METRO MANILA COLLEGE

U-Site, Brgy. Kaligayahan, Novaliches, Quezon City

BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FIRST SEMESTER

Exploring Oral Communication in Context

Grade 11 Learning Module 2

A Comprehensive Module
for the Course
Oral Communication in Context
1st Semester, A.Y. 2020-2021

Prepared by:

Mr. Valenzuela, Daryl Eldrin L.

Oral Communication in Context Teacher
 LESSON #2: THE ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION IN ACTION

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CONTENT STANDARD:

The learner…
[CS.ORC.1] understands the nature and elements of oral communication in context.

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PERFORMANCE STANDARD:

The learner…
[PS.ORC.1] designs and performs effective controlled and uncontrolled oral
communication activities based on context.

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OBJECTIVE:

At the end of the module, you should be able to…

[EN11/12OC-Ia-2] Explain the functions, nature, and elements of communication.
 LESSON 2.1. THE SIX ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
(Adapted from Hermosa, Hernandez, and Vergara, 2019, & Fernandez, Masong, and Samillano, 2016)

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The Six Elements of Communication and Their Subclassifications

There are six elements of communication, and they are as follows:

1. SENDER / SPEAKER – This is the source or originator of the message and is

primarily in charge of ideating/creating, encoding, and transmitting the message.

2. MESSAGE – This is any idea, thought, emotion, opinion, or belief – basically

anything that the sender wants to convey to the receiver. Note that
messages can be positive, neutral, or negative.

e.g. food, weather, crushes, the assignment due tomorrow, and the like.

3. CHANNEL – This is the way or the media format used to transmit a message.

The Three Main Channels:

A. Spoken or Verbal – This refers to anything that is said and is primarily

perceived by our sense of hearing

e.g. face-to-face conversation, calls, the radio, the TV, recorded messages,
voice chats

B. Written – This refers to anything that is manually or digitally written as

presented to the receiver.

e.g. Facebook chats, Twitter direct message, texts in books and notebooks,
emails, memorandums, and school or workplace documents.

C. Nonverbal – This refers to or anything not in the form of spoken or

written language that can transmit a message to a receiver.

e.g. facial expression, posture, images, objects, miniature models,

illustrations, voice control, and eye contact

4. NOISE / BARRIERS – These are external, internal, and semantic factors that
may delay or disrupt the process of sending and/or receiving a message.
These may also distort the intended meaning of the message.
The Seven (7) Types of Noise / Barriers:

A. Physical Barrier – This is anything in the environment that may make it

difficult to understand the message

e.g. ambient noise, loud music playing on headphones or stereo, another

person talking, walls and/or other physical obstructions, environmental noise

B. Psychological Barrier – This refers to the state of mind, the mood, the
emotions, the feelings, or any internal noise that affects one’s perception and
understanding of the message

e.g. anger, hatred, depression, happiness, bliss, stress

C. Semantic Barrier – This is a difficulty in understanding caused by the

complexities of language or the difference in the languages or in the use of
languages.

e.g.

1. “Are you finished with your paper?”

To students, “paper” can mean the test paper or the worksheet they work.
To researchers, “paper” can mean their manuscript or their research paper.
And to people in the workplace, “paper” may refer to an important document
in the workplace. People may misunderstand what you mean by the word
“paper” because it can mean a lot of things.

2. Person A is speaking Filipino and Person B is speaking Japanese. They

won’t understand each other because they are using different languages

3. Both Persons A and B speak Tagalog, but they use the language in
different ways. Person A is a Manileño whil Person B is a Batangueño.

D. Psychosocial Barrier – This is a barrier caused by a person’s background:

his/her/their ideals, religion, principles, beliefs, values, culture and the like.

e.g.

1. If a Christian talks to a Muslim about the concept of salvation, they might

encounter some difficulties because both of them have a different concept or
understanding of what salvation is and where it comes from.
 2. A person who is outgoing may reject the idea of staying at home. This
would be fine to a homebody, though.

