Communication skill - A four-fold analysis of Communication skills - Skill of Listening, Speaking, Reading and writing.

Communication Skill
A four-fold analysis of
Communication skills - Skill of
Listening, Speaking, Reading
and writing
M.Vijayalakshmi
Assistant Professor

Unit – 1 :
Principles of Communication

Unit – 1 :
1.1 Communication - Definition and concept - Theories
of communication - communication cycle.
1.2 Barriers to communication - causes of barriers to
communication and ways of overcoming them.
1.3 A four-fold analysis of Communication skills - Skill of
Listening, Speaking, Reading and writing.
1.4 Values of Communication skills in the modern
context - Visual and Multimedia Communication.
1.5 Importance of Communication skills for teachers -
Communication in the classroom - Teaching as
communication.

Unit – 1 :
1.3 A four-fold analysis of
Communication skills -
Skill of Listening, Speaking,
Reading and writing.

COMMUNICATION
• 7% WORDS
– Words are only labels and the listeners put their
own interpretation on speakers words
• 38% PARALINGUISTIC
– The way in which something is said - the accent,
tone and voice modulation is important to the
listener.
• 55% BODY LANGUAGE
– What a speaker looks like while delivering a
message affects the listener’s understanding
most.

TYPES OF BODY LANGUAGE
Remember that you are dealing with “PEOPLE”
• (P)OSTURES & GESTURES
– How do you use hand gestures? Stance?
• (E)YE CONTACT
– How’s your “Lighthouse”?
• (O)RIENTATION
– How do you position yourself?
• (P)RESENTATION
– How do you deliver your message?
• (L)OOKS
– Are your looks, appearance, dress important?
• (E)PRESSIONS OF EMOTION
– Are you using facial expressions to express emotion?

Components of Communication
Listening Skill
Speaking Skill
Reading Skill
Writing Skill

For communication process -
• one should recognize and understand the
various sounds of a language
• Then he/she should learn to discriminate
between the different sounds
• This is possible only if the learner gets an
opportunity to listen speeches made by
adults
• Then only one can acquire the ability to
speak
• After speaking comes reading
• Last of all comes writing

• The listening and reading skills are
called Receptive Skills (Passive Skills)
• While listening and reading the
communicator is at the receiving end
• Speaking and writing are called
Productive Skills (Active Skills)
• While speaking and writing the
communicator is at the transmitting
end

TOTAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Reading
16%
Writing
9% Speaking
30%
Listening
45%

Listening
The process of receiving,
constructing meaning from and
responding to a spoken and/ or
non-verbal message
(International Reading Association)

 Listening is the most important
communication skill
 We probably spend more time using our
Listening Skills than any other kind of skill
 Like other skills, Listening takes practice
 Real Listening is an active process
 Listening requires attention

Effective Listening
Effective Listening is the process of
analyzing sounds, organizing them into
recognizable patterns, interpreting the
patterns and understanding the
message by inferring the meaning
Many of the problems we experience
with people in our daily lives are
primarily attributable to ineffective
listening or lack of listening

The First and the foremost communication skill that we learn in our lives is
nothing but “LISTENING”
LISTENING
SPEAKING
WRITING
READING

Listening and hearing are not the same.
Hearing is the first stage of listening.
Hearing occurs when our ears pick up
sound waves which are then transported
to our brain. This stage is our sense of
hearing.

• Listening is a communication process and, to
be successful, is an active process. In other
words, we must be an active participant in this
communication process. In active listening,
meaning and evaluation of a message must
take place before a listener can respond to a
speaker. Therefore, the listener is actively
working while the speaker is talking.
• How can this happen? It is simple. Our
thought speed is much faster than our speech
speed. But be careful! Don't allow the
thought speed to race into daydreaming. This
habit will defeat our attempt to become an
active listener.

Listening Skill
• The skill of listening is the ability to
receive and understand different speech
sounds of a language
• It is the training of one’s ears to
understand and discriminate the
meaningful messages communicated by
the sounds of a language

Skill of Listening
• Radio, TV, public speeches, parents, friends,
relatives and so on
• We spend 50% more time listening than we do
talking
• Listening is as natural as breathing (automatic)
• Listening is critical to effective communication
• Effective communication is the lifeline of all
good relationships
• Poor listening may lead to misunderstanding
and arguments among people

Basic Communication Skills Profile
________________________________________________
Communication Order Learnt Extent Used Extent Taught
____________________________________________
Listening First First Fourth
Speaking Second Second Third
Reading Third Third Second
Writing Fourth Fourth First

Fallacies about Listening
 Listening is not my problem!
 Listening and hearing are the same
 Good readers are good listeners
 Smarter people are better listeners
 Listening improves with age
 Listening skills are difficult to learn

 To learn
 To increase one’s understanding
 To advise or counsel
 To relieve one’s boredom
(listening to music)

• Communication is not complete without effective listening
• An attentive listener stimulates better speaking by the
speaker
• A good listener learns more than an indifferent listener
• A good listener can restructure vague speaking in a way that
produces clearer meaning
• A good listener learns to detect prejudices, assumptions and
attitudes

Real listening has three basic steps:
• Hearing
Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the
speaker is saying.

