Sử dụng các hoạt động có khoảng trống thông tin để nâng cao khả năng nói cho học sinh lớp 12 không chuyên anh tại trường THPT chuyên thái nguyên

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THANH XUAN

USING INFORMATION-GAP ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE SPEAKING
PERFORMANCE OF NON - ENGLISH MAJORS GRADE 12 AT THAI
NGUYEN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED

Sử dụng các hoạt động có khoảng trống thông tin để nâng cao khả năng nói cho
học sinh lớp 12 không chuyên Anh tại trường THPT Chuyên Thái Nguyên
MASTER THESIS RESEARCH

Field:

English language

THAI NGUYEN- 2018


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THANH XUAN

USING INFORMATION-GAP ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE SPEAKING
PERFORMANCE OF NON - ENGLISH MAJORS GRADE 12 AT THAI
NGUYEN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED

Sử dụng các hoạt động có khoảng trống thông tin để nâng cao khả năng nói cho
học sinh lớp 12 không chuyên Anh tại trường THPT Chuyên Thái Nguyên

MASTER THESIS RESEARCH

Field

:

English language

Supervisor: Dr. Bui Thi Huong Giang

THAI NGUYEN- 2018


DECLARATION
The writer fully declares that this research paper is composed by the writer herself and
it does not contain materials written or having been published by other people and that
from references.
A THESIS
USING INFORMATION-GAP ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE SPEAKING
PERFORMANCE OF NON- ENGLISH MAJORS GRADE 12 AT THAI
NGUYEN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED
Submitted by:
Nguyen Thanh Xuan

Approved by
Supervisor,
Dr. Bui Thi Huong Giang

i

Acknowledgement
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Dr.
Bui Thi Huong Giang for her valuable guidance, critical feedback, and enormous
encouragement. Without her support, this thesis could not have been completed.
My thanks also go to all my lecturers from Thai Nguyen University, School of
Foreign Languages - Postgraduate Department for their valuable lectures which help
me to orient the topic.
I would like to express my thanks to all my classmates who were willing to help
me in sharing materials and ideas when this thesis is worked on.
My sincere thanks also go to all my colleagues and students at Thai Nguyen
High
School for the Gifted, for their assistance during the process of data collection.
Particularly, I find myself in debt to all members of my family for their love,
care and tolerance when I was in the process of writing this thesis.

ii


ABSTRACT
This study aims at using information activities to enhance speaking performance
of non- English majors grade 12 at Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted. It also
describes students’ perception and feeling after experimenting Information Gap
technique. This research is an action research which was carried out in Thai Nguyen
High School for the Gifted in the second term of the academic year 2017-2018. It
consists of six main steps: Initiation, Hypothesis, Intervention, Evaluation and
Dissemination. The data were gained through questionnaires, semi structured
interview, observations and mini projects. The results show that information gap
activities can improve students’ speaking performance significantly. Hopefully, this
study will make a

contribution to

the

implementation of

Information Gap

Activities in improving speaking skills for students at Thai Nguyen High School for
the Gifted in particular and other high schools in general.

3


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION……………….……………………………………………………i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... iv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION............................................................................ 1
1.1. The rationale of the study ................................................................................... 1
1.2. The objectives of the study.................................................................................. 2
1.3. The scope of the study ......................................................................................... 2
1.4. The significance of the study............................................................................... 2
1.5. Organization of the study .................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 4
2.1. Theoretical framework ..................................................................................... 4
2.1.1. The nature of speaking ..................................................................................... 4
2.1.2. The role of speaking in foreign language teaching and learning ..................... 4

2.1.3. Motivation- the key factor affecting English speaking performances ............. 5
2.1.4. Information gap activities ................................................................................. 6
2.1. 4.1. The definition of information gap activities ............................................. 7
2.1.4.2. The benefits of information gap activities................................................. 8
2.1.4. 3. Some popular information gap activities ................................................. 9
2.1.5. Action research…………………………………….………………………….10
2.2. Previous studies……………………………………………………………….. 11
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY.............................................................................14
3.1. Research questions……………………………………………………………….14
3.2. The study design………………………………………………………………….14
3.3. The context and participants of the study………………………………………...14
3.4. Procedures……………………………………………………………………….16
3. 5. Data collection instruments……………………………………………………...19
3.5.1. Questionnaires……………………………………………………………….19
3.5.2. Semi-structured interview……………………………………………………19
3.5.3. Observation…………………………………………………………………..19
3.5.4. Mini projects…………………………………………………………………19

