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OFC 017
COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Including English Grammar)
P.P. Lipembe
OFC 017
COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Including English Grammar)
P.P. Lipembe
Lecturer Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The Open University of Tanzania Kawawa Road, P. O. Box 23409, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Open University of Tanzania.
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CONTENTS
General Introduction vii
LECTURE 2: LISTENING 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Introduction . Meaning of Listening . Listening as a Function of Communication Listening Strategies . Types of Listening .. 12 13 14 14 14
LECTURE 3: READING 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction . The meaning of the Nature of Reading ... Different Types of Reading 18 18 20
LECTURE 4: WRITING 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Introduction . Writing an Essay . Writing Types of Reports . 31 32 43 44
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What is the Purpose of Writing Reports? ... Essential Elements of a Report ... Qualities of Effective Report Writing .
46 46 49
LECTURE 5: PUNCTUATION AND CONVENTIONS OF USE 5.1 5.2 Introduction . What is Punctuation? .. 51 52
LECTURE 6: THE INTERNET 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 Introduction ... What is the Internet? . Internet as an Aspect of Communication . Who is Using the Internet? Brief History of the Internet .. Basic Internet Services .. Using E-mail . Advantages of E-Mail Search Engines .. Metasearch Engines .. Web Searching 71 71 72 72 73 73 74 75 78 79 80
86 86 87 88
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LECTURE 8: TYPES OS SENTENCES 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Introduction ... 100
Significance of Sentence Types . 100 Classification of Sentences Sentence Types According to Purpose .. Sentence Types According to Structure 101 101 105
LECTURE 9: FORMAL AGREEMENT IN THE SENTENCE 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Introduction ... Meaning of Formal Agreement . Agreement of Subject and Verb Agreement of Compound Subjects .. Agreement in Subjects Formed by Collective Nouns ... Agreement in Subjects Formed by Nouns with Summation Plurals. Agreement of a Pronoun and its Antecedent . 110 111 111 116 117 118 119
LECTURE 10: COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 Introduction ... Sentence Fragments .. 122 123
Correcting Sentence Fragments . 125 Agreement Faults .. Correcting Agreement Faults 129 130
Run-Together Sentences 133 Faulty Parallelism . Pronoun Reference Errors . Faulty Modification ... Dangling Modifiers ... 135 137 140 144
LECTURE 11: TEXT GRAMMAR: COHESION 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Introduction ... Text and Textuality. .. What is Cohesion? Cohesive Ties 148 148 149 149
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This unit aims to introduce you to the principles and skills of effective communication.
During the course of your studies as a university student, you will have to communicate in various manners and with different categories of people. For example, in your small study groups, you will have to communicate with your fellow students in discussions, likewise while reading your study materials and other reference materials you will be communicating with the authors of the publications even though you will not be able to give feedback response the authors.
It is important to emphasize that your ability to communicate effectively is quite essential to your educational attainment, social acceptability, physical and emotional well being, and ultimately your chances for securing employment.
This course consists of 11 lectures totaling 30 contact hours. Each lecture is divided into two parts; Part one deals with various aspects of communication, and part two presents grammar topics relevant to communication. Each lecture begins with a presentation of objectives, an overview and then a treatment of the main aspects of the topic. In addition throughout the unit, end-of-chapter exercises are provided to give you practical, hands-on assignments. You are advised to try to complete all these exercises so that you may harness the full potential of the course.
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Part One
Essentials of Communication
Lecture One: Lecture Two: Lecture Three: Lecture Four: Lecture Five: Lecture Six: Meaning and Aspects of Communication Listening Reading Writing Mechanics of Writing Sources of Information: The Internet
BLANK
LECTURE ONE
The term is quite familiar to most of us. It refers to an activity that people perform everyday. Actually it is said that as humans we begin to communicate the moment we are born. For example, the cry of a baby draws the attention of its mother thus making the mother to either feed or comfort it. In this case the babys cry communicates a message to its mother. Communication refers to an activity or process that serves to connect people through space and time. All communication involves a person understanding others and having others understanding him/her. In this way it unites person and person, person and group or group and group. Studies have found out however that even through people communicate since their infancy, they are not as affective as they should be, The process of transmitting information from an individual (or group) to another is a very complex process as it involves different stages hence the purpose of this unit of study, to train you on how best to communicate with others.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you should be able to: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Define communication; Describe the process of communication; Describe essential elements of communication; Explain the importance of communication.
