking skill for students? Once deciding a particular information-gap activity to be used, what kinds of adaptation you usually make? How you choose students to form a pair/group/team when information-gap activities are conducted? How you give instructions to students? How you keep students taking part in the activities? How you provide help to students? 10 In which ways have you encouraged students to use English in an information-gap activities 11 When you give students correction? 12 How you correct your students’ mistakes? 13 What difficulties you encounter in conducting an information-gap activity? 14 What you think of the effectiveness of information-gap activities? ... in speaking lessons * The degree of trainees’ interest in each kind of information- gap activities Kinds of information- gap activities Guessing game Detecting differences between versions of the. .. which indicates teachers‟ awareness of advantages of these activities in teaching speaking With regard to trainees‟ opinions of the sufficiency of IG activities in creating motivation in speaking. .. focuses on predeparture trainees ‟ opinions about the implementation of information- gap activities in teaching speaking, particularly, their evaluation of the effectiveness of these activities in