Communication Classes Research Articles

You Can’t Get There From Here: Discovering Where to Begin a Practice-led Inquiry – Notes and Reflections from Thailand

This article focuses critical attention on an often-overlooked aspect of practice-led research in art and design – how and where practice-led research projects begin. In particular, the article describes and discusses an MFA class in Visual Communication at a Thai University that provides a structured approach to producing what the author describes as good beginnings. Rather than resulting from the decision to continue existing approaches to practice or selecting a new topic for inquiry, the author argues that good beginnings emerge from an intensive period of pre-inquiry that, at one and the same time, invites students to engage with and unpack the motivations and concerns that underly their practices, explore these through practical experimentation, locate them within relevant theoretical contexts, and by so doing, begin the process of reimaging their practice-in-itself as a form of practice-as-inquiry. Working in a situation where artistic inquiry is dominated by conventional understandings of research and the hegemony of linguistic forms of the presentation of knowledge, the author pays particular attention to addressing the complex entanglements of words and works in the development of practice-led projects in a university setting.

Exploring Techniques of Addressing Grammar in CLT Classes: A Qualitative Study

Learners who have learned English through the audio-lingual method have a profound knowledge of grammar, but they cannot use it to communicate their knowledge and experience fluently. To solve this problem, there was a shift towards communicative language teaching (CLT). This shift towards CLT solved the fluency problem but created another unwanted effect since learners were communicatively competent but linguistically incompetent. While many teachers weed out form as irrelevant, some CLT teachers try to respond to this problem by addressing from in CLT classes. This study aims at conceptualizing these teachers’ perspectives and uncover the strategies they use in addressing grammar in communicative instruction. Following the constructivist grounded theory procedures, participants’ perspectives were theoretically sampled through in-depth, open-ended interviews. Abstraction and thematic analysis of participants’ experiences clearly revealed that the participants helped learners not only discover the target form but also connect it to their experience. It was also found that they used contrastive analysis, contextualization of input flood, and the integrated skill approach to address form in predominantly communicative classes. These findings have clear implications for teachers, teacher trainers and school policy makers.

Evaluation of an English Communication Class from Students' and Teachers' Perspectives: A Comparison of Face-to-Face and Distance-Learning Formats in the Pandemic

Evaluation of an English Communication Class from Students' and Teachers' Perspectives: A Comparison of Face-to-Face and Distance-Learning Formats in the Pandemic

Communication skills learning during medical studies in Poland: opinions of final-year medical students

INTRODUCTION: Despite the increasing emphasis on the medical curriculum, students’ empathy and communication skills decline with time. As students’ attitudes and experiences may influence the effectiveness of communication training and their future communication style, this study aimed to evaluate the opinions of last-year medical students on communication skills learning. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Following the fully mixed concurrent equal status design methodology, we invited sixth-year medical students of our university to fill a paper questionnaire with closed and open questions on their perspectives on communication skills learning. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by a representative sample of 166 students. The majority of them recognized the importance and benefits of communication training, and the need to increase its significance in the medical curriculum. They noticed that students with low communication skills lack motivation for improvement. Students also underlined the significance of the hidden curriculum, reporting a contrast between communication classes and the behavior of some physicians. Moreover, students less positively inclined towards communication training doubted its effectiveness and importance, suggesting that it should be offered for volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: In order to meet the expectations of students with positive opinions and overcome the lack of motivation or engagement of negatively inclined students, more emphasis should be placed on communication training. Changes in communication training should include increasing its practical character and intensity, emphasizing its importance and benefits, and paying more attention to hidden curriculum aspects. Revisions to the medical school application system should be considered to underline the importance of interpersonal competencies already at the admission stage.

КОМУНІКАЦІЇ У СТРАХОВОМУ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТІ

Communications are a connecting element of the management process. Management activities are inextricably linked with the need for constant exchange of information (communicative activities) to coordinate the work of units of the organization and individuals, aimed at achieving common goals. The article is devoted to the consideration of communication issues in modern insurance organizations with an emphasis on their essence, key elements and main stages of the communication process. The essence of communications in the categorical section is clarified and scientific approaches to the formation of the definition of this category are generalized. Thus, it is determined that communication is a process of exchanging ideas and information, which ultimately leads to mutual understanding. This interpretation of the concept of communication is shared by most domestic researchers who have studied the outlined issues. The types, kinds and classes of communications of the insurance company are investigated. The range of communication tasks is outlined and the set of functions of the latter in the management process is determined. The study allowed to form four key tasks of communications in the management process: a combination of all elements of the management process; assistance in making management decisions; providing information on the entire management process; ensuring interpersonal relationships in the team. According to the results of the study, the key functions of communications in the management process include: managerial, informative, emotional, control and factual. The key stages of the communication process are considered, of which according to the results of the research four are singled out: the first – formulation of the idea and selection of information; the second – coding and channel selection; the third is transmission and the fourth is decoding. It is established that communication as an exchange of information between people (or groups of people) has three aspects that are most important for assessing the content of management activities, each of which is considered from the normative-organizational and individual-psychological positions. In the first case, communication is determined by its objective organizational forms, the requirements for the effective implementation of a rational communicative process. The second aspect of communication is based on the psychological characteristics of communication partners and explains a number of important features of interaction, including those that hinder the effective development of communication. According to the results of the study, it is determined that communication is a semantic aspect of social interaction, one of the most common characteristics of any activity, including management. It is a modern form of political, scientific, organizational and technical force in society, through which the organization is included in the external environment, the exchange of views or information to ensure mutual understanding.