4


3.6. Data analysis…………………………………………………………………..20
3.6.1. Data collected from preliminary investigation stage................................. 20
3.6.1.1. Data from questionnaire 1 .................................................................. 20
3.6.1.2 Data from the semi- structured interview ........................................... 22
3.6.2. Data collected from the intervention stage................................................. 23
3.6.2.1. Data collected from Observation sheets............................................. 23
3.6.2.2. Data collected from Questionnaire 2.................................................. 25
3.6.2.3. Data collected from mini projects……………………………………29
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 31

4.1. Findings………………………………………………………………………...31
4.2. Discussion…………………………………………………………………….. 32
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS....................................... 36
5.1. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 37
5.2. Suggestions for teachers and further research ………………………………37
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire 1 ........................................................................ III
APPENDIX 2: Semi- structured interview………………………………….…IV
APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire 2…………………………………………………V
APPENDIX 4: Observation sheet……………………………………………….VI
APPENDIX 5: Video speaking rubric…………………………………………VII
APPENDIX 6: Sample of a speaking lesson plan………………………………IX
APPENDIX 7: Samples of the information gap activities……………………...XII

5


CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The rationale of the study
With its essential role in international communication, English has proven to be
the most effective means to involve Vietnam in the process of globalization. Students
with good command of English and know to make use of it will have better job
prospects and many other interesting opportunities in their lives. Being fully aware of
its importance, the Ministry of Education and Training has made English a compulsory
subject at secondary schools and developing students’ communicative competence is
given the top priority.
Speaking plays a fundamental role in communication because without it,
communication cannot take place directly between people. According to Fauziati (cited
in Handayani, 2011), mastering “the art” of speaking is regarded as the single most
important aspect of learning a second or foreign language, and success is measured in

terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the target language. However, to teach
the students to speak English so that they become more interested in speaking English
and maintain their interest during the lessons is not an easy job at all. Richards and
Renandya (2002) also believe that speaking in a foreign language is challenging for
foreign language learners because the effectiveness of oral communication requires the
ability to use the language appropriately in social interaction.
With regard to Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, non-English major
students have to learn English as a compulsory subject. Most of the students have learnt
English for seven years and realized the significant roles of English to their future.
However, as an English teacher, the researcher finds that although the students do not
have much trouble with English grammar, many of them tend to be silent and passive in
English speaking. Many of the students fail to communicate in English. They seem to
depend heavily on the textbooks and just read them in the speaking class. They are
hesitant and anxious if they have to speak and perform using English.
One of the reasons for this situation is that they lack practice in using English in
real communication situations. Putri (2014) states that speaking activities should provide
sufficient time for students to practice the target language. The activities also should
motivate students so that they can enthusiastically engage on the learning process. In
our daily life, communication occurs naturally when there is a lack of information
between
1


people, and they have a demand for exchanging the information. In the same way, if
English teachers want to motivate students to speak, they should provide a diverse
environment where meaningful communication can take place.
In the researcher’s opinion, one possible solution that can encourage students to
use English for communicating is utilizing Information Gap Activities. The benefits of
this technique to the students have aroused my interest and encouraged the researcher to
carry out this research “Using information-gap activities to motivate speaking

performance of non – English majors grade 12 at Thai Nguyen High School for the
Gifted.” Hopefully, this study will make a small contribution to the implementation of
Information Gap Activities in improving speaking skills for students at Thai Nguyen
High School for the Gifted in particular , and at other high schools in general.
1.2. Objectives of the study
The aim of this study is to improve students’ speaking performance by applying
information-gap activities and change students’ attitudes towards speaking learning.
1.3. Scope of the study
In the school year 2017- 2018, the researcher was in charge of teaching English
for grade 12th students. During English lessons, many students were very passive in
making interactions in English when they are required to work in pairs or groups. In
fact, there are various effective speaking activities to motivate students to speak;
however, due to the limit of the thesis, the study cannot cover all, but focus on
information gap activities.
1.4. The significance of the study
The study is hoped to be beneficial to both teachers and students at the Thai
Nguyen High School for the Gifted in particular and at other high schools in general.
English teachers will be able to enrich their techniques in teaching speaking skills,
which can greatly improve students’ speaking performances. In addition, this study is
believed to be a good source of references for other researchers who want to conduct a
research on the related topic.
1.5. Organization of the study
Chapter 1 is Introduction which consists of the rationale of the study, objectives of
the study, scope of the study, the significance of the study and organization of the study.
Chapter 2 is Literature Review which discusses the theoretical framework and previous
2


