{"id":870,"date":"2011-03-18T17:43:09","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T17:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eltweekly.com\/elt-newsletter\/?p=870"},"modified":"2011-03-18T17:43:09","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T17:43:09","slug":"85-research-article-honing-communication-skills-of-students-by-leena-u-jadhav","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/?p=870","title":{"rendered":"#85, Research Article: &#8216;Honing Communication Skills of Students&#8217; by Leena U. Jadhav"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Ms. Leena Jadhav is a freelance translator and BEC trainer. Her core competencies include syllabus designing and content writing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Communication is a process of sharing information through speech, writing, gestures or symbols between two or more people. The focus of the present paper is oral communication and the language under consideration is English.\u00a0 The teacher should adopt a student centered approach. The learners should be encouraged to do things in the class which result in developing their communication skills. The trainer has to focus on both the linguistic and paralinguistic features of the communication process while enhancing learners\u2019 communication skills. These features involve effective use of words, forming grammatically intelligible sentences and an appropriate use of voice and intonation.\u00a0 The teacher should encourage and train his students to use positive body language while listening and speaking. In order to hone the communication skills of the learners, it is very important to make the learners comfortable with the language they have to communicate in. Shedding their inhibitions is also one of the pivotal areas of concerns. This paper explores different techniques that could be useful while training students in communication skills.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">HONING COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF STUDENTS<\/p>\n<p>Communication is a process of sharing information through speech, writing, gestures or symbols between two or more people. The focus of the present paper is oral communication and the language under consideration is English.\u00a0 The major elements of a communication process are sender, receiver, message and feedback. Effective communication is a two way process. It involves both expressive (speaking) skills and receptive (listening) skills. It entails receiver\u2019s understanding of the message sent by the sender and his feedback to the sender. Listening plays a very important role in the language learning process. It is the most primary of the four basic skills of any language i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Listening paves way for speaking. One can never be a good speaker if one is not a good listener. An effective communicator is first a good listener and then a good speaker.\u00a0 According to Tickoo ( 2003 ), \u2018Good listening skills not only lay the foundations of good speech, but they grow best through effective communication\u2019\u00a0 (p.145).<\/p>\n<p>The teacher should adopt a student centered approach. The learners should be encouraged to do things in the class which result in developing their communication skills. In order to hone the communication skills of the learners, it is very important to make the learners comfortable with the language they have to communicate in. Shedding their inhibitions is also one of the pivotal areas of concerns. The trainer has to act as a facilitator of the activities which would result in making the learners comfortable with the language and minimize their hesitation. The teacher can divide the class into groups and ask them to engage in free talk i.e. informal talk. They have to communicate only in English. One can get comfortable with the language only if he speaks that language with the people he is comfortable with.\u00a0 We all acquire our first language by listening to and interacting with our parents, siblings and friends. The more you communicate in English with the people you are confident while speaking, more is your comfort level with the language and it results in acquiring fluency.\u00a0 Fluency cannot be taught, it has to be caught.\u00a0 And one can catch fluency while communicating in such informal situations.<\/p>\n<p>The technique of laughter can be used in order to enhance students\u2019 expressive skills and minimize their inhibitions. First ask the students to close their eyes and think about the situation when they had a good laugh last time. Ask them to laugh aloud. Ask them to share the situation with the class. Then they could also be asked to perform a joke.\u00a0 Here, the teacher can either provide the joke to the students or ask them to choose their own joke. It is wonderful to watch how creative students can be.<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"590\" valign=\"top\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Laughter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Think back to the last time you really laughed. Why were   you laughing? What happened that made you laugh? Where were you? Who was   there? Were you the only one laughing?<\/p>\n<p>Work in pairs and make out what the joke is.<\/p>\n<p>Two hunters\/ in the woods\/ one collapses\/ doesn\u2019t seem to   be breathing\/ eyes glazed\/ other calls emergency \/ gasps \u2018Ly friend is dead!   What can I do?\/ operator calm, soothing replies: \u201cTake it easy\/ I help\/ make   sure dead.