A bidirectional comparison of English and Japanese learners' willingness to communicate in their foreign language

This bidirectional study investigates the willingness to communicate (WTC) by first language (L1) Japanese learners of English as the foreign language (EFL) (n = 27) and L1 English learners of Japanese as the foreign language (JFL) learners (n = 12). Previous studies [e.g., 8, 25] have found that Japanese university students still struggled to improve their willingness to speak English, despite several years of oral communication classes. The goal of this study is to identify what makes Japanese EFL learners less willing to speak English, by comparing them with English JFL learners. This study examines 1) which factor affects the two learner groups' WTC in their foreign language more, actual or self-perceived linguistic competence; 2) whether speaking an L1 or L2 affects the WTC and self-perceived competence. A total of five linguistic tasks were administered to the two groups (age range 18–22) to measure their actual linguistic competence. An online questionnaire explored the group differences in WTC and self-perceived linguistic competence in L1 and L2 speaking contexts. Only the Japanese EFL group showed that self-perceived linguistic competence could have more impact on L2 WTC than actual linguistic competence. Both EFL and JFL groups showed higher WTC with individual and situational factors and self-perceived linguistic competence in the L1 speaking context than the L2 speaking context.

A Blended Collaborative Teaching Mode in Language Learning Based on Recommendation Algorithm

With the continuous expansion of economic globalization, English, as the official language in the world, has a high popularity. It can be related to a better development in the future. Meanwhile, with the continuous progress of technology in modern society, multimedia online teaching has become the main means in colleges and universities, which especially brings great changes to foreign language teaching. However, foreign language teaching is facing many difficulties such as large number of contents, less lessons and low participation of students in class. Therefore, the reform of college foreign language teaching is imperative. Based on blended collaborative teaching mode, the paper has designed a “Three Classes” composed of “Communication Class”, “Famous Teacher Class” and “Elite Online Class”. Teaching process has been designed according to the cognitive process of “Previewing before class, consolidating in class and expanding after class”. In addition, recommendation algorithm has been used to collect data on four dimensions, namely, involvement in foreign language learning, content completion of foreign language learning, interaction in foreign language learning and effectiveness of foreign language learning. A performance evaluation system for foreign language learning supported by big data has been established. The results of teaching practice have proved that the blended collaborative teaching mode implemented in the study can be integrated into the whole teaching process through intelligent data analysis, information sharing and technology application, improving teaching quality, enhancing the interaction between teachers and students, which is worthy of promotion and application.

Online Communication versus Face-to-Face Interaction: the Effect of Chatting Communication on Iranian EFL Learners' Oral Performance

This study aimed to investigate the impact of chatting communication on Iranian EFL learners' oral performance. To this end, the author randomly selected fifty 17-to-18-year-old male Iranian EFL learners attending Top Notch communicative classes in language institutes in Shiraz. First, they applied the Oxford Placement Test as a proficiency test to homogenize learners, and then the learners were divided into experimental and control groups (n = 25 in each group). Both groups had a pretest to estimate their oral performance before applying treatment. The experimental group received instruction and materials via online context as treatment. However, the participants in the control group just received instruction via traditional teaching methods in the class. Finally, both groups had a post-test to measure the effect of treatment on their oral performance. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for two groups In the data collection and analysis, a paired samples t-test was conducted. Based on the results, between the two groups, there was a substantial disparity in terms of oral presentation skills., and the experimental group learners outperformed the control group's learners. The findings can be helpful for teachers to find practical ways to develop students' skills and their incentives.