E. Physiological / Biological Barrier – This is a difficulty caused by the

sender or the receiver’s physical condition, state, or disability.

e.g. sickness, physical disabilities like blindness or deafness, communicating

while one’s eyes are closed, feeling “under the weather”

F. Systematic / Systemic Barrier – This is a difficulty caused by [1] faulty or

ineffective communication channels or information networks and/or [2]
confusion with regard to what one’s roles and responsibilities are as a
communicator. This normally happens in organizations because of information
dissemination issues.

e.g.

1. When the bosses of a company decide on a new company policy, they ask
the managers to disseminate information. The managers then disseminate
information to the team leaders, and then to the regular employees.
There is a systemic barrier because [1] the message may not be delivered
as is – in the exact words that the bosses used, and [2] the message was
not delivered immediately – it passed through a lot of people before it was
delivered.

2. When someone suddenly talks to you, you get confused as to what your
role is. Are you going to listen to him/her/them? Are you supposed to pass
the message he/she/they will say to you? A systemic barrier is at play
here.

G. Attitudinal Barrier – This is a preconceived frame of mind which stems

from one’s personality, a lack of motivation, adaptability issues, and poor
management.

e.g. negative attitude towards a person who is of different gender orientation

or skin color, disinterest in one’s job, resistance to change

5. RECEIVER / LISTENER – This is the recipient of the message and is primarily

in charge of decoding the message and generating feedback.

6. FEEDBACK / RESPONSE – This is the reply of the receiver to the message

sent by the sender. Like messages, feedback can be positive, neutral, or
negative. This is the KEY component in communication (to be discussed in
Lesson 2.2).
[ACTIVITY 2.1.] LET’S CLASSIFY THINGS!
DIRECTIONS: Write the letter of the correct answer on the space provided before the
number. Use CAPITAL letters only. (1 pt. each)

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Q: What barrier of communication is present in the situations below?

CHOICES for Items 1-10:
A – Physical Barrier
B – Psychological Barrier
C – Semantic Barrier
D – Psychosocial Barrier
E – Physiological / Biological Barrier
F – Systemic / Systematic Barrier
G – Attitudinal Barrier
H – None of these

_____ 1. Ryan couldn’t understand Sarah’s point because he had a high fever.
_____ 2. When Diane said “bring me the phone”, David brought his cellphone instead
of the house telephone which was what Diane wanted.
_____ 3. When Jason talked to Christian about a political issue, they ended up arguing
because they had different principles.
_____ 4. Maria and Jose found it hard to communicate because Jerry literally stood
between them.
_____ 5. She didn’t want to talk to him because she saw men as cheaters.
_____ 6. Karen and Lulu couldn’t hear each other over the phone because of the
thunder and the sound of the rain.
_____ 7. Gerry just ignored his girlfriend Karla because he was angry with her.
_____ 8. Darwin received an order from the class president. The order the class
president gave originally came from the class adviser.
_____ 9. Dale couldn’t see Gale’s nonverbal actions because he is blind.
_____ 10. Marco just suddenly talked to Myra which left her confused on what to do
with his message.

Q: What channel can the objects / things below be classified under?

CHOICES for Items 11-20:
I – Spoken or Verbal Media K – Nonverbal Media
J – Written Media L – None of these.

____ 11. radio show ____ 16. podcasts

____ 12. love letters ____ 17. a billing statement from Meralco
____ 13. study notes ____ 18. one’s facial expressions
____ 14. eye contact ____ 19. A recording of the song “Bawal Lumabas”
____ 15. a painting ____ 20. a statue of Dr. Jose Rizal
 LESSON 2.2. HOW THE SIX ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION INTERACT

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The six elements of communication generally interact as such in this order – the basic
process of communication.

1. The sender thinks of something to send.

2. The sender encodes and sends the message through a channel.

3. Noise or barriers may or may not interfere with the delivery of the message.
 4. The receiver decodes the message to understand it and fully “receive” it.

5. The receiver generates feedback to send back to the sender.

6. Repeat Processes #1 to #5 until a participant prompts to stop the conversation.

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Takeaways:

1. The sender is the person who starts the conversation by creating a message.

2. Both the message and the feedback may or may not be affected by noise /
barriers.

3. The receiver is the person who primarily “decides” if the conversation continues or
not because he/she/they generate(s) feedback. If no feedback is generated, the
conversation will stop. This is why feedback is the KEY element of communication.