\u201d\/ silence, then a shot\/ hunter says, \u2018OK, now what?\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The trainer has to focus on both the linguistic and paralinguistic features of the communication process while enhancing learners\u2019 communication skills. These features involve effective use of words, forming grammatically intelligible sentences and an appropriate use of voice and intonation. \u00a0The learners can be made to read a dialogue in which the focus is on the use of one particular grammar topic.\u00a0 Then the students are given situations where they need to use this understanding of the grammar topic.\u00a0 For example, the students could be made to read the following dialogue where the focus is on the use of quantifiers before countable and uncountable nouns.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita and Meena are two students who share a flat.\u00a0 It is Sunday morning and Rita is writing a shopping list.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> How <strong>much <\/strong>milk do we need?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena<\/strong>: Two liters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> And eggs?\u00a0 How <strong>many <\/strong>eggs?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena:<\/strong> A dozen. I guess we would need <strong>some<\/strong> potatoes also.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> How <strong>many <\/strong>potatoes?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena<\/strong>: A kilo is enough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> And butter? How\u00a0 <strong>much<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena:<\/strong> Just one packet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> Do we need anything else?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena<\/strong>: Let\u2019s have a look. We have <strong>some<\/strong> apples, but there aren\u2019t <strong>any <\/strong>grapes. And there isn\u2019t <strong>any <\/strong>coffee, but we have <strong>some<\/strong> tea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> Is there <strong>any<\/strong> orange juice left?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena<\/strong>: There\u2019s <strong>a little<\/strong>, but there isn\u2019t <strong>much,<\/strong> so we need some more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> And vegetables? Do\u00a0 we have <strong>many <\/strong>vegetables?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena:<\/strong> Well, I can see <strong>a few<\/strong> carrots, but there aren\u2019t <strong>many<\/strong> onions. And yes, we need to buy a coffee machine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita:<\/strong> How <strong>much <\/strong>is it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meena:<\/strong> It costs Rs. 1500.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rita<\/strong>: Right then. I think that\u2019s everything. Let\u2019s go! By the way, how <strong>much <\/strong>money do you have?<\/p>\n<p>Words are the building blocks of language.\u00a0 The world perceives people with rich vocabularies to be more creative and more intelligent.\u00a0 Such people use right words at right place.\u00a0 The teacher can encourage the students to speak better words than they use. The teacher can train his students to get rid of the hackneyed and overworked words in everyday speech like said, have, good, bad etc. by replacing them with appropriate synonyms. For example, the word smart can be replaced by ingenious, resourceful, adroit or astute.\u00a0 It is equally important to master idiomatic expressions.\u00a0 The expression \u2018under the weather\u2019 sounds better than sick, ill or unwell. The teacher can give such expressions in context and ask students to understand their meanings from context.<\/p>\n<p>The students need to be trained in the area of pronunciation as well. The teacher must expose his students to both the segmental and supra-segmental features of English language. How something is said is often more important than what is being said. Here, the use of the prosodic features such as stress and intonation plays a very important role. These prosodic features express the intentions and emotions of the speaker. To train the students in this area, the students can be given a dialogue to read. They can listen to the same dialogue from the cassette afterwards in order to understand how it is actually spoken.<\/p>\n<p>Kinesics also plays a vital role in effective communication. The teacher should encourage and train his students to use positive body language while listening and speaking. For example, They should have a gentle smile on their faces and proper eye contact with the people they are communicating with. They must use double hand and open palm gestures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some Guidelines on body Language<\/strong><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>DO\u2019S<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>DON\u2019TS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Open palm gesture<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Double hand gesture<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Gentle movements<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Relaxed stance<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Feet a little apart and firm<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Smile and positive expression<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Eye contact<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Closed fist or use of finger<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Single had gestures<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   \u00a0Folded   hands<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Hands in jacket or pockets of trousers.