• Understanding The next part of
listening happens when you take what
you have heard and understand it in
your own way.
• Judging After you are sure that you
have understood what the speaker has
said, think about whether it makes
sense. Do you believe what you have
heard?

STEPS:
• Hearing
• Filtering
• Comprehending
• Remembering
• Responding

HEARING
Hearing is the first essential step in the
listening process and relates to the sensory
perception of sound. The listener further
processes the perceived sound. For learning
to be effective, hearing needs to be done with
attentiveness and concentration.

FILTERING
The next step involves sensing and filtering of
heard sounds. The heard message is
categorized as wanted or unwanted. The
unwanted message is discarded. The sense of
judgement of the individual comes into play,
that is, the filtering process is subjective and a
person chooses to retain what makes sense to
him.

COMPREHENDING
The listener understands what the
speaker has tried to convey. This activity
can be described as absorbing, grasping
or assimilating. The listener uses his
knowledge, experience, perception and
cognitive power.

REMEMBERING
Responding to a message takes place at the
end of the communication, immediately
after or later, to show that the message is
being received and comprehended.
RESPONDING
The assimilated message is stored in memory
to facilitate future recall.

4 Levels of Listening
• The Non-Listener
• The Marginal Listener
• The Evaluative Listener
• The Active Listener

DISCRIMINATIVE LISTENING – It involves
identifying the difference between various
sounds. It also enables one to differentiate
between familiar and unfamiliar language.

COMPREHENSION LISTENING – It involves
attaching meaning to what is being listened to.
It may also include comprehending the non
verbal messages being conveyed by the
speaker.
EVALUATIVE LISTENING – It involves
evaluating and analyzing the message being
received. It involves judging the acceptability of
what is said depending on how logical one
finds it to be.

ATTENTIVE LISTENING – It involves
paying attention to the words that are
being spoken.
PRETENCE LISTENING – It involves more
hearing than listening. It means
pretending through facial expressions that
one is listening when actually one is not.

SELECTIVE LISTENING – It involves
selecting the desired part of the message
and ignoring the undesired part of the
message.
INTUITIVE LISTENING – It means
listening through the intuitive mind by
silencing the other forms of internal
dialogues going on simultaneously.

5 Basic reasons we Do Not Listen
• Listening is Hard Work
• Competition
• The Rush for Action
• Speed differences (120 wpm v/s 360
wpm)
• Lack of Training

• Physical Barriers
• People – Related Barriers
 Physiological Barriers
 Psychological Barriers

• Noise
• Poor acoustics
• Defective mechanical devices
• Frequent interruptions
• Uncomfortable seating arrangements
• Uncomfortable environment
• Message overload

• State of Health – State of health of the
listener and the speaker affects the
listening ability. Fever, pain or any other
form of bodily discomfort makes it difficult
for a person to listen or speak
comfortably.

• Disability – Hearing deficiencies may lead to poor
listening. Similarly, speech disorders of the speaker
may make a speech incoherent to the listener.
Speaker’s accent may also make it difficult for the
listener to comprehend.
• Wandering attention – Human mind can process
words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a
speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 per minute.
The difference between the two leaves the listener
with sufficient time to let his mind wander.

• Being unsure of the speaker’s ability –
Based on past experience or inputs from
sources, the listener may have a preconceived
notion of the speaker’s ability. He may perceive
the speaker to not be well informed, or to be
lacking in depth and ability. Hence the listener
will not listen to what the speaker has to say.
P s y c h o l o g i c a l
B a r r i e r s

•Personal anxiety – Sometimes the listener is
preoccupied with personal concerns and
anxieties. This makes it difficult to perceive
what is being said by the speaker.
• Attitude – The listener may be highly
egocentric with a “know it all attitude” and may
not listen as he feels that he already knows
what the listener has to say.