4. Because noise / barriers may or may not interfere with the message or the feedback,
it is the only element of communication that we can remove from the basic process of
communication. Sometimes, there are no barriers that interfere with our
messages and feedbacks!
[ACTIVITY 2.2.] LET’S DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING!
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions. Write your answers on the space
provided. Please answer in no less than THREE sentences.

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1. Explain the basic process of communication. (4 pts.)

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2. Which of the six elements can be removed from the basic process of communication?
Why? (3 pts.)
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3. Why is feedback considered as the key element in communication? (3 pts.)

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[ACTIVITY 2.3.] LET’S PROVIDE FEEDBACK!

DIRECTIONS: Feedback is a key element of communication. Provide an appropriate
feedback (in the form of a one-sentence statement) for the following situations. Write
your answers on the space provided.

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1. You are talking with your best friend, but you want to drop the call because you
are feeling dizzy. What will you say to him/her/them?
ANSWER: _____________________________________________________

2. You are taking an exam. You notice that your classmates are cheating.
Obviously, you want them to stop. What will you say to them?
ANSWER: _____________________________________________________

3. You are staring blankly and you notice that a thief is trying to enter your
neighbor’s house. How will you react?
ANSWER: _____________________________________________________
 LESSON 2.3. AREAS THAT MAY AFFECT COMMUNICATION
(Adapted from Hermosa, Hernandez, and Vergara, 2019)

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There are five primary areas that may affect communication:

1. SINCERITY – This is one’s genuineness when communicating with another

person or persons. It is the absence of pretense or ulterior motives. This is
usually observed through the speaker or the listener’s nonverbal actions.

WHY IS SINCERITY IMPORTANT?

Sincerity is important because it makes people comfortable around you. They

can find you easy to talk to and they will be more focused when you talk!

NOTE: Sincerity is considered to be the foundation of all communication because

communication will fail if the speaker is without any semblance of sincerity. A
lack of sincerity is usually observed in one’s nonverbal actions such as eye
contact, posture, tone of voice, and the like. If you’re not sincere, you may not
look straight to the eyes of the person(s) you talk to. Your posture and tone of
voice might show that you’re disinterested in the conversation. You don’t want
that.

2. EMPATHY – This is one’s ability to sympathize with others and understand

where they come from. This is also known as the ability to “see through the eyes
of others” or to “put oneself in someone else’s shoes”.

WHY IS EMPATHY IMPORTANT?

Empathy is important because it makes people find the right words to say
and how to say these words in each and every situation. If one knows how to
see things from others’ perspectives, it is easy to establish connections and
generate messages/feedback! Even if you have good intentions, if you don’t
evince the right amount of empathy, you will be misunderstood.

3. SELF-PERCEPTION – This is how we look at our own selves. “Do we

overestimate or underestimate ourselves?” “Do we see ourselves as who we
really are?” “Do we know how we should approach communication based on our
own personality or style?” These are the questions that we should be asking
ourselves with regard to self-perception.
 WHY IS SELF-PERCEPTION IMPORTANT?

If we see or present ourselves as too high, we might come off as

overconfident to the persons we talk to. Alternatively, if we see or present
ourselves as too small or insignificant, we won’t have the confidence to start
and/or maintain conversations. People might not be interested to talk to us, too.

Let’s have the right amount of confidence in ourselves!

4. ROLE PERCEPTION – This is the ability to understand our position and the part
we need to fulfill in the communication process. “Am I older or younger than the
person I’m talking to?” “Is the person I’m talking to of a higher station that I
am?” “Should I be more active in communication?” “Should I pay more attention
to what the speaker is saying?” These are the questions that we should be
asking ourselves with regard to role perception.

WHY IS ROLE PERCEPTION IMPORTANT?

