MODULE GUIDE

This module is designed for independent and discovery learning. As a student,

you are expected to be in charge of your own learning process by going through the
different tasks and activities prepared for you. Thus, it is necessary that you carefully
follow the directions.
Every lesson begins with the objectives and an introduction to guide and give you
an initial idea of the topic and the skills you are expected to acquire upon completing the
lesson. After which are these sections which provide you with the instructions to follow,
questions to answer, activities to accomplish, or texts to read and understand. To wit:
 Let’s Start. In this section, you will be asked do an activity or answer several
questions to either activate your prior knowledge about the new topic or
review the past ones. In answering this part of the lesson, you should only
rely on your prior knowledge and NOT cheat by reading the next section or
searching for answers online.
 Let’s Read. This contains the text or readings about the topic. Be it known
that these materials are only outsourced from various print and online
references. Copyrights rightfully belong to the respective authors which are
cited at the end of the lesson.
 Let’s Remember. This contains a summary or a list of the major points or
ideas from reading.
 Let’s Do It. This is the formative assessment of the lesson where you will
answer questions to gauge your attainment of the objectives. Do as the
directions say. Should you need more space for your answers, attach
additional sheets of papers.
At the end of each module is a major output or a performance task that will have
you apply what you learned from the different lessons in the module. Instructions are
detailed for your compliance.
Should you have any concern or question about the lesson or the module, feel
free to contact me in the following platforms:
 SMS: 09214321457 (Smart/TnT/Sun)
 Facebook/ Messenger: Jerry A. Serdena
 E-mail: jerryagaton361@gmail.com
Good luck!

JERRY A. SERDENA
Instructor
 Module 1
Title Introduction to Communication
Description This module introduces the basic concepts of contemporary,
modernist, and popular literature
Outcome Describe the nature, elements, and functions of verbal and
non- verbal communication and develop communicative
competence towards a multicultural audience in global and
local settings
Requirement/s
Key Terms  Communication
 Communication models
 Ethical communication
 Globalization
 Multicultural communication
 Language registers

Lesson 1:
Communication Processes and Ethics
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Understand the importance of communication in society;
 Relate the communication models to their experiences and apply
them to their own communication processes; and
 Discuss the principles and relevance of ethical communication
and detect examples and non-examples of such.

Introduction
In this lesson, you will be exposed to the different ways of looking at
communication. It should give you a good understanding of why communication should
be studied at the tertiary level, and the potential of such a course in helping you
transition yourselves and your society. You will also be introduced to the different
guidelines in communicating in an ethical manner.

LET’S GET STARTED!

I. Answer the following:
 1. Why is communication important to you and the society?
2. Why do you think communication skills are considered to be essential in being a
good citizen?
3. Why do you think should there be ethics in communication?
4. What problems can arise when people are not ethical in their communication
practices?

LET’S READ!
I. Introduction (Santos & Uychoco, 2018)
It is a mistake to believe that communication is a simple process. Although people
communicate with one another every day, the real question is whether the ideas one
has expressed are truly understood by another. Communication breakdowns happen in
every part of the globe, and these have led to a plethora of problems. Effective
communication can breach peace, spark revolutions, and affect change in government.
However, to communicate properly, one cannot simply strive to express oneself and
leave understanding to fate; one must also learn to organize one’s thoughts, control
one’s emotions, use one’s words to articulate concepts and arguments, and express
oneself in the best way possible.
The art of one’s communication reflects the art of one’s thinking. According to James
Berlin (1982), one of the proponents of The New Rhetoric, “In teaching writing, we are
not only offering training in a useful technical skill that is meant as a simple complement
to the more important studies of other areas. We are teaching a way of experiencing the
world, a way of ordering and making a sense of it.”
This is also true when it comes to all the language skills essential in communication,
whether this is in writing, reading, listening, or speaking. They are tools that help us
analyze, critique, and negotiate with the world. To construct ideas and bring people to
believe in one’s vision, it is important to be able to communicate in an effective,
articulate manner. On a personal level, honing one’s communication skills, can also
bring about success to one’s personal and professional life.
To lead nations or corporations, communication skills are essential. To work
smoothly as a team, communication is indispensable. And to create a vision that people
will believe in, one needs to learn how to communicate purposeful in today’s society.

