6. Extensive monologue It is given for intermediate to advanced students who can explore their ability in
extending monologue in the form of oral reports, summaries, or short speeches. The students must use the target language to share their ideas, thought, opinions,
and feelings. As the example, the student has the complete picture of building then must give it to his or her classmate. It is called „information gap-activities’, where the
two speakers have different information and what will they do are to complete the information because there is a gap between them.
B. Information Gap Activities
1. The Definition of Information Gap Activities
Information gap is one of a crucial aspect of communication in Communicative Language Teaching CLT. According to Richards, the nature of communicative
language teaching is more emphasized in practicing real life communication in the meaningful context.
17
It is emerged as one of the technique in communicative language teaching method. Information gap-activities are an activity which is each
student has different bit of information and they have to complete and share each other.
18
In addition, Harmer states that information gap activities are the activity where two speakers have different bit information and they have to complete it
because there is a gap between them.
19
According to those definitions, the writer concludes that information gap-activities are a condition where the students have
different information; they have to share it to their friends because there is a „gap’ between them in order to complete the information given.
In the class room’s activity the teacher asked for creating a real situation of
communication context therefore the students can improve in practicing the target
17
See: Jack C. Richards, Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 4.
18
See: Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching. Third Edition, New York: Longman Publishing, 1996, p. 95.
19
See: Jeremy Harmer, How to Teach English, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 1998, p. 88.
language automatically. By giving the students a chance to complete the information each other therefore there is a lack of information. They will learn the target language
more fun and enjoy then use common simple speaking activity as short conversation based on the text book. They use the target language to share the information each
other. For example, one student asks to another student about what did he or she do last night.
The teachers need to engage the students in speaking ability. They have to create enjoyable and fun activities during the class which is followed by the students. The
challenge that will be faced by the foreign or second language teacher is to motivate their students to speak in the target language. The students’ confidence and
participation is really needed in those activities. Moreover, it is difficult for the students who have less confidence so they will reluctant to speak. One solution, that
is to make the students interested in learning English language that through information gap activities.
2. Kinds of Information Gap Activities
In speaking activities what the teacher should do is for rehearsing, enhancing, and practicing the target language. The principle of information gap activities is through
completing the information because there is a gap between each student. As Scrivener states that information gap activities are one of communicative activities
which is one speaker has information and the other have not. They communicate using the target language to interact in meaningful way.
20
According to Littlewood, there are some activities can be done in information gap activities:
21
a. Identifying picture. 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
20
See: Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching: A Guidebook for English Language Teachers, Oxford: Macmillan Education, 2005, p. 152.
21
See: William Littlewood, Communicative Language Teaching, Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 2006, pp. 40
—43.
a copy of these pictures. Learner A must find out which of the pictures learner B is holding, by asking him questions about it.
b. Discovering Identical pairs: in this activity the students work in group, for example one group consists of five students. Four pictures are given among four
students and the fifth learner in the group holds a duplicate of one of these pictures. He must ask the others to discover which learner has the picture identical
to his own. c. Discovering missing information or features: learner A has information
represented in tabular or picture form. However, some items of information have been deleted from the table or picture. Learner B has an identical table or picture,
but different items of information have been deleted. Each learner can complete his own table or picture by asking his partner for the information that he lacks.
d. Discovering sequences or locations: 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. e. Communicating patterns and pictures: learner A has an assortment of shapes
which he arranges into a pattern. Learner B has the same shapes. They must communicate each other so that B can reproduce as exactly as possible the same
pattern as A. f. Discovering differences: learner A and B each have a picture or map, patter, etc.
The pictures are identical except for a number of details. The learner must discuss the pictures in order to discover what the differences are
g. Following directions: learner A and B have identical maps. Only A knows the exact location of some building or other features. He must direct B to the correct
spot. h. Pooling information to solve a problem: learners have to pool information in
order to solve a problem. For instance, learner A has a town plan showing the location of interesting places. Learner B has a list of a bus timetable. Together