• Impatience – The listener may not have patience to
wait for the other person to finish what he has to say.
He may be intolerant or may be eager to add his own
points to the discussion. As a result, his desire to speak
overcomes his desire to listen, thus acting as a barrier.
• Emotional blocks – Our deep seated beliefs in
certain ideas may make it difficult for us to listen to
ideas which go against our belief. We may hear such an
idea wrongly or it may get distorted in our mind to
match our perception or we may completely block it off
by not listening to it. Many a time, we block something
off completely because of painful memories associated
with it.

Improving Listening Skills
• By not being Preoccupied
• Being Open Minded & Non Defensive
• Minimizing Interruptions
• Effective Listening is: Hearing,
interpreting when necessary,
understanding the message and relating
to it.
• By Asking Questions

• Give your full attention on the person who is
speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else
is going on in the room.
• Make sure your mind is focused. It can be easy to
let your mind wander if you think you know what
the person is going to say next, but you might be
wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the
position of your body and try to concentrate on the
speaker's words.

• Let the speaker finish before you begin to
talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance
to say everything they would like to say
without being interrupted. When you
interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening,
even if you really are.
• Let yourself finish listening before you begin
to speak! You can't really listen if you are busy
thinking about what you want to say next.

•Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most
important points the speaker wants to get across. They
may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and
repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to
statements that begin with phrases such as "My point
is..." or "The thing to remember is..."
• Ask questions. If you are not sure you understood what
the speaker has said, just ask. For example, you might
say, "When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you
mean that the stripes are different on each one?"

• Give feedback. Sit up straight and look
directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to
show that you understand. At appropriate
points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be
silent. These are all ways to let the speaker
know that you are really listening. Remember,
you listen with your face as well as your ears!

Speech is primary, original,
underived and the only one of
the skills that can be
self-sufficient in
practice

‘ To speak’ and ‘To speak well’
are two things. A fool may talk
but, a wise man SPEAKS

7%
38%
55%
What Are Speaking Skills?
• Verbal (words spoken)
• Vocal (tone, range, appeal, credibility of voice)
• Visual (physical appearance, gestures, eye contact)

To Speak
To Speak.
To Speak
Speaking consist of 3parts

“The man who can think and does not know
how to express what he thinks is at the level
of him who cannot think.”
WHY

The Origin Point
(Where the audience was)
Why to Speak
Persuasion
The Key Point
(Where you took them)
• Not just “presentation”, but also
“persuasion”
• Get people’s “mindshare”

What to Speak
1. Brain storming:
Individual Brainstorming is the process of you
getting your ideas out on paper
2. Speaking with the format:
IBC :- I- Introduction, B- Body, C- Conclusion,
3. Aiming to persuasion :
Being Confident and passionate is the key for
persuasion
4. Perfect Clarity of thoughts:

Speak like a STAR
S= Situation
T= Task
A= Attitude
R= Result
How to Speak

Three E’s of speaking
• Entertainingly
• Effectively
• Enthusiastically

• Commanding yet friendly voice
• Perfect clarity of language, thoughts and
ideas.
• Listener Friendly
• Comprising of anecdotes, wit and humour
• Avoiding Monotony
• Creating a bond between speaker and listener
Salient Features of Speaking

• Speed
• Clarity
• Punctuation
• Pronunciation
• Familiarity
• Fluency
• Expressions
Guidelines

The Speaking Skills
A person who can speak English can:
Produce the characteristic English speech sounds
and sound patterns both in isolation and
combination.
Use appropriate stress and intonation patterns.
Use appropriate words and structures to express
the intended meanings.
Recall words and structures.
Organize thoughts and ideas into logical sequence.
Adjust speech according to audience.

Techniques of teaching speech skill
STAGE ONE: IMITATIVE PRACTICE
ORAL EXERCISES AND GAMES
Matching games.
Oral guessing games.
Simple repetition drill.
Substitution drill.
Question answer drill.
Situational.

Stage 2: Communicative practice
EXERCISES
oROLE-PLAY-EXERCISES.
oDIALOGUES.
oDISCUSSIONS.
oCHAIN STORIES.
oTELLING JOKES.
oTALKS/LECTURES

Suggestions for developing Spoken English
 Practice in early stages of learning should be
limited.
 Practice in isolated periods, or of meaninglessness
words or sounds deadens the interest in the new
language learning.
 By hearing teacher’s sentences, pupil can get initial
contact with the flow of speech.

Key activities to learn correct pronunciation
and intonation are:
Hearing
Imitation
Repetition
Sound differences could be carefully handled.

Teacher needs to keep control over learning process
by correcting pupil’s mistake and needs to arrange
correct practice exercise indirectly.
Use the words in right place at the right moment. It
helps in acquiring a sound language habit.