<\/p>\n<p>l\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0   Face only one side or stare down or up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>One has to be competent in not only the semantics but also the pragmatics of linguistic behaviour. Conversation is not just making utterances using appropriate words and rules of grammar. It does take place in an active and dynamic context. The participants can be trained in the conversational skills in order to be effective communicators. It is important to use the correct language, but it is also essential to adopt a polite attitude.\u00a0 It is important to speak clearly and slowly while making a phone call, to be sure that the information is understood, and to avoid confusion. The teacher can give the learners practice in how to open a conversation, how to sustain a conversation and how to close a conversation. In order to keep a conversation flowing, it is important to show interest in what the other person is saying.\u00a0 You can use some phrases to show that you are listening to and taking an interest in what is said to you.\u00a0 They don\u2019t necessarily provide any extra information, but give you a moment to order your thoughts while avoiding an embarrassing silence. \u00a0We often take such awkward pauses while speaking as well. This can be due to hesitation or to gain time to think. The students should be trained in filling such pauses with appropriate fillers. For example, Really?, Anyway, Perhaps, Well, let me think etc. An attempt is made to make an inventory of the stock phrases we can use to fill the awkward pauses we need to take for various reasons.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Stock Phrases\/ Simple Fillers to keep a conversation going<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>To gain time for thought and keep the turn<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"307\" valign=\"top\">Perhaps\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>May be\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>Actually\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Anyway\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>Probably\u2026..<\/td>\n<td width=\"308\" valign=\"top\">Certainly-&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Obviously\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>Honestly\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>Absolutely\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>Well sure\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>Well, let me   think\u2026.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Hesitation fillers:<\/p>\n<p>I mean, you know, well\u2026, umm\u2026, As I was saying\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>Appropriate words and expressions to indicate interest and show awareness of the speaker\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Really?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O dear! Did you&#8212;-<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Certainly, obviously, honestly<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Perhaps, Probably, May be<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Really!\u00a0 Really?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Actually, anyway<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Oh! Yes, Gosh<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>In Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Well&#8212;ummm <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>And then? <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>And what about you?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>I mean\u2014<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cohesive devices to recap and recover\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"295\" valign=\"top\">\n<ul>\n<li>Well, let me   see\/think&#8212;&#8212;<\/li>\n<li>Kind of\/Sort of<\/li>\n<li>Why did you do that?<\/li>\n<li>I mean, it just sort   of seemed a good idea.<\/li>\n<li>To recap\/to recover<\/li>\n<li>As I was saying&#8212;-<\/li>\n<li>Anyway<\/li>\n<li>So as to continue<\/li>\n<li>In other words<\/li>\n<li>For example<\/li>\n<li>Oh,\u00a0\u00a0 Oh well<\/li>\n<li>You know,\u00a0 I don\u2019t know<\/li>\n<li>Kind of, Sort of<\/li>\n<li>I mean<\/li>\n<li>Well, let me   see\/think&#8212;&#8212;<\/li>\n<li>Kind of\/Sort of<\/li>\n<li>Why did you do that?<\/li>\n<li>I mean, it just sort   of seemed a good idea.<\/li>\n<li>To recap\/to recover<\/li>\n<li>As I was saying&#8212;-<\/li>\n<li>Anyway<\/li>\n<li>So as to continue<\/li>\n<li>In other words<\/li>\n<li>For example<\/li>\n<li>Oh,\u00a0\u00a0 Oh well<\/li>\n<li>You know,\u00a0 I don\u2019t know<\/li>\n<li>Kind of, Sort of\n<ul>\n<li>Ah ,Aha<\/li>\n<li>Hm,<\/li>\n<li>Mhm<\/li>\n<li>Oh yes, Gosh<\/li>\n<li>Well, let me   see\/think&#8212;&#8212;<\/li>\n<li>Kind of\/Sort of<\/li>\n<li>Why did you do that?<\/li>\n<li>I mean, it just sort   of seemed a good idea.