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Improving Oral Communication Skills in English
Part A. Report
Generally, communication can be defined as a process of exchanging information, from the
person giving the information through verbal and non-verbal methods, to the person receiving
the information. The most common method of communication is verbal, using a specific
language where it is a two-way process, with feedback on the message received.
Communication also involves the exchange of ideas, opinions and information with a specific
objective. Apart from oral communication, information can also be exchanged using symbols
or signage. Communication has also been defined as sharing and giving meaning occurring at
the same time through symbolic interactions (Seiler & Beall, 2005). Communication has been
said to start when a message or information is transferred from the sender (the speaker,
writer) to the receiver (listener, reader) through an instrument or channel, and followed by the
receiver giving feedback (coding and interpreting the information; Sulaiman Masri, 1997).
Based on these definitions, elements of communication include the person giving the
information, the information and feedback by the receiver, and the repetition of these
processes creates knowledge development.
Previous research on communication skills among university students have been reported by
Ihmeideh, Ahmad and Dababneh (2010) and Cleland, Foster and Moffat (2005). They found
that a positive communication environment provides opportunities to students to learn how to
communicate, and thus, have better communication skills. Therefore, university students need
to be given opportunities to communicate in order to be better prepared for the job market
after their studies. Communication is more effective if the receiver (of the information) can
understand and practice the skills. Further, communication will be more meaningful if the
physical, spiritual and social factors are taken into account during the communication
process.
There are many types of communication skills, but generally it involves oral and written
skills. Mohd Helmi (2005) proposes that there are essentially three types of communication,
which are interpersonal communication, management communication (communication in a
group), and public communication (speech making). The process of communication generally
involves four elements, which are the speaker, the receiver, communication channel and
feedback. A few researchers have defined communication as verbal communication, written
communication, non-verbal communication, listening and giving feedback (Nur’ashiqin
Najmuddin, 2010). At the same time, Rodiah Idris (2010) proposes that communication as a
non-verbal skill, giving feedback, presenting ideas verbally and in written form, doing
presentations and negotiating to achieve a goal and getting support/agreement. In our
globalized world, humans need to master communication skills in different cultural contexts
(Penbek, Yurdakul, & Cerit, 2009). Harlak et al. (2008) proposes that we need to develop
communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the level of oral
communication skills among Malaysians.
B. FINDINGS OF THE INTERVIEWS
B1. Miss. Thivani, (26 years old, working as a doctor).
His opinion is regarding how Malaysians can improve their oral skills is by watching English
movies or reading the subtitle of foreign movies. Choosing a film to watch that is suitable for
your level of English can be difficult. If your level of English is quite low, choose a movie
that you have already seen or a movie made for children which uses simpler language (for
example, Pixar films). However, if you have a higher level of English, you can try to
challenge yourself and watch films with more advanced language.
Whatever your level of English is, you might be tempted to switch on subtitles. If so, I would
recommend using English subtitles so you can read along while you are listening. Of course,
if watching a film in English and reading English subtitles is too difficult, you should start by
watching films with subtitles in your language or vice versa.
Don’t be afraid to replay parts of the film that you don’t understand, or turn subtitles on just
for one important scene.
Choose an interesting movie. This probably sounds obvious, but if you choose a boring
movie, you’ll be bored. And if you’re bored, it will be difficult to pay attention for more than
one and a half hours. I remember when I was a child, I had to watch hours and hours of really
old movies like “Singing in the Rain”, “Mary Poppins” to learn English. And because of that,
I highly recommend you choose movies you like.
B2. Second is Mr. Anand, (30 years old, working as customer service agent).
His opinion is that by reading more can improve oral communication skills. Simply
increasing what you read (business texts, novels, newspapers etc) can improve your
vocabulary, help you express ideas clearly and eliminate weaknesses in your language skills.