Construction and evaluation of an online module addressing counseling patients with diabetes observing religious fasting

IntroductionLittle research has been conducted on training students of different health professions to deliver culturally appropriate care to patients observing religious fasting. This study aimed to formulate an online educational module on caring for patients with diabetes observing religious fasting and evaluate the module's impact. MethodsThird-year doctor of pharmacy students participated in an online module at the end of their core pharmacist-patient communication class. The module involved discussions and case scenarios addressing Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu patients with diabetes considering fasting. Students were provided with Ramadan Communication (RAMCOM), a tool designed to facilitate counseling of patients on religious fasting and were encouraged to use principles of motivational interviewing in addressing cases. A 13-item questionnaire was administered before and after the module. Answers provided on an open-ended item addressing students' experiences with the module were analyzed qualitatively using conventional content analysis. ResultsOf 140 students taking the class, all students completed the module and 135 completed both questionnaires. The module elicited a statistically significant improvement in confidence across all 13 survey items. The computed aggregate score increased from 2.65 (0.56) to 3.66 (0.50) (P < .001), with 71% of students finding the module to be useful or extremely useful. Qualitative analysis provided insight into students' experiences, including how the module produced an improvement in student confidence as well as opportunities for module improvement. ConclusionsA brief online module significantly improved pharmacy students' confidence in working with patients from different cultures and religions considering religious fasting.

The impact of hybrid learning in teaching English for Business Communication in Vocational Higher Education of Indonesia

Some studies have been undertaken to decide the impact of hybrid learning on outcomes in higher education settings, with findings indicating that hybrid learning increases student performance more than distant learning or normal face-to-face instruction. This paper focuses on the students’ perspective on the impact of hybrid learning-based instruction in teaching English for Business Communication in Vocational Higher Education of Indonesia. This study is ex post facto research that aims to find the causes that allow changes in behavior, symptoms, or phenomena caused by an event, behavior, or things that cause changes in the independent variables which have occurred. This study employed a case study using students’ reflection journals and online questionnaires to seventy-five students of Business English for Communication class of the Vocational Higher Education in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Data were analyzed descriptively. In analyzing the data, the researcher used thematic analysis and content analysis. Data analysis steps are data familiarization, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report. This study showed that students perceived the hybrid learning improved students’ technology competence, collaboration participation, and engagement, motivation, self-confidence. The impact of hybrid learning in teaching English for Business Communication can be categorized into three highly impacted, moderately impacted, and lowly impacted on students, attitude, skills and competence, and motivation. This study claims that the more positive students are toward hybrid learning education in the classroom, the higher their English for Business Communication performance. This research improves scholarly understanding of hybrid learning instruction in Indonesian Vocational Higher Education when teaching English for Business Communication.

Sign-rank Can Increase under Intersection

The communication class UPP cc is a communication analog of the Turing Machine complexity class PP . It is characterized by a matrix-analytic complexity measure called sign-rank (also called dimension complexity), and is essentially the most powerful communication class against which we know how to prove lower bounds. For a communication problem f , let f ∧ f denote the function that evaluates f on two disjoint inputs and outputs the AND of the results. We exhibit a communication problem f with UPP cc ( f ) = O (log n ), and UPP cc ( f ∧ f ) = Θ (log 2 n ). This is the first result showing that UPP communication complexity can increase by more than a constant factor under intersection. We view this as a first step toward showing that UPP cc , the class of problems with polylogarithmic-cost UPP communication protocols, is not closed under intersection. Our result shows that the function class consisting of intersections of two majorities on n bits has dimension complexity n Omega Ω(log n ) . This matches an upper bound of (Klivans, O’Donnell, and Servedio, FOCS 2002), who used it to give a quasipolynomial time algorithm for PAC learning intersections of polylogarithmically many majorities. Hence, fundamentally new techniques will be needed to learn this class of functions in polynomial time.

Revitalizing the communication classroom: A case of design thinking

ABSTRACT Originally developed in the field of design, design thinking is widely used as a pedagogical tool to help non-designer students cultivate creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Despite its positive effects on student learning via increased motivation, openness to new ideas, and creative thinking, the understanding of design thinking is limited in the field of communication. Using an exploratory case-study methodology, this study aims to examine the effects of using design thinking on students’ learning experience in the communication classroom. The thematic analysis of student self-reflection essays revealed that students had very positive experiences with the design-thinking framework. More specifically, design thinking provided students with a toolkit for creative problem solving, helped students create practical knowledge, and allowed them to engage in deeper learning and harness the benefits of collaborative creativity. The findings are discussed to advance pedagogical implications for integrating design thinking as a creative learning tool in the instruction of communication classes in higher education.

ARISTOTLE’S TRIAD OF PERSUASIVENESS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE WRITERS' WRITTEN TEXT

In order to convince someone of what one is saying or writing about, the use of the appropriate persuasive technique is very important. At tertiary education level, academics who focus on teaching communication either in the written or spoken form emphasises on being persuasive. In communication, either in daily activities, academic or workplace, persuading someone is often used. The sender of the message needs to persuade the receiver to believe, agree, acknowledge and obey the message that one wants to convey. In this study, Aristotle’s triad of ethos, pathos, and logos is usually used to explore whether a text is persuasive. Aristotle's triad focuses on credibility (ethos), emotion (pathos), and facts (logos) in persuading a person on a certain issue that is being presented. The present study attempts to identify how ESL writers write to persuade. Samples of English as Second Language writers’ written assignments produced for an English for Occupational Purpose Module are used in this study. The assignment is in the form of a proposal paper written to propose an activity. The objective of a proposal paper is to propose an idea, and it is written in the hope of persuading the person reading the proposal to agree, approve and support the proposal. By studying the use of Aristotle’s triad of persuasive appeals, it is hoped that it will assist academicians to focus on what to teach in their communication class and to be able to produce competent ESL writers who are able to persuade and make one agree with their ideas and issues.

