A task type in which one participant holds information that another needs, creating a genuine communicative purpose. Classified by Prabhu (1987) as one of three gap-based task types, alongside Opinion Gap and Reasoning Gap.
An information gap involves "a transfer of given information from one person to another, or from one form to another, or from one place to another, generally calling for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language" (Prabhu 1987: 46).
Two-way gaps generate more negotiation of meaning (Long 1983) because both parties must contribute.
The information gap is the engine of communicative language teaching. It creates a genuine need to communicate: learners are not practising language for its own sake but using language to achieve a real outcome. Without an information gap, classroom interaction often becomes display language (students saying things the teacher already knows).
| Activity | Gap type |
|---|---|
| Describe and draw | One-way |
| Spot the difference | Two-way |
| Jigsaw reading | Two-way |
| Survey / questionnaire | Two-way |
| Barrier game | One-way or two-way |