As for me I’ll buy newspapers everyday so I can pull up my socks up. Reading is considered
to be the best practice that can enhance basic oral communication skills. Reading English
literature, newspapers, magazines, novels, fiction, etc. improves vocabulary skills. Also, this
will aid you in developing your thinking process and enhance your sharpness in gathering
ideas and expressing them in English. I’ll make sure my English skills are developed through
speaking. I’ll speak to my English teaching friend so can boost it.
Besides that, reading English newspapers can improve reading skills, increase English
vocabulary and learn more things to write. But we need to know how to read newspaper well
if it’s going to turn out an advantage to us. First, make the newspaper thinner. This means just
read the headline, the topic of the article, then find the interesting sections that you like.
Second, browse every article you like just one or two paragraphs. Read no more than five
articles. Third, read more about the article you like by reading the information containing
“when”, “where”, “what”, “who”, and “how”. That will help you read quickly. The last one,
don’t be afraid of new words. You can understand what it means in the context.
B3. Third is Mrs. Chin( 45 years old, working as a Mathematics teacher).
According to her said that learn a new word every day. Choose a word you would like to
work on and use practice it in different sentences. Use the word until you have learnt it and
keep using it regularly. Using a word develop your own list of words to learn is a great
technique many people use to learn new words. This approach may be too rigid for some, so
even if you do use this method, don't feel you must learn a new word every day. This gives
you lots of advice and ideas on how you can learn new words. When you’re learning a new
language it’s really important to keep learning new words to improve your vocabulary. When
you learn new words you need to try and use them as soon as you can so they will become
part of your active vocabulary. We need to see a new word at least five times before we are
able to use it correctly. There are lots of opportunities on this website to learn new words, and
by writing comments on the site you can put your new vocabulary into practice.
Try to read them regularly. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes
every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix a time to read and keep to it. For
example, you could read for fifteen minutes when you go to bed, or when you get up, or at
lunchtime.
B4. Fourth is Madam Jaya,( 46 years old, spine specialist)
In her opinion she state that practicing in the mirror. All skills take practice, and good
conversation skills are no different. If you have a big speech to give or an important
conversation coming up, it can be helpful to practice it with yourself in the mirror
beforehand. This way, you'll at least have a run through in your mind already before you
attempt the real thing. And it will help you work out any possible problems that may arise (in
your argument, stumbling over words, etc. For an example you and your friend are having a
little chat at some coffee house. Now just think how the conversation would go on, but try to
think in English (strictly). Initially you will face problems, you might try to translate the
sentences from your native language to English, and it's perfectly normal. Now, speak out
whatever you are thinking in front of the mirror. Let the exercise be natural, don’t take out
any ready made one-act play and just read it out( though it is also a great exercise)
While doing this, you might not know the exact words. At such time, use a word from your
native language. But when you are over with your speaking, find out that word in English,
write it down in a notebook. If you wish, you can audio tape the whole exercise and listen to
it later.
Initially, don't concentrate on the accent and all, try to concentrate on the content, concentrate
on what exactly you want to say and can you say it in better way
B5. Miss Farhana ( 23 years old, medical assistant)
Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication
process. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen
effectively messages are easily misunderstood communication breaks down and the sender of
the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. Listen more and talk less means you
will understand and bring your listener into the conversation. This helps them to trust you and
make them feel that you really understand their needs. When they talk, be interested and
show your interest. This will improve the rapport you are trying to build.
Using note taking skills like Mind Mapping can help you to take more effective and
memorable notes
C. Summary
We use communication usually to mean speaking or writing or sending a message to another
person. Communication is really much more than that. It involves a number of choices and
decisions but being natural and unnoticed in informal situations. In formal situations, our
communication needs to be more effective and carefully chosen, that is, we need to plan our
communication There are several ways of improving oral communication skills by watching
English movie either with non- English movies with English subtitle. By doing this we can
improve our communication skills. Besides that, we also can improve our english by reading
more. Other than that, we also can learn a new word a day and make practise in front of the
mirror. Lastly, we also must listen carefully in order to get good English communication
skills.
References
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