Teaching English Pronunciation
Those illiterate people who mispronounce their words should
make an effort to learn the correct pronunciation.
Educationists who holds that absolutely correct
pronunciation should not demanded in the beginning
because it is difficult for the young learners.
There are two types of pronunciation:
STANDARD PRONUNCIATION
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION

Problems of English Pronunciation
Sometimes the words pronounced are alike but they
are spelled differently and vise versa.
• There are difficulties with:
New vowel and consonant sounds: English has certain vowels and
consonants sounds which do not occur in the mother or national tongue.
these sounds presents difficulty for students.
Stress:The stress system in is different in English than mother language.
The stress in English carries meaning e.g. ‘rebel, re’bel. If we stress 1st syllable, it
is noun, but if we tress 2nd syllable it becomes a verb.

Intonation:
The intonation of English is also different than that of mother language.
It is rightly said that it is easy to master sounds but it is very difficult to master
the stress, rhythm and intonation pattern.
• Rhythm:
It is very difficult for the learners to master the rhythms of English as his own
language is syllable-timed.
Orthography:
English is not a phonetic language, that is, the pronunciation of a word is not a
combination of various letters. For ex: the words knife, enough. the spellings
are not a sure guide to its pronunciation.

Methods to remove difficulties
1. Importance of teacher’s model
2. Model of pronunciation to be followed
3. Emphasis on pronunciation
4. Using audio-visual aids

5.Teaching difficult sounds
The difficult sounds for students are those that do not occur in his mother
language e.g. vowels, diphthong and consonant sounds.
• Step 1-Production of the new sound by the
teacher:
The teacher speaks a number of words containing the new sound. The sounds
are also told the position of various speech organs in producing the sounds
e.g. in producing /w/, lips are closely rounded as in whistling in producing
/v/, the lower lip is pressed against the upper teeth.
o Step 2-Production of the new sound by the
students:
Students are asked to speak the words containing the new sounds after the
teacher.

• Step 3-Presentation of minimal pair:
As some sounds are confusing they should be
presented in minimal pairs.
MINIMAL PAIR- a pair of words which differ from each other in
one sound only, the position of the sound remaining the same, e.g.
bed, bad, good, god.
• Step 4-Testing:
The teacher speaks a word from one column and asks the students to
speak out the corresponding word from the column.

Conclusion:
Speech is one of primary skills.
Modern educationists are of the view that
because of speaking skills we can learn reading
and writing skills easily.

Vocabulary Enrichment
1. Books are valuable to good readers;
conversely, they are anathema to poor
readers. (cheap, likeable, not likeable,
costly)

2. The avid fans excitedly screamed and
clapped upon seeing the movie idol.
(ill-mannered, bad-tempered,
extra-eager, violent)

3. In color, the orange pants are analogous to
the red shirt; the sky to the sea.
(contradictory, similar, acceptable,
suitable)
4. Don’t preoccupy your mind with negative
thoughts. (fill, always supply, uplift, always
empty)

5. Based on your scoreboard, Benjie is
lagging behind Roger, but many are hoping
that in a minute, he will surpass or exceed
Roger’s score. (scoring, hiding, writing
speedily, going slowly)

6. Your frowning face manifests your
impatience. (shows, hides, overcomes,
symbolizes)
7. One indicates little reading improvement;
ten shows optimum reading progress.
(continuous, complete, the best, the least)

8. Composed of only one tribe, the group
members have many similarities; of many
tribes, a number of diversified traits.
(unusual, confusing, unique, varying)

9. Ode, elegy, sonnet, haiku, novel,
biography, ballad, history, etc. are literary
genre. (models, types, records, evidence)
10. Embodied in the introduction is the
purpose. (illustrated, strengthened,
included, excluded)

• Several types of reading may occur in a language
classroom:
• Oral
Silent
Intensive
a. linguistic
b. content
Extensive
a. skimming
b. scanning
TYPES OF READING

A. READING ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

Reading According to Purpose
1. Skimming
• General understanding of the
whole text
• Fastest type of reading based
on purpose
• Also called rapid-survey
reading

2. Scanning
• Look for specific information in
the text
• It makes you “skip more than
you read.”
• Also called search reading

3. Intensive/Functional Reading
• Also called word-for-word type of
reading
• Requires one to read materials
related to his/her field of
specialization
• The object of intensive reading
demands a great deal of content-
area reading.

4. Extensive/Recreational Reading
• Also called light-type of
reading
• Reading for leisure
• You love what you read.

5. Literature Reading
• Not mainly for pleasure… but
• Intends to familiarize readers
with different genres of
literature pieces: novels, short
stories, biographies, dramas,
epics, etc…

6. Detailed Study Reading
• Requires serious reading and
proper note taking
• Uses the method of reading called
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Reading,
Recall, Review)
• This reading works well in research
projects and academic study.