<\/li>\n<li>To recap\/to recover<\/li>\n<li>As I was saying&#8212;-<\/li>\n<li>Anyway<\/li>\n<li>So as to continue<\/li>\n<li>In other words<\/li>\n<li>For example<\/li>\n<li>Oh,\u00a0\u00a0 Oh well<\/li>\n<li>You know,\u00a0 I don\u2019t know<\/li>\n<li>Kind of, Sort of<\/li>\n<li>You know, You see<\/li>\n<li>In fact, No&#8211;, Yes&#8212;<\/li>\n<li>Ok, Right,\u00a0 all right<\/li>\n<li>Of course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"295\" valign=\"top\"><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The teacher can conduct various activities in the class to enhance communication skills of the students. It would be very fruitful if the teacher creates <strong>purpose<\/strong> for talking while designing activities for his students. He can give students some tasks and speaking is the way to complete them. For example, the students could be shown two similar pictures with some differences and asked to find out the differences between the two pictures. Here the focus is on completing the task successfully and students use language unconsciously and automatically to compete the task.<\/p>\n<p>The activity of \u2018chain story\u2019 is very useful in keeping the entire class attentive. The teacher can begin telling a story. He can tell the first few lines of the story and then pass it on to the students. Then, going round the class, each student has to add to the story and try to complete it. Here the students are expected to use simple past tense as it is a story telling activity. The teacher needs to encourage students for their encouraging activities.<\/p>\n<p>The students find the activity \u2018Find someone who\u2026\u2019 very interesting and exciting. It given them practice in asking correct questions.<\/p>\n<p>The miming activity creates a lot of humour and laughter in the class, thus enlivening the class. The teacher gives a student a sentence which describes a simple activity. For example, you are washing clothes. The student has to mime the activity. The other students try to guess the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The students can be made to listen to a conversational situation first and then asked to simulate the situation. For example, asking and telling directions, at the hotel, hiring a car etc.<\/p>\n<p>The students can be given topics for role plays along with some language help. They can be given a chance for pre-discussion before enacting their roles. The students simulate the real world in performing the role plays.<\/p>\n<p>The students can also be given some topics for debate or group discussion where they are expected to express their opinions. They are provided with the necessary language help. They are given a chance for pre-discussion rehearsal to get them involved in successful discussions.<\/p>\n<p>The teacher may use the technique of six thinking hats by Edward De Bono in order to enhance students\u2019 discussion and thinking skills. The students are divided into groups of six and given topics for discussion. The students in each group are assigned imaginary thinking hats which direct their thinking process. White hat represents facts and information. Red hat symbolizes emotions and feelings. Yellow hat signifies positive rationality. Black hat is opposite of the Yellow hat. It is used for discussing the negative repercussions of the plan. Green hat stands for creativity and unconventional thinking. Blue hat is used for directing the discussion, for switching hats when necessary, for summarizing the major points of the discussion, as well as for making decisions. In a group setting, the entire group is encouraged to use just one hat at a time, thus contributing to an organized and comprehensive discussion, rather than a confused and mixed-up argument.<\/p>\n<p>Giving feedback and correcting the mistakes of the students is equally important. There may be times when teachers need to help an activity by prompting. It should be done sympathetically and sensitively. The teacher should be patient and give students enough time to perform.\u00a0 He should prompt only if it is mandatory in order to keep the speaking activity going. The teacher should motivate the students for their engaging activities.\u00a0 The teacher should never correct their mistakes while they are engaged in the speaking activities.\u00a0 It should be done after the activity is over.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone likes to do what she\/he likes to do. The teacher has to make it a point that the students are enjoying the activities along with the language learning process. He \/she should try to bring out the best in the students.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Doff, A. (1988).Teach English: A training course for teachers, Cambridge University<\/p>\n<p>Press, Chennai.<\/p>\n<p>Graded examination in spoken English2007-2010 (2008) Trinity College<\/p>\n<p>London, London.<\/p>\n<p>Harmer, J. (2007).How to Teach English, Pearson Education Limited, England.<\/p>\n<p>Rai, U. and A. Rai (2008).Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.<\/p>\n<p>Lowndes, L. (2004).How to talk about anyone, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing<\/p>\n<p>Company Limited, New York.<\/p>\n<p>Tickoo, M.L. (2003). Teaching and learning English, Orient Longman,<\/p>\n<p>India.<\/p>\n<p>Ur, P. and A. Wright (1992). Five minute activities, Cambridge University Press,<\/p>\n<p>Great Britain.<\/p>\n<p>Yardi, v. (1970).English conversation for Indian students, Orient<\/p>\n<p>Longman, Hyderabad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ms. Leena Jadhav is a freelance translator and BEC trainer. Her core competencies include syllabus designing and content writing. Abstract Communication is a process of sharing information through speech, writing, gestures or symbols between two or more people. The focus of the present paper is oral communication and the language under consideration is English.\u00a0 The 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