Unit 1:

Communication
Skills in English
 Introduction

Communication is both an art and a science. It often involves acts of speaking and
listening, reading and writing, but it also goes beyond these and incorporates the
transmission of non-verbal language, sign language, codes transmitted electronically
and physically and messages communicated through music, and by other means.
Although you communicate simply by being in the world, developing good verbal
and body language skills involves learning and consciously using your skills to improve.
The act of communicating verbally serves to convey how we feel and how we think
to others. It is also the basis of how we relate with others, using language as its medium.
Increasing knowledge and awareness of some of the components involved in effective
communication can serve to improve how we use those components personally.
 The Importance of English

Although the English language doesn’t have the largest number of

native speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of any language
spoken today. Both native and second-language speakers of English are
found on every continent, and English has become the lingua franca in
many fields, including business, politics, science, technology, and
entertainment. English is the working language of many international
organizations and it is the language of global advertising. It is also the
most-used language on the internet, accounting for more than half of all
the websites. For many people, learning English is a way to get access to
a broader range of information, connections, and opportunities.
English as the First and Second Language

As a first language - sometimes L1 is used for this. It means this is

your native language, the language you first learned as a child and is
your primary language. As a second language - sometimes L2 is used
for this, often ESL (English as a Second Language) is used.
The number of English speakers around the world has been on the
rise for many years, with the current number approaching 2 billion,
according to some estimates. The fact that so many people now use
English as either a first or second language indicates that English is
likely to remain a globally dominant language for many years to
come.
Uses of English

1. People who speak English have more job opportunities. Businesses need
employees who can communicate fluently with English-speaking partners and
clients. In addition, entrepreneurs can access a far wider range of customers
online by using English. In the US or other English-speaking countries, people who
can’t speak English are at a real economic disadvantage.
2. Since English is the language of science and technology, English speakers
have more opportunities to work with others in these fields and to share ideas
and innovations.
3. When their children are learning English in school, parents who speak English
are in a better position to help and even communicate with their children. In
families who are living in an English-speaking country, the children often grow up
speaking better English than their parents’ language.
4. Being able to speak English makes it easier to travel. Because
English is spoken as a first or second language in so many different
countries, it is always easy to find English speakers as well as printed
information in English, especially at hotels and in areas frequented by
tourists.
5. The English language gives students access to information and
research. Since many of the top academic journals are published in
English, students and academics need strong English reading and
writing skills. Moreover, for a research study or other publication to get
sufficient attention, it should be published in English.
References:

 https://effortlessenglishclub.com
 https://www.tcd.ie/equality/listen-speak-heard/effective-comm/intro/
 https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=english+as+first+and+second+language&rlz=1C1C
HBF_enPH755PH755&oq=english+as+first+and+second+language&aqs=chrome..69i57.6332
j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 Unit 2:
Listening Skills
 What is listening?

 Listening is receiving language through the ears. Listening involves

identifying the sounds of speech and processing them into words and
sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to receive individual sounds
(letters, stress, rhythm and pauses) and we use our brain to convert these
into messages that mean something to us
 Listening in any language requires focus and attention. It is a skill that
some people need to work at harder than others. People who have
difficulty concentrating are typically poor listeners. Listening in a second
language requires even greater focus.
 Like babies, we learn this skill by listening to people who already know how to
speak the language. This may or may not include native speakers. For practice,
you can listen to live videos or recorded voices. The most important thing is to
listen to a variety of voices as often as you can.
 Listening is the first of the four language skills, which are:
1. LISTENING;
2. SPEAKING;
3. READING and
4. WRITING.
In our own language, listening is usually the first language skill that we learn.
To become a fluent speaker in English, you need to
develop strong listening skills. Listening not only helps you
understand what people are saying to you. It also helps
you to speak clearly to other people. It helps you learn
how to pronounce words properly, how to use intonation,
and where to place stress in words and sentences. This
makes your speech easier for other people listening to
you to understand.
Types of Listening

