Communication Skills

REPORT AND REFLECTION

Session: 09.10.2014

Time    : 2.30pm

Trainer: Katie

Slot      : COMMUNICATION SKILLS ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

REPORT

This session was aimed to develop participants’ understanding of facilitating communication within the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classroom. Participants were taught on different types of communication used by teachers and learners in CLIL contexts. 

The trainer demonstrated a communicative activity. Participants were divided into 4 groups (5-6 members) to read and take notes on a short text about different types of food preservation (salting and pickling, dehydration, canning and bottling, refrigeration and freezing). Each member of the group read the assigned text and identified things they knew, things they do not know and provide examples to consolidate retention of information. 

Then, participants were required to discuss their notes with group members and form sentences using phrases (most of us knew, some of us, none of us know, etc.). This allowed participants to share the content knowledge (get to know the food preservation in detail) and language knowledge. Each group read their sentences while others listen to the use of phrases and repeat after them. All the participants listened attentively as they have to check on the use of phrases.

At the end of the session, the trainer summarized the lesson and provided some positive feedback on the use of good language aspects. In a nutshell, the incorporation of content and language focus in the communicative activity had achieved its aims in CLIL contexts.

REFLECTION

Glancing back into the session is indeed an experience of someone digging gold in the mine - the lesson learnt will prove to be valuable. The lesson itself becomes the source of motivation for communication to take place in the classroom where the content being put in the vertical axis, and the language in the horizon, then the result goes diagonal up all along.

It is upon mutual agreement that the teaching and learning process depicted the communicative approach where the learners are given the golden opportunity to construct the language and self-discovered the language used throughout the discussion; and made sense of the purpose of the communication - in a way that silent is no longer the gold, verbal communication is (the goal). 

Narrow down the focus to the grammar aspect of the language, the lesson has made the learning of grammar blended in both deductive and inductive learning. The grammar had been brought to the learners’ attention without much effort simply by exploiting the contents as a whole. Specific information bits guided them to the path (by discussion) to reconstruct the information to make sense of the whole context of the lesson. This is to deconstruct and reconstruct their authentic masterpiece. Hence, teaching and learning of the content goes parallel with the language.

RECOMMENDATION

Communication skills across the curriculum stresses on the structured language used in classrooms. To improvise the lesson is like the Chinese proverb, as giving limb to a snake. The focus may shift to the facilitators themselves. Most of the time, facilitators tend to focus on the errors and make direct correction on the learners’ mistakes. 

Psychologically, this can be demotivating to the learners. Instead of giving them herbs, they may take it as drugs. Correction can be done indirectly by highlighting on the aspect of the language they still yet to master. On the other end of the continuum is praises. Facilitators need to give more praises to the learners even for their mistakes, subsequently direct them to the correct use of the language (praises rather than correction may make them feel better for the mistakes done).  

Apparently, compliment for errors may seem irony, but the compliment is the complement for the lesson. Mistakes will always be the key towards success. Peer evaluation can boost their confidence. To conclude, praises should be part of the lesson, it acts as the supplement to prevent communication problems in future.