studies. Chapter 3 is Research methodology which consists of research questions, the
study design, participants, materials, and procedure, data collection instruments,

techniques of data analysis. Chapter 4 describes the result of the study. It consists of
research findings and discussion. Then, chapter 5 is the conclusion and suggestions of
the research.

3


CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2. 1. Theoretical Framework
2. 1. 1. The nature of speaking

In this section, the researcher will consider what we mean by “speaking”. In English
study, speaking can be considered as a major component or an inseparable part of any
language learning process. Therefore, speaking has been the object of numerous studies
with varieties of definitions.
According to Brown (1994); Burns & Joyce (1997) speaking is an interactive
process of

constructing

meaning

that

involves

producing and receiving

and

processing information. Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it
occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical
environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and
evolving. Chastain (1998) believes that speaking is a productive skill. ‘Speaking is more
than making the right sound, choosing the right words or getting the constructions’
(pp.330-358). Indeed, in order to speak accurately and fluently, in the researchers’
opinion, students should not only focus on mechanical elements such as pronunciation,
grammar, and vocabulary but they should also pay attention to the communicative
situations that they may come across in the real life. In addition, they need to widen
their social and cultural knowledge in order to have an efficient interaction. As a result,
it’s advisable for the teachers to help students get access to varied authentic speaking
materials and activities.
Based on the above definitions, the researcher supposes that the nature of speaking
is interactive and productive. It is the process of sharing knowledge, interests, attitudes,
opinions with the others. It is fundamental to human communication. Speaking skill is
the ability to perform the linguistics knowledge and to make ourselves understood in
the actual communication. It is considered as one of the macro skills that foreign
language students should be helped to improve their communicative abilities.
2. 1.2. The role of speaking skill in teaching and learning a foreign language
English is a tool for international communication. Nowadays, teaching and learning
English is of great importance in Vietnam as well as in other countries in the world. In
the past several years, although a variety of approaches for language teaching has
existed, CLT is always the popular approach and has strongly influenced on the
language teaching
4


in Vietnam. It emphasizes that the goal of the language learning is to develop
communicative competence that consists of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic
competence, discourse competence and strategic competence. (Canale and Swaine,

1980). In other words, students learn English in order to communicate well in English.
Speaking seems intuitively the most important of all four skills that help students
to communicate effectively because speaking is regarded as the first step to confirm who
knows or does not know a language. Ur (1996) also indicates that people who know a
language are referred to as “speakers” of that language so almost all of foreign language
learners are interested in learning to speak. Teaching speaking means helping students
develop their ability to interact successfully in the target language.
In order to improve students’ speaking ability, teachers should play a positive
role in helping students get involved in speaking activities in the classroom. Dua (2011)
claims, “rather than leading students to pure memorization, the teacher can provide a
rich language environment where students have real communication, authentic materials
and meaningful tasks that promote oral language.” (p.12) Related to this study, the
researcher intends to implement information gap activities with a hope that gradually
students will know how to use their target language correctly and communicatively in
everyday conversations.
2. 1.3. Motivation – the key factor that affects speaking performances.
Speaking comes naturally to human, but in fact it is not as simple as it seems. There
are several factors that influence the success or failure in learning English speaking.
However, Gardner (1985) claim that the most important factor is motivation – a term
often used with respect to second language learning as a simple explanation of
achievement. He says that the term “motivation” has very distinct characteristic and has
a clear link with the language learning process. Motivation in the present context refers
to the combination of the effort plus desire and positive attitude to achieve the goal of
learning. Sharing the same point of view, Harmer (2001) defines motivation as some
kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something.
The more motivation a learner has, the more time he or she will spend on learning a
second language. Language achievement chiefly depends on the amount of exposure to
the target language. Motivation not only plays an important role in learning, it also
helps the teacher. Lite’s study (as cited in Dua, 2011) reveals that motivation is the
backbone of