1. Discriminative listening
Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference
between difference sounds is identified. If you cannot hear differences, then you cannot make
sense of the meaning that is expressed by such differences.
We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and later are
unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. This is one reason why a
person from one country finds it difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they are
unable distinguish the subtle sounds that are required in that language.
Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another
person's voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is
experiencing.
Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through body
language. We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal
movements that signify different meanings.
2. Comprehension listening
The next step beyond discriminating between different sound and sights is to
make sense of them. To comprehend the meaning requires first having a lexicon of
words at our fingertips and also all rules of grammar and syntax by which we can
understand what others are saying.
The same is true, of course, for the visual components of communication, and
an understanding of body language helps us understand what the other person is
really meaning.
In communication, some words are more important and some less so, and
comprehension often benefits from extraction of key facts and items from a long
spiel.
Comprehension listening is also known as content listening, informative
listening and full listening.
3. Critical listening
Critical listening is listening in order to evaluate and
judge, forming opinion about what is being said. Judgment
includes assessing strengths and weaknesses, agreement
and approval.
This form of listening requires significant real-time
cognitive effort as the listener analyzes what is being said,
relating it to existing knowledge and rules, whilst
simultaneously listening to the ongoing words from the
speaker.
4. Biased listening
Biased listening happens when the person hears only what they want to hear, typically
misinterpreting what the other person says based on the stereotypes and other biases that they have. Such
biased listening is often very evaluative in nature.

5. Evaluative listening
In evaluative listening, or critical listening, we make judgments about what the other person is saying.
We seek to assess the truth of what is being said. We also judge what they say against our values, assessing
them as good or bad, worthy or unworthy.
Evaluative listening is particularly pertinent when the other person is trying to persuade us, perhaps to
change our behavior and maybe even to change our beliefs. Within this, we also discriminate between
subtleties of language and comprehend the inner meaning of what is said. Typically also we weigh up the
pros and cons of an argument, determining whether it makes sense logically as well as whether it is helpful
to us.
Evaluative listening is also called critical, judgmental or interpretive listening.
6. Appreciative listening
In appreciative listening, we seek certain information which will appreciate, for example that
which helps meet our needs and goals. We use appreciative listening when we are listening to good
music, poetry or maybe even the stirring words of a great leader.
7. Sympathetic listening
In sympathetic listening 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.
8. Empathetic listening
When we listen empathetically, we go beyond sympathy to seek a truer understand 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 feel what they are feeling.
In order to get others to expose these deep parts of themselves to us, we also need to
demonstrate our empathy in our demeanor towards them, asking sensitively and in a way that
encourages self-disclosure.
9. Therapeutic listening
In therapeutic listening, the listener has a purpose of not only
empathizing with the speaker but also to use this deep connection in
order to help the speaker understand, change or develop in some
way.
This not only happens when you go to see a therapist but also in
many social situations, where friends and family seek to both diagnose
problems from listening and also to help the speaker cure themselves,
perhaps by some cathartic process. This also happens in work
situations, where managers, HR people, trainers and coaches seek to
help employees learn and develop.
10. Dialogic listening
The word 'dialogue' stems from the Greek words 'dia', meaning 'through' and
'logos' meaning 'words'. Thus dialogic listening mean learning through conversation
and an engaged interchange of ideas and information in which we actively seek
to learn more about the person and how they think.
Dialogic listening is sometimes known as 'relational listening’.
11. Relationship listening
Sometimes the most important factor in listening is in order to develop or
sustain a relationship. This is why lovers talk for hours and attend closely to what
each other has to say when the same words from someone else would seem to be
rather boring.
Relationship listening is also important in areas such as negotiation and sales,
where it is helpful if the other person likes you and trusts you.
Objectives of Listening

To learn
To increase one’s understanding
To advise or counsel
To relieve one’s boredom
Active Listening – An Effective Listening
Skill

 Active listening is a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. However, active
listening can be difficult to master and will, therefore, take time and patience to develop.
 'Active listening' means, as its name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on
what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker.
 Active listening involves listening with all senses. As well as giving full attention to the speaker, it
is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening - otherwise the speaker may
conclude that what they are talking about is uninteresting to the listener.
 Interest can be conveyed to the speaker by using both verbal and non-verbal messages such
as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying ‘Yes’ or simply
‘Mmm hmm’ to encourage them to continue. By providing this 'feedback' the person speaking
will usually feel more at ease and therefore communicate more easily, openly and honestly.
Note Taking Tips