• Intensive reading "calls attention to
grammatical forms, discourse markers, and
other surface structure details for the purpose
of understanding literal meaning, implications,
rhetorical relationships, and the like." He
draws an analogy to intensive reading as a
"zoom lens" strategy .
Intensive Reading

• Reader is intensely involved in looking inside the text
• Focus on linguistic or semantic details of a reading
• Focus on surface structure details such as grammar and
discourse markers
• Identify key vocabulary
• Draw pictures to aid them (such as in problem solving)
• Read carefully
• Aim is to build more language knowledge rather than
simply practice the skill of reading
Intensive Reading
Characteristics

• Identify main ideas and details
• Making inferences
• Looking at the order of information and how it
effects the message
• Identifying words that connect one idea to
another
• Identifying words that indicate change from
one section to another .
Intensive Reading
Activities

• When it is used
• when the objective of reading is to achieve full
understanding of:
• - logical argument
- rhetorical pattern of text
- emotional, symbolic or social attitudes
and purposes of the author
- linguistic means to an end for study of
content material that are difficult

• Role of the teacher
• The teacher chooses suitable text.
• The teacher chooses tasks and activities to
develop skills.
• The teacher gives direction before, during and
after reading.
• The teacher prepares students to work on
their own. Often the most difficult part is for
the teacher to "get out of the way" .
• The teacher encourages students through
prompts, without giving answers.

• Advantages
• It provides a base to study structure,
vocabulary and idioms.
• It provides a base for students to develop a
greater control of language
• It provides for a check on the degree of
comprehension for individual students

• Disadvantages
• There is little actual practice of reading
because of the small amount of text.
• In a class with multi-reading abilities,
students may not be able to read at their own
level because everyone in the class is reading
the same material.
• The text may or may not interest the reader
because it was chosen by the teacher.

• There is little chance to learn language
patterns due to the small amount of text.
• Because exercises and assessment usually
follow intensive reading, students may come
to associate reading with testing and not
pleasure.

Extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a
general understanding of a text."
• extensive reading as "occurring when students
read large amounts of high interest material,
usually out of class, concentrating on
meaning, "reading for gist" and skipping
unknown words."
• The aims of extensive reading are to build
reader confidence and enjoyment.
Extensive Reading

• The purposes of reading are usually related to
pleasure, information and general understanding.
• Reading is its own reward.
• Reading materials are well within the linguistic
competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and
grammar.
• Reading is individual and silent.
• Reading speed is usually faster than slower.
• Teachers orient students to the goals of the program.
• The teacher is a role model of a reader for the
students.
Extensive Reading
Characteristics

• Interview each other about their reading.
• Reading may be combined with a writing component. For
example, after reading the newspaper, students may be asked
to write a newspaper report.
• Class time reading
• Students may set their own goals for their next session.
• A reading log (recording number of pages read and at what
level)
• A reflection on what they noticed about their own reading
• A book report or summary
• A retelling of part of the text
• Book project
Extensive Reading
Activities

• A quick reading, focusing on locating specific
information.
• Scanning involves quick eye movements, not
necessarily linear in fashion, in which the eyes
wander until the reader finds the piece of
information needed.
• Scanning is used when a specific piece of
information is required, such as a name, date,
symbol, formula, or phrase, is required.
Scanning

• Scanning is used often with technical,
scientific or professional materials to locate
specific information.
• Scanning is a valuable skill for second
language learners to develop because often
they do not require a detailed read of a text.
Scanning
Characteristics

- Make predictions and guesses
- Use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of
what a passage is about
- activate prior knowledge
- anticipate what they want to learn about the
topic
- Use titles, pictures, and prior knowledge to
anticipate the contents of the text
- Use key words, that may have been given to
them by the teacher, that do not appear in the
text, that allude to the main idea
Scanning
Activities

Skimming is a quick reading to get:
To know the general meaning of a
passage
To know how the passage is organized, that is,
the structure of the text
To get the author´s purpose
Skimming

• Skimming is used to build student confidence
and an understanding that it is possible to
gain meaning without reading every word in a
text.
• Skimming is used as part of the SQ3R method
of reading, often for speed reading. This
method involves the student in surveying,
questioning, reading, reviewing and reciting.
• Skimming is used to review a topic.
Skimming
Characteristics

 Locate facts and opinions
• Sets a time limit to the reading activity
Skimming
Activities

B. ACCORDING TO READING
PERFORMANCE / RATE OF
UNDERSTANDING

1. Speed Reading
Reading According to Reading Performance…
• Information tends to stay
superficially in one’s mind.
• Not a good method if your
objective is to gain a deeper
understanding of the text

2. Subvocalized Reading
• One recognizes the form of the word
and internally sounds it in the mind
the way one pronounces it as a
spoken word.
• Focuses primarily on the form, stress,
intonation, phrasing of the language
• This prevents one from quick reading
and comprehension of the text.

