WELCOME BACK TO

COMMUNICATION
STUDIES ☺
 WEEK 5- MODULE 1: GATHERING
AND PROCESSING INFORMATION
COMPREHENSION
Consider the tale below:
Four blind men were having an argument about what an elephant looked like. Unable to agree, they
found an elephant and each took hold of the part of the elephant’s body that was nearest to him. The first
man took hold of the elephant’s ear and declared that elephants were like parchment, thin, wrinkly and
malleable. The second man, grabbing the elephant’s tusk, disagreed, asserting that anyone could tell that
elephants were sharp and pointed, like a spear.
The third blind man held on to the elephant’s trunk and contentiously pointed out that they were both
wrong as any fool could tell that an elephant was shaped like a snake, and it was probably as dangerous.
The fourth blind man wrapped his arms around one of the elephant’s legs and yelled angrily that they
were all mistaken as it was obvious that an elephant was shaped like a tree.
They continued to argue loudly, each one sure that he was right. It did not occur to them that the
problem of the elephant could have been solved by pooling their knowledge.

What is this story telling us?

A few things :
1. To achieve complete understanding, you cannot look at a situation from one level
2. Looking at the information in different ways, then pooling the information as a whole will achieve
complete understanding

Comprehension is the skill of giving meaning to information-meaning as close as possible to what the author
intended. It is an active process. Being aware of the different level of comprehension and being able to engage
your reading material at these levels, will develop your critical thinking skills which are vital for academic
success at the post-secondary level.

Understanding is the ability to perceive and explain meaning or the nature of somebody or something.
There are six (6) levels of comprehension:
 Literal
 Interpretive
 Analysis
 Application
 Synthesis
 Evaluation
 Literal Level- this is the lowest level in the hierarchy of comprehension skills. It requires the
reader to recall or bring to mind the facts or main ideas and details of what is explicitly
stated. Only a surface understanding is required; otherwise known as “reading the lines”.

 Interpretive or Referential Level: this level has been called “reading between the lines” as it
requires the reader to determine what is meant, by considering what is stated. Its focus is on
what is implied rather than what is actually stated

 Analysis Level: this concerns the ability to breakdown complex information into simpler
parts and understanding the relationship among the respective parts. i.e. a sports analyst at a
cricket/netball match

 Application Level: sometimes referred to as “reading beyond the lines”. This is because the
reader is required to take ides from what is said (the literal) and what is meant (the
inferential) and relate them to other situations outside of the material. This skill is closely
linked to other higher level comprehension skills like analysis and synthesis.
 Synthesis Level: this level of comprehension is demonstrated in
the act of creating something new but similar by integrating
disparate elements of information learnt at lower levels of
comprehension. To achieve synthesis, the skills of analysis and
evaluation have to be involved.

 Evaluation or Criticism Level: this concerns the ability to judge

ideas, procedures and methods by comparing them to a known,
appropriate and designated standard. Evaluation involves drawing
independent, creative conclusions based on personal reflection and
understanding.
 ACTION WORDS
FOR LEVELS OF
UNDERSTANDING
 PROCESS OF COMPREHENSION

Comprehension is a process that can be controlled. One needs to consciously go through the
steps until it becomes instinctive. The main stages of the process are :
i. Pre-reading/ Listening
ii. During reading/ listening
iii. Post-reading. Listening
Each stage requires you to apply specific thinking strategies that enable you to maximize
comprehension.

 Pre-reading/listening: involves predicting- making educated guesses about thoughts,

events, outcomes or conclusions. As you read or listen, your predictions are confirmed or
invalidated and you are constantly making new predictions.
 During reading/listening: in this stage you are monitoring your comprehension. As you
read or listen, you should:
(i) picture or form images
(ii) relate to your experiences
(iii) Monitor- constantly checking for understanding of the material

 Post-reading/listening: at this stage you consolidate what you have heard or read by
thinking about it in new ways and context.

Pre-reading/listening During reading/listening Post-reading/listening

Skim (reading) Monitor Think
Predict/imagine Question Discuss
Think Reflect Apply

Activities in the reading/listening process

 LISTENING
• Close your eyes for 30 seconds and attempt to notice the peculiarities
around you?

• We were given two ears and one mouth. This is because God knew
that listening is twice as hard as talking”
Listening is the process of receiving sounds and consciously making
sense and meaning of them. In the communication process, listening
is the primary means by which we receive verbal messages from the
world around us.

Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are
not hearing-impaired, this simply happens. Listening requires
concentration so that your brain processes meanings from words and
sentences. Unlike hearing, listening is a three-step process: receiving,
attending and assigning meaning.
 Stages in the Listening Process

1. Hearing- the ear detects sounds from the environment

2. Perceiving/Selecting- the listener discriminates which sound to focus on

3. Attending- the listener makes an effort to attend to a particular sound (s), especially new or
unclear ones

4. Comprehending- the listener attaches meaning to sounds attended to

5. Responding/ Evaluating- the listener offers some feedback to indicate that the sound
message has been received and comprehended
 Types of Listening

o Discriminative Listening- people use discriminative listening to distinguish sounds and

develop sensitivity to non-verbal communication. This is what students use to learn words.

o Aesthetic Listening- this is listening for pleasure. For example, people listen aesthetically
when they are listening for enjoyment to stories being read aloud

o Efferent Listening- listening to gain information and remember important details. This
type of listening is required in instructional activities.

o Critical/ Evaluative Listening- people listen critically to evaluate a message. Critical

listening is an extension of efferent listening. As in efferent listening, listeners seek to
understand a message, but they also filter the message to detect propaganda and emotional
appeals.
o Empathetic Listening- begins with sympathetic listening where we care about the other person
and show this concern in the way we pay close attention and express our sorrow for their ills
and happiness at their joys. However, when we listen empathetically, we go beyond sympathy to
seek a truer understanding of how others are feeling. This requires excellent discrimination and
close attention to the nuances of emotional signals. When we are being truly empathetic, we
actually fell what they are feeling.

FACTORS THAT INHIBIT LISTENING

o Evaluating and judging
o Jumping to conclusion
o Interrupting
o Lack of attention
o Lack of interest/ Selective cognition- ‘tuning out’
o Distance from the speaker
o Internal factors such as daydreaming and private planning
o Disinterest in/ dislike of the speaker
o Physical factors such as hunger/discomfort i.e. room temperature
o Beliefs

IMPROVING LISTENING
Prepare to listen:
• Get enough rest
• Make sure you are not hungry/thirsty
• Keep an open mind
• Be attentive
• Maintain eye-contact
• Do not interrupt
• Make notes
• Be prepared to ask questions
 A note on the Listening Component of
Communication Studies
 The first seven (7) questions of the multiple choice paper
relates to a passage-which can be any literary work- that
you will listen to.
 It will be read twice, within which time, you are allowed
to make notes but NOT to begin answering the questions.
 This activity is intended to test your ability to
comprehend material at all levels.
 Throughout the academic year you will have
opportunities to practice this aspect of the syllabus-some
will be graded activities.
 If you are LATE for the Communication Studies Paper
01 Exam, you have just LOST 7 marks!
 EXIT ACTIVITY
You are required to turn your cameras on for these activities

1. Close your eyes and listen to the reading of the poem, ‘Desiderata’.
What are the things that you consciously made note of? How did this
activity affect you?
2. Refer to ‘Elaboration Activity’