Before the Lecture: Be prepared

 Preparation before the lecture provides the background knowledge you need to be an
effective listener and an effective student.
 Know what the lecture will be about. Check the course outline for weekly topics.
 Do any required pre-reading.
 If lecture slides are available before class, download them.
 Review notes from previous lectures.
 Set up notebooks/ documents for note-taking.
 Arrive on time and sit near the front - in order to take good notes, you need to hear and
see clearly.
During the Lecture: Strategies for effective note-taking
 Concentrate and pay attention
 Arrive prepared to actively listen and learn, and to think critically. Analyzing and
questioning the information helps you to focus and understand what you hear.
 Don’t try to write down everything being said.
 Be selective—you don’t have to transcribe the entire lecture. Effective listening
note-taking involves recognizing key concepts and identifying and selecting
what is relevant. Listen for the overall argument and note the main points and
key information.
 How can I recognize what is important?
 Distinguish between main points, elaboration, examples, ‘waffle’ and new points by listening for:
 introductory remarks. Lectures often begin with a useful overview of the key ideas or themes of a particular topic. This
helps you grasp the ‘big picture’.
 verbal ‘signposts’ that indicate something important is about to be said. Lecturers often signal key information with
phrases like: “There are four main aspects”, “This is important…” or “To sum up”.
 repetition. Important points will often be repeated, especially in introductions and conclusions.
 phonological cues (voice emphasis, change in volume, speed, emotion and emphasis) often indicate important
information.
 final remarks. Most lectures conclude with a summary, a restatement of the main ideas and an indication of how the
topic connects with upcoming material.

 Look for:
 non verbal cues (facial expressions, hand and body signals) that indicate something important is being said.
 visual cues (note what is on the visuals, note references to names and sources)
After the Lecture
 To get the most out of your notes it’s important to review and re-engage actively with them several
times.
 Review your notes while the lecture is fresh in your mind. Reviewing helps you remember what was
said, builds up your understanding, and helps identify gaps in your knowledge.
 To review:
 Read through your notes. Make sure they are clear and legible. Clean them up - fix spelling errors,
expand on abbreviations, tidy up handwriting (if necessary).
 Fill in missing words or information and add anything extra that you may have thought of since the
lecture.
 Code your notes - use color and symbols to mark structure and emphasis, highlight major sections,
main points and diagrams. Use different colors to emphasize main points, classify different topics and
link concepts or information.
 Explain and clarify diagrams by writing a simple version of their meaning.
 Identify anything that needs further clarification.
 Label and file your notes along with any lecture handouts.
 Tips for re-engaging with notes
 Try “chunking” similar pieces of information into categories that you can remember more easily.
 Transcribe key concepts in your own words.
 Add your own questions to the notes to help you recall the key ideas.
 Write a brief overall summary of the notes.
 Reflect on the learning process itself—what do you find confusing? How did you solve problems
or clarify your understanding?
Barriers to Good Listening

The first step in any process of change is to

become aware of what you are presently
doing. You are probably not aware of the
barriers you habitually put up to block good
communication.
 Evaluating and judging. Are you so busy criticizing what the
other person is saying that you don’t hear them? There is
nothing wrong with using discrimination, but it is more helpful
to defer judgment until you fully understand what the other
person is talking about.
 Interrupting. When you don’t allow the other person to
complete a thought, you are not listening. Many people
interrupt because they are impatient. If you find yourself losing
the train of a conversation because the other is talking
excessively, ask for a summary and then continue to listen.
 Jumping to conclusions. It is easy to mentally fill in the details of what
another person is saying and then to assume you have understood them.
People often take everything they hear personally, which is one of the
main reasons for misunderstandings that lead to breakdowns in
relationships. You can remedy that tendency by checking out your
assumptions first.
 Selective listening. People tend to hear what they expect to hear, need
to hear, or want to hear and block out the rest. For example, if you have
been feeling a lack of confidence in yourself lately, you might hear
everything that is said to you through a filter of “I’m no good.” Or you
might tune out everything that is critical, unpleasant, or negative because
it is too threatening to hear right now. Keep in mind that everybody uses
some form of selective listening. Get to know your form of selectivity and
observe your tendency to block listening with it.
 Advising. You may think that you have to answer every question asked and solve every
problem. Not true. The other person may simply be thinking aloud, asking rhetorical
questions, or just looking for a supportive presence. In fact, as you share your advice, you
may actually be disregarding what the other person is saying. Let others specifically ask for
help or advice. Otherwise, just listen and be there. One valuable way to encourage
people to solve their own problems is to ask how they would advise a friend with a similar
problem.
 Lack of attention. Do you let your mind wander frequently in conversations, giving in to
other external noises and distractions or to your own daydreams or plans? Often it is
helpful to be up front about it—admit your temporary lack of attention to the person
speaking; explain that you are sleepy, anxious, or whatever. If boredom is the problem,
though, remember that the more involved you become in the conversation, the less
boring it may be. Ask questions. Ask for examples. Summarize what you hear the other
person saying. If all else fails, tell the other person honestly that you need to leave or get
back to what you were doing. Good listening need not be a matter of silent endurance.
Good listening is an active process.
Purposes of Listening