3. Proofreading
• To see typographical errors
• Proofreading vs. editing

4. SPE (Structure Proposition
Evaluation)
• Three stages
1. Recognizing language structures
2. Making inferences
3. Evaluation of ideas, reasons, or
conclusions
• Judgment is withheld until the text is
fully understood.

5. MI (Multiple Intelligences)
• Enhances not only analytical
intelligence but practical intelligence
as well
1. Musical intelligence
2. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
3. Spatial intelligence
4. Interpersonal intelligence
5. Intrapersonal intelligence

C. ACCORDING TO
READING-INSTRUCTION PROGRAM

1. Read aloud
Reading According to Reading-Instruction
Program
• Many teachers use this in
instruction.
• Students will learn good
expressions, proper pacing,
and correct pronunciation.

2. Shared reading
Program
• Both the teacher and student
take turns in reading portions
of the text.

3. Guided reading
Program
• Reader is left alone to do silent
reading.
• But the reader is motivated by the
teacher by various strategies:
using contextual clues, examining
illustrations, activating schemata
• Reader is not totally left alone.

4. Fluency reading
Program
• Main objective: To gain mastery of the
pronunciation, phrasing, pausing,
intonation, or stress of the text
• Text is read several times.
• Ex: Choral reading, taped reading,
timed reading
• Progress: measured by the number of
words one can read aloud and
comprehensions Qs answered correctly

5. Independent reading
Program
• One chooses the material s/he
wants to read.
• Still, the teacher helps you
become an independent
reader by surrounding your
with interesting reading
materials.

6. Developmental reading
Program
• Aims to refine one’s reading
comprehension skills by letting reader
experience different reading stages:
1. Reading readiness in the nursery and
kindergarten level
2. Beginning reading in Grades 1 and 2
3. Rapid growth in Grades 3 and 4
4. Refining and widening reading in the
intermediate, HS, college level, and
beyond the tertiary level

7. Selective or key-word reading
Program
• Characterized by skimming and
scanning
• Mainly focuses on a specific or
principal portion of the text to
have a general view or holistic
understanding of the reading
material

8. Remedial Reading
Program
• If a reader lags behind with regard
to his vocabulary knowledge,
reading comprehension abilities,
and reading attitudes, he must
submit himself to a reading
program that gives special reading
sessions under the guidance of a
reading specialist.

9. Strategic Reading
Program
• Regarded by some as the latest
type of reading
• Thinking aloud about what you
reading or thinking of
• You read with your eyes, but you
also verbalize what you think about
the text, thus, letting your mind
focus on the correct responses to
the questions about the passage.

9. Strategic Reading
Program
• Also called as meta-cognitive,
meta-thinking, meta-reading, or
meta-comprehension
• Requires a reader to be alert,
awake, and active
• A reader uses or practices HOTS
(higher-order thinking skills)

Reading types according to PISA
(Program for Int’l Student
Assessment)
• In determining the students’ reading
literacy, the reading situations into
which readers are immersed are
considered.
• Grouping of students’ reading materials
based on the author’s purpose in
writing the text, the composition of the
written materials, and the readers’
connection with the text.
Program

1. Reading for private use
Personal reasons (primary)
Intellectual and social effects
(secondary)
Reading materials deal with
people’s lives, fictitious
happenings, and expository texts
for learning purposes.
Program

2. Reading for public use
For social consciousness, a person
reads to update himself with
current social events and to know
his chance/s of active involvement
into these happenings.
Program

3. Reading for work
Work-related materials for a better
job performance
“Reading to do” (Stich, 1975;
Stiggins, 1992)
Program

4. Reading for education
“Reading to learn” (Stich, 1975;
Stiggins, 1992) to obtain
knowledge for any learning task
Instructive in nature
Program

INTRODUCTION
• Writing skills are an important part of
communication.
• Good writing skills allow you to communicate your
message with clarity and ease.
• The communication takes place to a far larger
audience than through face-to-face or telephone
conversations.

