ELTWeekly Vol. 3 Issue#105 | November 21 | ISSN 0975-3036
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It is rightly said that a person with a gift of the gab is successful. Speaking and writing are important and essential communicative skills in real life situations. Besides both these soft skills are essentially productive skills which can be honed through practice. It is not merely enough to have the knowledge of the alphabet, the vowels, consonants and vocabulary of a language, but it is equally important to use them accurately in speech/writing which amounts to good communication. Teachers needs to very closely observe their students so as to pick out the best speakers in the class and use them for special programmes conducted in the school/college. The low achievers in the class also need to taken care of and prodded to speak among the peer groups or pairs. In this way they come out of the fear zone and become independent speakers. The support given to the students/peer group/teachers plays a very important role in ushering confidence and better results.
What is Good Communication?
Good communication involves listening, speaking and writing. As communication involves two or more people it is very essential that the speakers understands the purpose of communication, how to communicate and what he/she expects from the communication. In speech, it is essential that one uses correct speech sound, appropriate intonation/stress/pause, apt words, eye contact, and proper body language to suit the context. Some studies have revealed that body language and gesture takes a major role and one can be understood or misunderstood based on this non-verbal communication. Good communication involves putting across the message as simple as possible. As Dr.K.Alex (2011) rightly puts it in his book, Soft Skills, Communication (speaking) must follow the Kiss Principle – ‘Keep It Short and Sweet’. As good communication involves an array of skills, it becomes imperative that students are trained in these skills from the primary level itself. The skill involved in writing a resume is different from the skill involved in a live presentation. Therefore, it is through continuous training that students can excel in the art of communication.
Identify the Barriers that Affect Communication
Miscommunication happens when communication is not understood well. To avoid misinterpretation of communication, the speaker must see that he/she is intelligible and his/her body language matches the context. It is necessary as a teacher/lecturer to be aware of the barriers to good speaking, so that you can help them speak better.
(1) Language barrier– The most common barrier to good communication is the language. When the speaker’s language is not understood by the listener there is all chances that he/she takes the message differently and there is a chain reaction in which everything goes wrong. Example the second language learners may find it difficult to follow a native speaker instantaneously and answer back correctly.
(2) Cultural barrier– When the listener is not aware of the culture or cultural background, there is all probability that he/she may not be able to understand what the speaker wants to convey. Example a person who migrates to another country may not be able to follow something that is culturally alien to him/her.
(3) Hierarchical barrier – Information of the most senior boss may be misinterpreted if the people who take the information to the lowest cadre are not able to spell out correctly what the senior intends to communicate.
(4) Emotional barrier – Fear, shyness, inferior complex are quite among students in the school and college level .These when allowed to grow becomes a stumbling block to good communication and success.
(5) Personal barrier –Some personal attributes such as indifference, withdrawal, and negativism can make people poor communicators.
All these barriers can be applied to writing as well as both of them comes under the umbrella term ‘communication’.
Besides these, the teacher/lecturer can identify other barriers that prevent free flow of language either in speech or writing.
Guidelines for Good Speaking
Dr.K. Alex (2011) prescribes a formula of seven Cs for good communication. They are
(1) Candid –This is to be clear, frank, and straightforward in your conversation with other.
(2) Complete –This makes it necessary for the speaker to be comprehendible and speak complete sentences which have a complete thought.
(3) Concrete – This make it mandatory on the part of the speaker not to colour the information and state inappropriate facts.
(4) Courteous –This expects you to be polite and courteous with the speaker so that he feels good speaking to you.
(5) Clear – This requires your conversation to be lucid so that the listener is able to understand your thoughts better.
(6) Concise –This makes the speaker to keep in mind the KISS principle mentioned above.
(7) Correct – This makes it obligatory on the part of the speaker to be correct with regard to grammar and that the information is true in all sense.
Reflecting on Speaking Skills
Get each student to reflect on his/her speaking skills .This can be done in the following ways:
- Drawing a mind map and state the reasons why speaking is an important skills to nurture.
- Making a note of the inabilities barriers that hinder good communication.
- Writing down ways that can enable them to be better speakers.
- Observing good speakers and making a note of their plus points.
After the reflective stage, students must be given opportunities to speak, so that they feel confident that they can improve their communicative skills.
ZPD to Promote Speaking Skills
At the learning development stage, the concept of ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) advocated by Vygotsky plays a crucial role. According to the ZPD concept, students working together in pairs/groups can achieve what they cannot do as individual learners. The difference between the student’s actual level of development and the level of performance that has been achievement with the help of a more mature adult or partner is termed as the Zone of Proximal Development. So when students who are weak at communication are paired with students who can speak/write better, they too in the long run will excel in their communication skills. But one cannot blindly say that a good speaker is also an excellent writer. As both are productive skills, they need to be mastered and developed independently.
A Practical Tip
In class, pair students who are good at communicative skills with students who are less efficient and see that they work together. For instance, if the efficient one has completed his/her writing task it his/her duty to aid his/her partner in completing the task by providing the necessary support. The same is in the case of speaking task. This would work more effectively when there is lot of extrinsic motivation on the part of the teacher in the way of
- Awarding stars to the pair speak with fewer errors.
- Giving badges for the best pair.
- Allotting internal assessment marks for pair work on speaking/writing tasks.
- Encouraging book reviews, dialogues and skits in pairs/groups before the class begins.
- Allotting a zero hour (every week, 10 minutes before the class ends) for students to vent out their feelings about how they feel about a class/subject/lesson.
Some Speaking Tasks that Really Aids Speaking
(1) Description of a person you admire
(2) Description of an object that you treasure
(3) Description of a gadget or a machine you operate
(4) Description of a process
(5) Talk about the partner’s likes and dislikes to the class
(6) Enacting role plays
(7) Review a movie/book you have seen/read recently and give a gist
(8) Extempore
(9) Talk about an important issue
(10) Mock interview
(11) Debates/Discussions
(12) Street plays
(13) Telephonic conversation
(14) Presentations
(15) Humor/puzzles Time
You need to show the students the torch to light their way. Once they are kindled, they will excel their trainers and there is no looking back. Speaking and writing are skills that get better with practice and therefore, it should become a part of the language classroom.
References:
Vygotsky. (1963) . Thought and Language. Cambridge, M.A: MIIT Press (Translations of the Russian original, published 1934)
Alex,K. (2011). Soft Skills. New Delhi, S.Chand&CompanyLtd.
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