5


any classroom. When the students are motivated, the teacher can perform his/her job the
best.
There are two basic types of motivation: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation.
Harmer (2001) states that extrinsic motivation is caused by such outside factors as the
need to pass an exam, getting good marks and the hope of a better job prospect, etc. In
contrast, intrinsic motivation is the learners’ eagerness and interest to take part in
learning process itself because they feel that the learning activities are attractive and
useful. Many researchers agree that to be successful in language learning students need
intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic one. For them what happens in the classroom
(classroom
activities, learning atmosphere…) will be of vital importance in determining students’
attitude to the language.
Motivation is the key factor in language learning in general and in the
development of speaking skills in particular. One who has strong motivation usually
take part in speaking activities enthusiastically. One who has strong speaking
motivation will take every chance to practice speaking in class and improve himself to
speak more fluently and accurately. On the contrary, one who has low motivation in
speaking will rarely practice or even keep silent all the time. Because of the importance
of motivation to the teaching and learning English speaking skill, in this study, the
research will try to explore the reasons why the students often have low motivation in
speaking lessons and then offer possible solutions.
In conclusion, the researcher strongly approves that motivation plays a significant
role in foreign language learning in general and in developing speaking performances in
particular. Once learners have set the goal of learning, motivation will certainly help
them produce effort and have a positive attitude to obtain the goal. Therefore, in order
to be successful, language teachers should be well aware of the importance of
motivation and design authentic communicative speaking activities in which the

learners get enthusiastically involved.
2. 1.4. Information gap activities.
Teachers are often searching for activities to make their classroom more interactive;
language teachers in particular are also looking for activities that promote target
language use. Information Gap activities are excellent activities as they force the
6


students to ask each other questions; these activities help make the language classroom
experience more

7


meaningful and authentic. This section will explain in more detail what Information Gap
activities are and why they are useful; it will also give some examples of Information
Gap activities for any language classroom.
2. 1.4.1. The definition of information gap activities
The Meaning of Gap
In current studies, researchers state that “gap” means the difference. Rania (2011)
claims that if there are two students, A and B, and if A has some information which B
does not, and possibly vice-versa, then there is a difference or gap between the two
students. A task which requires B to find out the information that A has (i.e. a task
which closes the gap) will provide a reason for communication.
Information gap activities
The concept of information gap is an important aspect of communication in a
CLT classroom. This essentially is based on the fact that in everyday life people
usually communicate in order to get information they do not possess. If the speaker and
hearer are both in possession of the same information prior to beginning their
communication, communication cannot take place.

According to Harmer (2002) one type of speaking activity is called “information
gap”-where two speakers have different parts of information making up the whole.
Because they have different information, there is a “gap” between them. As a result,
they need to communicate to each other to bridge this gap. In the same respect, Richards
and Schmidt (as cited in Fuqaha, 2015) claim that an Information-gap task is an
activity in language teaching where students are missing information necessary to
complete a task or solve a problem, and must communicate with their classmates to fill
in the gaps.
Although there are various definitions about information gap activities, most
researches agree that information-gap is the activity in which the students may be in
pairs or in groups of two or more students. They can be given different pieces of
information about the same topic which creates a “gap” of knowledge that require
students to communicate with each other to solve a problem or complete a task.
There are two types of information gap activities: one-way and two-way. McKay
and Tom in their study which was cited in Rania (2011) give a definition that one-way
occurs when one person holds all information which other group member(s) do not have.
8


An example of a one-way information exchange is one in which one person has a
picture

9


and describes it to his/her partner who tries to draw it. Ellis (as cited in Rania 2011)
asserts that in a two-way information gap activity, both learners have information to
share to complete the activity e.g., both have some information about directions to a
location, but they have to share the information that they have to complete the
directions.