• One of the best methods to
communicate
• Writing is one of the oldest
known forms of communication
• In today’s age of information and
technology, writing has become a
lost art

The act or art of forming letters
and characters on paper, wood,
stone, or other material, for the
purpose of recording the ideas
which characters and words
express, or of communicating
them to others by visible signs

Why Written Communication?
• Creates a permanent record
• Allows you to store information for
future reference
• Easily distributed
• All recipients receive the same
information
• Necessary for legal and binding
documentation

Writing Skills?
• A career requirement
• More than a “nice thing to have”
– a necessity
• Your Writing = Your Personality
• As a professional, it is crucial to write
well

Writing Skills?
• The ability to write does not require a
unique talent or an outstanding mental
ability
• Everyone has the basic skills necessary to
write well
• A basic understanding of writing and a
commitment to writing well in all
situations is needed as a professional

Questions a writer asks
• How do I begin?
• What is my purpose?
• How do I make my point clear?
• How do I create a logical flow?
• How do I say what I mean?
• How do I avoid grammatical errors?
• How can I make my message brief?
• How can I create a visual effect?

Three-Step Writing Process
Step 1 Step 3Step 2
Planning Writing Quality controll

The Writing Process
• Planning
• Writing
• Quality Control

The Writing Process
Planning
• Keep objectives in mind and research the
topic
• Think about the audience
• Outlining helps organize thoughts

The Writing Process
Writing
• Follow your outline, use your handbook
• Inspiration is acceptable but must be carefully
reviewed
• Use the interview approach to supplement the
outline (who, what, where, when, how)

The Writing Process
Quality Control
• Reread your work
• Be critical of your own work

Considerations while writing
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Where?
• How?

Good Writing
• Completeness: all information needed is
provided
• Correctness: relevant and precise information
• Credibility: support your argument
• Clarity: should not be vague, confusing,
ambiguous
• Conciseness: to the point
• Consideration: anticipate the reader’s reaction
• Vitality: use the active voice rather than the
passive voice

Types of Writing
• E-mails
• Letters and Memos
• Agendas
• Reports
• Promotional Material
• Academic Documents
• Research (scientific) manuscripts
• White Papers

The Writing Process is a series of steps to help
you write a paper. It is like using a map to get to
an unfamiliar place
The Process of Writing
A step-by-step process in which some mastery at
one level is essential before the learner
advances to the next level.

Process of Writing
• Prewriting is the stage in which you
explore possible topics, choose a topic, and
then gather details you can include in your
writing.
• Drafting involves putting ideas down on
paper in a rough format.

• Revising is the stage in which you rework
your rough draft to improve both its form
and its content.
• Editing and proofreading are the stages
in which you polish your writing, fixing
errors in grammar, spelling, and
mechanics.
• Publishing and presenting are the
sharing of your writing.

Prewriting
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Proofreading
Publishing
and
Presenting

DISADVANTAGES OF
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written communication does not save upon
the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery
and the manpower employed in
writing/typing and delivering letters.
Also, if the receivers of the written message
are separated by distance and if they need to
clear their doubts, the response is not
spontaneous.

Written communication is time-consuming as
the feedback is not immediate. The encoding
and sending of message takes time.
Effective written communication requires
great skills and competencies in language and
vocabulary use. Poor writing skills and quality
have a negative impact on organization’s
reputation.
Too much paper work and e-mails burden is
involved

COMMON ETIQUETTES IN
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
• While written communication affords greater
flexibility, since it can be edited and both
composed and read at leisure or at one's pace,
a great deal of care needs to be taken, in order
to ensure its effectiveness; as it can serve as a
point of reference, which one can turn to time
and again, thus creating a more lasting
impact.

1. FOCUS ON FORMAT
• The various formal writing forms have a pre-
determined, universally accepted format that
accompanies them. This format, which is
largely based on universal writing
conventions, serves to facilitate
communication, by eliminating
miscommunication that may result through
random writing styles.

• Moreover, these formats are likely to
change with time, due to the evolving
nature of communication and/or
technology.
• For example, the semi block format that
was earlier the most relied upon format
for letter writing has now given way to
the full block format, after the wide
spread use of computers.

2. STUCTURING OF THE CONTENT
• Introduction, Body and Conclusion: While
writing one should ensure that the content is
well organized, with the overview/basic
details comprising the introduction; all major
points with their explanation and
exemplification constituting the body
(preferably divided into a separate paragraph
each for every new point, with titles and
subtitles, if necessary).

3. ENSURING CONNECTIVITY
• The content that comprises a piece of writing
should reflect fluency and should be
connected through a logical flow of thought,
in order to prevent misinterpretation and
catch the attention of the reader.
• Moreover, care should be taken to ensure
that the flow is not brought about through a
forced/deliberate use of connectives , as this
make the piece extremely uninteresting and
artificial.