II. Communication Models

A model is widely used to depict any idea, thought or a concept in a simpler way
through diagrams, pictorial representations etc. Models go a long way in making the
understanding of any concept easy and clear. Through a model one can easily
understand a process and draw conclusions from it. In simpler words a model makes
the learning simple.
A. Aristotle’s Model of Communication

The earliest model comes from Aristotle at around 5 B.C. In this model, Aristotle
explain that speakers should adjust their messages accordingly to their audience and
the occasion to achieve a particular effect. Let us apply this to a modern example. After
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, then US President Franklin
Roosevelt delivered a stirring speech to declare war on Japan on December 9 (National
Geographic, 2017). The speaker, in this case, was US President Franklin Roosevelt and
his speech was crafted especially for the occasion, filled with strong words that were
crisp and straight to the point. The occasion was the US President’s response to the
attack on Pearl Harbor; the main audience was the US Congress; and the effect was to
persuade members of Congress to declare war on Japan, which they did, with only one
dissenting vote. These components of speaker, speech, occasion, audience, and effect
should be considered when communicating one’s message.

B. Shannon-Weaver’s Model of Communication

The Shannon-Weaver model was created by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver
(Flores, 2016). According to the website, CommunicationTheory.org, in 1948, Shannon
and Weaver wrote an article in the Bell System Technological Journal titled “A
Mathematical Theory of Communication.” According to Flores (2016), this is also often
called the “Telephone Model,” since it was developed because of the technology of the
telephone and the experience of “noise” coming from the switchboard.
The sender would be the person giving the message, while the encoder would be
the transmitter which converts the message into signals. Let us use the modern
example of the mobile phone. With our modern example, the encoder would be the
cellphone, and the sender, of course, would be the person calling. The decoder, on the
other hand, would be the reception place of the signal which converts signals into
message, which is why in modern parlance, when there is “no signal,” there is difficulty
in decoding the message. The receiver would be the destination of the message by
sender which would be the person being called- and when there are problems, or
“noise,” that interferes with the message, then the receiver would give feedback, which
is usually phrased as “choppy,” when the message cannot be heard because of the
signal. The messages are transferred through the use of a channel; in the case of the
telephone, the channel would be the cables, while in the case of the of the cellphone,
the channel would be the radio frequencies.
This model can also be used in other situations, and can tell us how the message
may sometimes get lost because of the noise, which can be physical of psychological,
and how feedback is an essential component of communication to ensure that the
message is successfully received.
C. Osgood-Schramm Model of Communication
On the other hand, when it comes to Schramm’s model of communication, there are
two primary models involved. The first one is built on the theories of Osgood, which is
why this is also known as the Osgood-Schramm model.

In this model, pay attention to the role of the interpreter. Encoding and decoding are
not automatic processes both go through the filter of the interpreter. Therefore, the
message may succeed or fail, based on the interpreter’s appreciation of the message.
There are times when the sender and receiver may apply different meanings to the
same message, and this is termed “semantic noise.” His second model, on the other
hand, builds this theory about the interpreter into the different fields of experience of the
seder and the receiver.
For the message to reach the receiver, there must be a common field of experience
between the sender and the receiver. Although the receiver might not fully appreciate
the nuances of the message, as there are parts of the sender’s experience that the
receiver has no knowledge of, the receiver may still understand the core meaning of the
message. According to Snesha Mishra (2017), this field of experience may constitute
“culture, social backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, values, and rules.”
D. White’s Stages of Oral Communication
According to Eugene White, it is possible to begin at any of the stages outlined in his
model. People are under the mistaken impression that when we communicate, we
usually we start with thinking, but that is not necessarily the case. Since it is s circular
model, it means that oral communication is a continuous process with no real beginning
or end. The most important contribution from Eugene White’s model is the concept of
feedback, which can only be processed by the speaker if he or she has been monitoring
the audience or the listener. Hence, the speaker must also pay attention to the listener’s
verbal and non-verbal cues.
Thinking Symbolizing Expressing