To sum up, both one-way and two-way information activities involve an
information gap which must be exchanged between members in order for the activity to
be completed. Regarding to the research, the author will design both one-way and two
way information gap activities to give students plentiful opportunities to practice
speaking English.
2. 1.4.2. Benefits of information gap activities
In Communicative Language Teaching in order to promote real communication
between students, there must be an information gap between them and between them
and their teacher. Without such a gap, the classroom activities will be mechanical and
artificial. Johnson and Morrow (1981, p.62) recognized the value of information gap
activities in the language classroom 20 years ago, calling the concept "one of the most
fundamental in the whole area of communicative teaching". The researcher believes that
information gap activities are used in class; students can gain big profits in developing
their speaking performance.
Firstly, the activities create plenty communication among students. Kayi (2006)
says that in information gap activities, students are supposed to be working in pairs or in
groups. One student will have the information that other partner does not have. Hence,
they have opportunities to talk extensively in the target language because they need to
transfer the information in order to finish the task.
Moreover, Information gap activities tend to provide equal participation among
learners. Dua (2011, p.15) reports, “Information gap activities allow each student to use
the time effectively. They do not need to sit on their chairs and wait until one-to-one or
group-to-group presentation is finished. Instead, the classroom activities are fairly
distributed, every student has chance to speak” Each partner plays an important role.
Each of them has the task of finding out certain information, and therefore must find a
way in which to ask for this information. Classroom will not be dominated by talkative
students.”
10

Last but not least, the motivation is quite high in these activities because students
are forced to communicate in “real” English. The situations are authentic and the
activities can be motivating and fun to students. “The learners interact freely with one
another to gather information from their peers, thus creating a casual atmosphere, in
which everybody feels comfortable and non- threatened to offer their contributions”
(Harmer,
1991, p.49). In addition, information gap activities provide the students a desire to

communicate with their partners or classmates because they don’t know and are curious
about the information needed to complete the communicative task.
Because of the above advantages, language students should be involved in as
many situations as possible where one of them has some information and another
doesn't, but has to get it-in other words, situations containing an information gap
between the participants.
2.1. 4.3. Some popular information gap activities
Underhill (as cited in Dua, 2011) asserts that variety of techniques can be used in
information gap activity. Firstly, they may be peer or group interview. Two students in
turn set out questions and answers to get certain things about each other. Secondly, they
may be peer or group description and recreation information in which one describes a
picture or a design to another student who has constructed the model from the
description alone without seeing the original. Thirdly, they can be games like such as
describing and drawing, describing and guessing, finding the differences and
completing a story, etc. (Harmer, 1998). More specifically, Dua (2011) in her study
summarizes some of common information gap activities with typical examples for each
kind including: Filling the gaps, completing the picture, finding differences, talking
about yourself, giving directions and problem solving/role play
*Filling the gaps: Partner A holds an airline timetable with some of the arrival and
departure times missing. Partner B has the same timetable but with different blank
spaces. The two partners are not permitted to see each other's timetables and must fill in
the blanks by asking each other appropriate questions.

*Completing the picture: Student A has an incomplete picture of a living room. He/
She has to ask student B who has a complete picture to find out where the things in the
given box go and then draw them in the correct place. Student B answers student A’s
question about the things in the box to help him/ her complete the picture.
11


*Finding differences: The two students in each pair have pictures which are identical
except for some important differences. They do not look at each other’s pictures, but try
to find the differences by describing their picture.
* Personal interview: For example, the teacher puts the students in pairs and asks them
to tell each other how they feel about their name and what name they would choose for
themselves if they had to choose one that was different from the one they have.
* Completing a Map/ Giving Directions: Two or more sets of maps are used. Some
details are given on each of the maps, but on each student’s map certain places would be
deleted and the names of these places would be listed at the bottom. The task is to ask
each other where the places are located to complete the map.
* Problem-solving
As students are put in some situations that are similar to the real life, they actively join
in the activities because of the feeling that they are doing with their language, taking the
risks of experimenting what they have learnt. Moreover, the lessons can become more
practical and interesting to them.
* Guessing: In addition to the above activities, guessing is also a common type of
information gap activities that are often used in class. For example: Students work in
pairs or small groups. One student chooses an object or a person and keeps it a secret.
The other students must ask yes or no questions to determine what that object/person is.
In conclusion, there are various forms of information gap activities. All the
activities listed above will give the researcher a good orientation in designing different
information gap activities for her own study later.
2.1.5. Action research.

Action research is actually suitable for any person who wishes to improve his or
her performance. For years, action research has been widely used in education,
especially by teachers who use it to improve their teaching. According to Glickman,
action research in education setting is a study conducted by teacher researchers to
improve problems in their classrooms. Steps in action research vary from different
points of view.

Creswell (as cited in Hien, 2009) asserts that action research is a

dynamic, flexible process .Hence, it is really impossible to assert this or that researcher
is right with exact four, five, six, seven or eight steps in their action research.