4. TEMPERING THE CONTENT AS PER
THE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
• The level of formality that is shared between
the sender and receiver should define the use
of salutations, the vocabulary, the content,
the format and even the medium.
• Though not integral to the matter
communicated, this courtesy helps in creating
a balanced impression about the
communicator.

5. STEERING CLEAR OF SHORT FORM
• People may not be aware of the meaning
of various short forms and may thus find
it difficult to interpret them. Moreover,
short forms can at time be culture
specific or even organization specific and
may thus unnecessarily complicate the
communication.

6. IMPORTANCE OF GRAMMER, SPELLING AND
PUNCTUATION
• Improper grammar can at worst cause
miscommunication and at least result in
unwanted humour and should be thus
avoided. So too, spellings can create the same
effect or can even reflect a careless attitude
on part of the sender.
• Finally, effective use of punctuations
facilitates reading and interpretation and can
in rare cases even prevent a completely
different meaning, which can result in
miscommunication.

7. SENSITIVITY TO THE AUDIANCE
• One needs to be aware of and sensitive
to the emotions, need and nature of the
audience in choosing the vocabulary,
content, illustrations, formats and
medium of communication, as a
discomfort in the audience would
hamper rather than facilitate
communication.

8. IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVITY
• In order to hold the readers' attention
one needs to be creative to break the
tedium of writing and prevent monotony
from creeping in.
• This is especially true in the case of all
detailed writing that seeks to hold the
readers' attention.

9. AVOIDING EXCESSIVE USE OF JARGON
• Excessive use of jargon can put off a
reader, who may not read further, as,
unlike a captive audience, the choice
of whether to participate in the
communication rests considerably
with the reader.

10. AWARENESS OF THE AUDIENCE/MEDIUM
• The medium needs to be chosen, as per its
suitability to the audience/content; while the
content would need tempering as per the
medium/audience. For example, while an
elaborate message can be sent via a letter or an
email, an sms, the same content may have to be
heavily edited.
• Like all effective communication, good writing
could be said to occur when the gap between
'what one desires to say and what one is
constrained to mean' is negligible or almost non-
existent.

DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES
There are three types of writing
styles:
Colloquial
Casual
Formal

COLLOQUIAL
• Colloquial language is an informal,
conversational style of writing. It differs
from standard English in that it often
makes use of colourful expressions,
slang, and regional phrases. As a result, it
can be difficult to understand for an a
person from a different region or
country.

CASUAL
• Casual language involves everyday
words and expressions in a familiar group
context, such as conversations with
family or close friends. The emphasis is
on the communication interaction itself,
and less about the hierarchy, power,
control, or social rank of the individuals
communicating.

FORMAL
• Formal language is communication that
focuses on professional expression with
attention to rules, protocol, and
appearance. It is characterized by its
vocabulary and the grammatical
arrangement of words in a sentence.
That is, writers using a formal style tend
to use a more sophisticated vocabulary.

Which style you use will depend on your
audience, and often whether your
communication is going to be read only by
those in your organization (internal
communications) or by those outside the
organization, (external communications).

SOME DOs AND DO NOTs
• Be Specific: Just like a reporter, communicate
the “who, what, where, why, when and how” of
what needs to done. Stay objective and specific.
• Avoid the Passive Voice: Instead of writing “The
program was planned by Dane,” write, “Dane
planned the program.”
• Be Concise :There’s no need to be long-winded.
Get to the point. You’ll lose readers if you spout
off too long!

• Get Things Right :Take great care when
spelling people’s names,, and other specifics.
And also make sure that you do a careful proof
of your work.
• Know When Formal Language is Required: If
you’re writing an informal note to group
members, it’s fine to use contractions (“don’t”
instead of “do not”).However, if you’re writing
for a formal audience, like a proposal to the
board of directors, be more formal with your
language.

• Read It Out Loud :One very effective way to
self-proof your work is to read it out loud. This
will help you determine if you’ve used
incorrect words, if your sentences run on too
long, if your tenses don’t match, and more.

CONCLUSION
• Utilize full potential of written communication
• What you write will ultimately define you as
a professional to your colleagues and
superiors
• Match the appropriate communication
method to the recipient
• Eliminating excessive or unnecessary
communication will improve your workflow
• Mastering these skills will improve your ability
and enhance your career.

Sources are taken from
•Slideshare.net
•Web sources

Communication skill - A four-fold analysis of Communication skills - Skill of Listening, Speaking, Reading and writing.

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