Monitoring Transmitting

Feedbacking Decoding Receiving

I. Communication Ethics
In 1999, the National Communication Association, NCA, officially adopted the Credo
for Ethical Communication. The organization updated the credo in 2017. Ultimately, the
NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is a set of beliefs communication scholars have
about the ethics of human communication.
Questions of right and wrong arise whenever people communicate. Ethical
communication is fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the
development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures,
channels, and media. Moreover, ethical communication enhances human worth and
dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect
for self and others. We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all
communication and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which
we live. Therefore we, the members of the National Communication Association,
endorse and are committed to practicing the following principles of ethical
communication:
1. We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to
the integrity of communication. Example: Students should accurately quote
and cite the sources of researched information they use in written and oral
reports.
2. We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance
of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making
fundamental to a civil society. Example: Work groups should create a
supportive climate in which members feel free to express their ideas, opinions,
values, and feelings.
3. We strive to understand and respect other communicators before
evaluating and responding to their messages. Example: When arguing with
someone, you should try to understand that person’s beliefs and values before
making a judgment.
4. We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as
necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-being of
individuals, families, communities, and society. Example: When working in
virtual group contexts, members should have access to similar software and
equipment
5. We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding
that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual
communicators. Example: You and your friends should respect and adapt to
people whose cultural backgrounds are different from yours.
6. We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity
through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the
expression of intolerance and hatred. Example: You should stand up and
criticize statements that belittle or stereotype other people.
7. We are committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in
pursuit of fairness and justice. Example: People who oppose a country’s
policies and actions abroad should be allowed to express their well-reasoned
opinions without being labeled unpatriotic.
8. We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing
significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
Example: At work, managers/supervisors should keep employees informed about
their individual progress in private and in confidence.
 9. We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our
own communication and expect the same of others. Example: If you upset or
anger family members, you should accept the consequences of your actions.

LET’S REMEMBER!
In conclusion, communication is not a simple process that starts with the speaker
and ends with the listener- there are many factors that should be considered. When it
comes to the message, how the message is organized and what field of experience it
comes from should be taken into consideration. When it comes to the sender, the best
communication is the one that involves a feedback. Furthermore, there are several
kinds of “noise” that may severely affect the reception of the message and thus, should
be considered and avoided. Cultural differences, technology, and interpretation need to
be considered as well. To be good communicators, one needs to pay attention to how
people are responding to the message, and adjust accordingly, rather than being
preoccupied with simply expressing oneself.
In addition, we should also consider the consequences of our actions every time we
communicate. If people were more responsible in their use of communication, there
would be less conflict in this world. The credo for ethical communication are important
because they help us discern the difference between ethical and unethical
communicators.

LET’S DO THIS!
I. Answer the following:
1. Think of any communication situation you’ve had in the past and explain it using
one of the communication models discussed.
2. Watch this video (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=691366991792278) of Cebu
Mayor Gwen Garcia and explain the credo/s violated. Explain.

Sources/ References:
 Miller, J., Lawler-Mcdonough, M., Orcholski, M., Woodward, K., Roth, L., &
Mueller, E. (2017, August 24). Understanding the Ethics of Public Speaking.
Retrieved August 16, 2020, from
https://uwm.pressbooks.pub/uwmpublicspeaking/chapter/understanding-the-
ethics-of-public-speaking/
 Santos & Uychoco (2018). Communication for society. Manile: Rex Book Store,
Inc.