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Gap Fills Galore...or not?

Teachers like gap fills, but what do they actually teach or test? 

Think about the gap fills you have seen in the practice. Were they used in a differentiated fashion? What was actually being practiced or assessed? Do you know any variations? Do you know the difference between an information gap, a gap fill and a cloze? How can you make them interactive or interesting?

Gap Fills article
  • Think about the many problems with gap fills, e.g. do learners really have to understand the text they are reading? One article that talks about this is here, but there are many more!
  • Thomas Studer wrote about "Nützlichere Sprachtests" on page 36 in Babylonia.
  • TEFL Geek has some interesting ideas, but also try searching for "alternatives/adaptations to gap fills/cloze".