Speaking: The Information Gap — A Task That Actually Works (A2/B1)
🎙 From the classroom: My most successful speaking task in Brittany was simple: I printed two versions of a map of Réunion. Student A had the beach. Student B had the volcano. Neither could see the other’s card. They had to ask and answer to complete the map. Real communication happened — because there was a genuine reason to speak.
💡 The Idea
An information gap is a speaking task where each person has different information and they must communicate to complete a task or solve a problem. It works because the gap creates a genuine communicative need — learners aren’t just practising language, they’re actually doing something with it.
🗣 Example
🗺️ Map task: Student A has streets. Student B has buildings. They describe and ask to create a complete map.
📅 Schedule task: A has Monday-Wednesday. B has Thursday-Saturday. They find a free time to meet.
🎭 Story task: A has the beginning of a story. B has the end. They collaborate to find the middle.
🎯 Try It Now!
Try this mini information gap with a partner:
Student A: You have a bus ticket. It departs at 8:15am from Central Station, platform 3, and arrives at 11:30am. It costs €12.50. Don’t show your card.
Student B: You want to travel by train. Ask A about: departure time, departure place, platform, arrival time, price.
✅ Check Your Answers
✅ B’s questions: ‘What time does it leave?’ / ‘Where does it depart from?’ / ‘Which platform?’ / ‘What time does it arrive?’ / ‘How much does it cost?’ Key: both students had a genuine reason to speak. That’s the information gap principle.
Independent project — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.