- To gain new information

- To quest and test evidence and
assumptions
- To be inspired
- To improve communication
Outlines and Signposting

Signposting means using phrases and words to guide the

reader through the content of your essay/dissertation.
There are two main types of signposting: introductions,
conclusions and outlining main arguments/ the direction
of the argument in paragraphs/opening phrases.
Connecting words help guide the reader through the
argument by linking ideas, sentences and paragraphs.
Major Signposting
In Introductions
 This essay will [first]
outline/examine/address/argue/demonstrate/focus on … and will
[then] ascertain/establish/clarify/show/judge/prove … Next, it
closely examines ... in relation to ... Finally, it focuses on ... and how
this affects ...
 To understand the role of …, this essay provides a discussion of …
 This essay seeks to investigate/evaluate/illustrate/discuss the impact
of ... in relation to ...
In the main body of an essay
-Introducing a new idea
One aspect which illustrates … can be identified as …
The current debate about ... identifies an interesting
viewpoint on ...
First(ly), … / second(ly), … / finally, …
The first/next/final section provides a general discussion of
…
 - Linking or developing new idea
 Having established ..., this essay will now/next consider …
 Building on from the idea that ..., this section illustrates that ...
 To further understand the role of ... this section explores the idea that ...
 Another line of thought on ... demonstrates that ...
 In addition to/As well as x, y must be/should be/needs to be established …
 x is one/an important/the key issue that has to be considered. Another/A
second/ of equal importance is …
 This idea/theory had been extended/developed by….
 - Introducing a contrasting view
 However, another angle on this debate suggests that ...
 In contrast to evidence which presents the view that... an
alternative perspective illustrates that ...
 However, not all research shows that... Some evidence agrees that
...
 This conflicts/contrasts with/is contrary to the view held by ..., who
argues that …
 - Summing up a paragraph/section
The evidence highlights that …
It is clear that …
The strength of such an approach is that …
 In conclusions
 In conclusion, … / To summarize, … / As has been shown …
 Clearly, this essay has shown that the main factors which impact
upon … are …
 From the above, it is clear that …
 Several conclusions emerge from this analysis …
 The evidence presented has shown that …
 This essay has focused on three factors affecting …
 It has been established that …
Linking words and short phrases
 To add more ideas: again, furthermore, in addition, moreover
 To compare or contrast ideas: alternatively, contrastingly, conversely, whereas
 To prove something: evidently, for this reason, because, inevitably
 To show exceptions: however, nevertheless, yet, in spite of
 To repeat or refer back to something: as has been mentioned/noted…/As previously
discussed
 To show that you will include something later: this will be discussed in detail later
 To emphasize something: definitely, obviously, inevitably, undeniably
 To give an example: for instance, in this case, in particular, notably
 To show the order of things: previously, following this, initially, subsequently, finally
Gambits

 A gambit is a strategic move, often in chess but also in politics or business,

where a player sacrifices something up front for future gain.
 The noun gambit comes from an Italian word, gambetto, which means
“tripping up.” When you make an opening move, offer something, or start
a conversation with something that seems self-sacrificing but is really a
ploy for greater advantage in the long run, that's a gambit. In chess, a
gambit is when you sacrifice a pawn early for better positioning. When
you offer to drive the morning carpool, that might be a gambit to get the
afternoon shift off.
References:

 http://www.englishclub.com
 https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/active-listening.html
 https://student.unsw.edu.au/note-taking-skills
 https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=objectives+of+listening&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPH755PH7
55&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=tsQ5DWXwL8zE9M%253A%252C2LiOmWUWaNpa7M%2
52C_&usg=AFrqEzconc7aPmBO_Vwl3IxVGghOCDzUHA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdnvrel5XdAh
UOFHIKHTtjBj4Q9QEwCnoECAUQBA#imgrc=tsQ5DWXwL8zE9M:
 https://www.slideshare.net/HafsaQureshi1/purposes-of-listening
 http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/energize-your-communication-become-a-genuine-
listener/Barriers-to-Good-Listening.html
 https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gambit