It is important to know our role in communication in order to respond

appropriately and create an engaging atmosphere for both the sender and the
receiver. If we know that we’re younger than the person we talk to, we will
automatically note that we need to use respectful words like “po” and “opo”. If
we know that the person is of higher position, we will definitely use their titles to
address them. If we know that the person we’re talking to is in emotional pain,
we will know the right words to say to comfort him/her/them.

5. LISTENING ABILITY – This is the ability to actively pay attention to what is

being said or delivered to understand the message and prepare an appropriate
feedback. Passive listening and some related communication barriers (such as
having a short attention span) are hindrances to active listening. People must do
their best to address these things.

WHY IS LISTENING ABILITY IMPORTANT?

Communication hinges on active listening. If one doesn’t want to listen to

what the other one is saying, the process of communication will fall apart. In
order to provide appropriate feedback, we must listen to what the other person
is saying and let that person finish before we speak. Also, listening attentively is
a sign of respect. When you listen to someone, it means that you’re paying full
attention – that you acknowledge that person and what he/she/they is about to
say. And being acknowledged is a great feeling. If we’re doing something else,
let’s drop that thing in order to listen to the person talking to us.
[ACTIVITY 2.4.] LET’S ANALYZE!
DIRECTIONS: Write the letter of the correct answer on the space provided before the
number. Use CAPITAL letters only. (1 pt. each)

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Q: Which of the following should the persons in the situations below improve?

CHOICES:
A – Sincerity C – Self-Perception E – Listening Ability
B – Empathy D – Role Perception F – None of these.

_____ 1. David doesn’t pay attention to what Miles says because he has a short
attention span.

_____ 2. He uses curse words and slang language when he talks to his superiors in a
formal setting.

_____ 3. She uses a harsh tone of voice to comfort her friend who is suffering from
depression.

_____ 4. The members presenting in front keep looking at the floor as they deliver the
piece assigned to them by the subject teacher.

_____ 5. The speaker brags about his achievements in almost all parts of his speech .
This effectively “distances” himself from his audience. No one is interested now.

_____ 6. The contestant doesn’t think he has what it takes to win the competition, let
alone give a decent performance on stage.

_____ 7. Seth wasn’t focused on Erika because half of his attention was on her and the
other half was on his phone because he was playing Mobile Legends.

_____ 8. He doesn’t maintain eye contact with his girlfriend when they talk about
relationship problems. His tone of voice also seems like he’s hiding something.

_____ 9. When Darren talks, Sven cuts him most of the time. He doesn’t let Darren
finish what he wants to say.

_____ 10. Cale talks to his parents as if he’s talking to his friends.
[ACTIVITY 2.5.] LET’S REFLECT!
DIRECTIONS: Write at least a 150-word paragraph or essay about what area of
communication do you want to work on and how you plan to improve yourself in that
area.

The criteria of the write-up are as follows:

CRITERIA DESCRIPTION POINTS

The paragraph presents valuable content which is arranged
CONTENT AND
in a way that facilitates understanding of what the writer 4
ORGANIZATION
wants to say.
GRAMMAR The paragraph follows the rudiments of English grammar
3
AND STYLISTICS and stylistics and contains at least one hundred (100) words.
The content of the paragraph is directly related to the points
RELEVANCE 3
the writer wants to deliver.
TOTAL 10

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (LESSON 2)

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Content References:

Main Reference (Book):

Hermosa, A.L., Hernandez, M.R., & Vergara, S. (2019) Oral communication: for
senior high school (V. M. Victorio, Consultant). Educational Resources
Corporation.

Supporting References (Book):

Anonat, R. (2016). Oral communication in context: Grade eleven - senior high

school. Books Atpb. Publishing Corp.

Fernandez, E., Masong, A. & Samillano, R. (2016). Oral communication in

context: For senior high school. C & E Publishing, Inc.

Book Cover:

StudioGStock (2019). Group of people with speech bubbles [Digital Image].

Retrieved 4 Jul 2020 from https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/group-people-
with-speech-
bubbles_5825572.htm#page=1&query=people%20talking&position=1

Please note that all other media resources (images and/or diagrams) not cited in this
Bibliography are created by the module writer and labeled accordingly.