12


Nunan’s action research model is discussed in more details in the researcher’s
study since its steps seem to clear- cut enough for the researcher to follow. The model
includes seven steps. In the first step, a problem in language classroom triggers the idea
of action research. In the second step, a preliminary investigation is carried out in which
baseline data are collected to help understand the nature of the problem. Next, a
hypothesis is formulated after reviewing the initial data. In the fourth step, a number of
strategies are devised for intervention. The next step is Evaluation in which an
assessment is carried out to evaluate the intervention. The sixth step is Dissemination.
In this step, a report of the research is published and ideas emerged from the research
are shared. The final step is Follow-up with the continual investigation of alternative
solutions for the problem.
2.2. Previous research Studies
This Section explores previous studies related to information gap activities. The
researcher has benefited from all the following studies in how to design, use properly,
act in different roles, choosing the suitable organization of group -work and pair-work,

adapt the

implementation

of

information

gap

activities

in

Tieng

Anh

12
Siwi’s study (2011) was conducted with the first year students of a university in
Salatiga, Indonesia in the Academic Year 2011-2012 . The study analyzed the
improvement in students’ speaking competence through information gap strategy. The
methodology of the study is collaborative classroom action research. In this research the
writer was the teacher and assisted by an observer. She noted all of the process in
learning activities. To find out the improvement of students’ speaking ability she used
test, namely pre test and post test. She used Kemmis’ action research model with two
cycles. Each cycle of an action research has four steps: plan, act, observe and reflect.
The study showed that the students got involved in activities in the teaching process,
they were more confident to speak in English than before. Information gap
strategy has benefited students’ speaking competence in class.

Dua’s study (2011) aimed to work out the causes of students’ low motivation, the
importance of using information activities to motivate students at Phuong Dong
University to speak English. To find the answers to these questions, an action research
based on Nunan’s action research model was carried out through six main steps, using a
combination of 3 data collection instruments (questionnaire, observation, pre-tests and
13


post-tests). The results showed that the students’ motivation increased significantly
when
the intervention was implemented.
Another research was done by Putri (2014). The objective of the research was to
improve the speaking skills of students grade 8 in Indonesia by using information gap
activities to develop students’ speaking ability in story telling performance. The
researcher used an action research that consists of four steps as proposed by Kemmis
and McTaggart. The data were quantitative and qualitative. The qualitative data were
obtained through observations and interviews. The quantitative data were obtained from
tests (the pre-test, the progress test, and the post-test). The result of the research showed
that the use of information gap activities was able to improve the students’ speaking
skills. The students were more confident to speak in English. They could retell the story
fluently and their vocabulary also increased. Furthermore, the students were actively
engaged in the teaching learning process.
Fuqaha (2015) study was carried out with 41 students of Twelve Grade of MAN
1 Pamekasan. Based on the researchers’ observation, he noticed that students’ speaking
skill was very not very good because of the classroom mixed ability and the teacher’s
monotonous teaching activities. To cope of this problem, the researcher employed the
Information gap activities and used an action research to see how it worked. In the
study, the researcher and the collaborator worked together, the researcher acted as the
teacher while the collaborator observed the students during the implementation of the
strategy. This study was conducted in one cycle consisting of six meetings using

the four procedures; planning, implementing, observing and reflecting according to
Kemmis and McTaggart’s model. The data of the study were collected through the
observation checklists, field notes, and questionnaires. The research findings reveal that
the Information gap activity has proved very effective to improve students’ speaking
skill.
Rahimi’s study (2016) investigated the effectiveness of Information Gap
technique in improving students’ speaking skill. A quasi experimental research design
was used in this study. The population of this study was the eleventh graders of MAN 2
Semarang in the academic year 2014/2015 with the number of population around 210
students. Two classes were taken as the samples with around 60 students. The data were
collected by using several activities. They were pre-test, treatment, and post-test. The
14


result of this study shows that the use of Information Gap technique in teaching
speaking was better than the conventional method in improving students’ speaking skill.
Having studied previous studies on related issues, the researcher comes to several
conclusions. To begin with, although the above studies were conducted by different
researchers in different countries, universities, and schools, administered on different
students in different levels, most of the them employed action research method. Data
were both quantitative and qualitative. Data collection instruments were often in the
forms of observation, questionnaires, interviews, and tests. The research finds that steps
in action research in the studies vary from different researchers’ points of view. This
idea is supported by Creswell (2005) when he asserts that “action research is a dynamic,
flexible process” and there is “no blueprint exists for how to proceed.” In general, most
of the previous research employed either Kemmis & McTaggart’s model or Nunan’s
model because these models are basic and simple ones whose steps are clear to follow.
Secondly, most of the studies showed that more care should be given to teaching
speaking skills and indicated that speaking skills needed to be more practical by
adopting the communicative approach methods. Lastly, most studies revealed the