1.2
MEANING OF COMMUNICATION
The word communication derives from the word common which infers to share, exchange, send along, transmit, talk, gesture, write, put in use, relate, etc. Humans communicate in order to share knowledge and experiences. Since time immemorial human beings are known to have communicated in a number of ways. In the tradition African society people used to communicate in different ways. For example in some communities, a certain form of wailing or cry denoted occurrence of a dangerous situation in the society, like an attack by a wild animal or some other calamity. Likewise different forms of drum-beat carried different messages e.g. joy and celebration, sorrow and grief, invitation and reception. In some cases the drum was used to announce the demise of the ruler of the land like the chief or king. In modern times, communication between people and groups has evolved very much especially after the establishment of the print, audio and the visual media. Further more the advent of the internet has, metaphorically speaking, reduced the size of the world by making it possible for people from different places in the world to carry out face-to-face interaction. What is communication
In this unit, the term communication is used to refer to the process by which people are able to transfer meaning between themselves. It is the process that allows people to share information ideas and feelings. Where no meaning is transferred no communication has taken place. Communication is a learnt skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk but we must learn to speak well and communicate effectively.
Speaking, listening and our ability to understand verbal and non-verbal meanings are skills we develop in various ways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviours based on what we see.
ACTIVITIES
Discuss with your colleague the forms of communication that traditional people of your ethnic community used.
Communication as an academic discipline embraces a large body of study and knowledge that relate to all the ways we communicate. It focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels and media. In all, the field promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.
TAKE NOTE
WHY IS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT? In our daily undertakings, we spend most of the time communicating with one another. It is estimated that 75% of a persons day is spent communicating in some way. Most of our communication time is in spent in listening and speaking, while a minority of that time is spent in reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster our personal, academic and professional success. The ability to speak clearly and eloquently on one hand and to write effectively on the other, have been recognized as the hallmarks of an educated person. Put in other words, these actions of communication are central in determining a persons ability to succeed or fail in life.
Explore how you interact with others in various kinds of contexts as a university student, an employee or member of society in general. Who do you interact with and what information is exchanged?
1.3 ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATION The purpose of communication is to pass on your intended meaning to others. Studies conducted on the way communication takes place have shown that it is a well defined process that comprises a number of components.
The main components of communication are summarized in the following diagram which shows that communication takes place through a staged process of five essential elements shown below:
SENDER
MESSAGE
CHANNEL
RECEIVER
FEEDBACK
1.3.1 Sender This is the source where information comes from; it could be an individual speaking, writing, signaling or gesturing.
Message This refers to the ideas, data or feelings that the sender intends to share with others.
1.3.2 Channel This is the route travelled by or used to send the message as it goes from the sender to the receiver. It refers to the form in which the idea, or feeling is delivered across. In spoken communication this could include face-to-face, meetings, telephone or video conferencing. In written communication it includes letters, emails, memos and reports.
1.3.3 Receiver This refers to one or more individuals for whom the message is intended. This is the goal to which the message is targeted.
1.3.4
Feedback
This refers to the verbal or non-verbal reactions from the audience who receive the message. This gauges whether or not the receiver has understood the message.
1.3.5 Noise This is the interference that keeps the message from being understood. Interference to communication may be physical or psychological in nature. Physical interference keeps a message from being heard properly. Psychological interference occurs when the communication receivers are distracted by feelings that disturb the mind of the receiver. This explains for instance, why a hungry person cannot be able to read, listen or write effectively.
1.4
We send or receive information through a number of ways. These ways can be categorized as verbal-communication and non verbal-communication.
In order to become a successful communicator you should make sure that you understand well the verbal and non-verbal communication strategies of communication. In any organization like a school or workplaces, these types of communication are continually exchanged often times without much planning or even thought that such communications are taking place.
1.4.1 Verbal communication This refers to the various modes of sending and receiving by using words. This includes both spoken and written modes of communication.
1.4.2 Nonverbal Communication This refers to forms of communication which make use of body movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language, or other forms of communication. It includes all manners of interaction that allows us to communicate without using words. Facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact are examples of nonverbal communication. Non-verbal language is important in one-on-one communications, and may be even more important in group communications. In group situations, often only one person at a time is speaking, while non-verbal response is coming from each individual in the group. The larger the group, the more impact body language may have. In social communication we understand spoken remarks within the context of an exchange of ideas between rational and emotional beings in a social situation. We
become aware not only of what one says, but what one does by uttering such a remark, and the effect they might bring about by such a remark.
ACTIVITIES
Pair up with a colleague to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the following communication mode shown below. Verbal Communication Advantages Disadvantages