significance of using information gap activities in teaching/learning speaking skills.
Reviewing previous studies directly relevant to the theme of this study has
enriched the researcher’s background and extended her scope in this issue. At the same
time, it can light the way for the researcher to decide the best methodology used in her
study.

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research questions
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The study aims to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the causes of the students’ low participation in English speaking
activities?
2. To what extent can information gap activities increase the students’ participation
in speaking activities?
3.2. The study design
Action research was utilized in this study because it’s convenient and time
efficient. The researcher can combine two duties - teaching and researching at the same
time. More importantly, it is beneficial to both teachers and learners since it is
concerned with improving the immediate learning environment (Wallace, 2001). The
researcher can apply and test new teaching ideas which are expected to make better
changes in her own classroom contexts. In this study, Nunan’s action research model
(1992) was applied because it is easy to carry out in the researcher’s own classroom in
limited time and the steps in Nunan’s model are clear-cut to follow. Quantitative data
were obtained via questionnaires while qualitative data were mainly collected from
observation, semi structured interview and mini projects.
3.3. The context and participants of the study

3.3.1. The context of the study
This study was conducted at Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted where the
researcher works. Although the school has received special attention from parents and
students in local for its education and training quality, it is still a medium- sized school
in the mountainous northern of Vietnam. Students have mixed English levels and
background knowledge as they come from different parts in Thai Nguyen province such
as Thai Nguyen city, Pho Yen town, Phu Binh district, Dai Tu district, Song Cong city.
A small group of them are ethnic minority.
At Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, English is considered an extremely
important subject to all students regardless the majors they are learning; hence, the
students have to study English during three years at Thai Nguyen High School for the
Gifted and must complete 105 periods of English a year. A three-level English language
set of textbooks for Vietnamese upper secondary school are used. They follow the
systematic, cyclical and theme-based curriculum approved by the Minister of Education
and Training.
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The textbook consists of two volumes with 5 topic- based units for each. Each unit
has a 45 minute- speaking lesson in which only speaking skill is taught. However,
speaking skill as a tool of discussion is integrated in almost all of other lessons and
skills.
Thus, it’s important that students should be well motivated to speak English in class.

3.3.2. The participants
The research was carried out at Thai Nguyen High School for Gifted students
with the participation of 61 students from 2 classes: Geography 12 and History 12. All
of those students were born in 2000. They come from different parts of Thai Nguyen
such as Tuc Duyen, Pho yen, Song Cong, Dai Tu. Eleven out of the total are ethic
minority. At Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, they have to learn English as a

compulsory subject.
To begin with, the majority of those students started to learn English when they
were in grade 3. Most of them revealed that they followed the traditional curriculum
whereas only a small number of students from several schools in Thai Nguyen city such
as Nha Trang or Chu Van An had opportunity to get access to the new textbook with
theme- based curriculum. This means they all have learnt English for quite a long time
but they had various linguistic background and achieved different levels of English
proficiency. Most of them claimed that they got used to focusing on English grammar
rather than skills. Moreover, when the investigated students attended the entrance exams
to Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, their average English test results were
comparatively lower than ones in other specialized majors such as Math, Chemistry,
Physics, Biology and Literature. Another important feature that is worth mentioning is
that all of them use Vietnamese in their daily conversations, and they rarely have
chances to use English as a means of communication, except for some time in the
classroom with teachers and classmates. Almost all of students also said that they had
never joined any English clubs as well as English extracurricular activities.
The researcher was responsible to teach English for Geography class in all three
academic years. In the year 2017- 2018, the researcher began to teach English for
History
class. From the researcher’s own experience and observation, along with the ideas of the

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researcher’s colleagues, the researcher found that although many of the students are
good at grammar, they tend to be silent and passive in speaking English. They had little
motivation in speaking lessons. Because of the scope of the study, the researcher tries to
sketch one small aspect of teaching and learning English of the non-English majors at

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