COVID-19시대 비대면 교육 방식(UEM) 전환에 따른 수업운영의 어려움: 찾아가는 장애인생활체육지도자를 대상으로

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the difficult points in class operation according to UEM transition for life-sports instructors who visit the disabled in the era of COVID-19.BR Method: The subjects were six Visiting physical education instructors for the disabled who were recommended by institutions in the top three regions (Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungnam) with high rates of use and satisfaction of the disabled people’s sports services. They were chosen through nomadic sampling. The investigation procedure was conducted through focus interviews.BR Results: The results of this study are as follows. 1) The Visiting sports service instructors for the UEM transition felt difficulties in overall class operation due to the lack of experience with the new method of class, noncooperation and lack of communication with related institutions, and lack of information about classes. 2) There were no teaching aids and equipment for UEM conversion and lack of pre-education for non-face-to-face classes, so it was difficult to manage classes. 3) As improvement points for the difficulties of class operation presented above, equipment and educational support, class guidelines, and manpower recruitment were suggested.BR Conclusion: In summary, it is meaningful in establishing a systematic system for UEM classes, presenting UEM operation guidelines for city and provincial athletic associations, and suggesting ways to improve the fitting of classes.

Metadiscourse in Business English: Ideas for the EBC Class

Metadiscourse has been defined as the discourse used by writers to help their readers connect, interpret and evaluate their attitudes towards the referential material presented (Vande Kopple, 2002). In his study on CEO&amp;rsquo;s letters, Hyland (1998b) examined metadiscourse as the manifestation of a writer&amp;rsquo;s linguistic and rhetorical presence in the text and looked at the persuasive nature of business communication. An awareness of the rhetorical power of metadiscourse in this text genre is vital for professional development, particularly in the teaching of business English. This study was designed to examine the use of interactive and interactional metadiscourse in Business English writing through an analysis of the Enron Email Dataset and the Business Letter Corpus. The data analysis was conducted following Hyland (2005, 2019), in order to understand how content and discourse are set up to orient and persuade the reader. Although this study focuses specifically on interactional metadiscourse, the results are expected to be relevant for the ESP classroom, particularly in English for Business Communication (EBC) classes (Bhatia &amp;amp; Bremner, 2012). Acquiring conscious awareness of the rules and conventions to master formal writing can be of great help to business students in order for them to become successful writers in both academic and professional environments.

Mapping reflexivity in situ: A multimodal exploration of negotiated textbook discourses in Korean university EFL classrooms

The present study identifies and maps the reflexive praxis of two experienced English as a foreign language (EFL) instructors as they reconstruct and negotiate textbook material in situ. An abundance of critical studies underscoring social injustices in the contents of globally published EFL textbooks do not sufficiently address the negotiation of their multimodal discourses during class time. Although reflexive teaching practice in language learning classrooms has a robust pool of research, limited scholarly attention has been given to the active negotiation of a textbook’s multimodal discourse in Korean university classrooms. The present study asks: (1) How do two instructors at different Korean universities negotiate the contents of an EFL textbook with their students during class? (2) How do the students react to the multimodal discourse negotiated in their textbooks? (3) What pedagogical implications do the findings lend to EFL textbook instruction in Korean university contexts? Using Norris’ (2004) framework for video transcription of multimodal interaction in two Korean university English communication classes, the findings reveal that reflexive negotiation between students and instructors is a kind of rhetorical accomplishment that lessens the potential for cultural marginalization in the multimodal discourse of EFL textbooks. Implications suggest that textbook reflexivity in situ raises the value of student EFL learning investments.

“This Happens in the Real World?”: Perceptions of Student-Developed Workplace Case Studies

This study examined student perceptions of an online case study development experience where students wrote their own case studies about workplace communication processes and created accompanying pedagogical materials. Students then shared their cases in small groups and engaged in dialogue. Students from organizational communication classes at four universities completed preevaluations ( n = 77) and postevaluations ( n = 67), providing quantitative and qualitative data. Analyses suggested that students perceived that the experience enhanced their understanding of course materials, aided them in connecting course materials to the real world, and enabled them to reflect on their own and their classmates’ organizational experiences.

As an Oncology Nurse, What Does It Look Like to Be a Well-Being Clinician?

For me, becoming a well-being clinician required a journey that does not end. I discovered four relationships to pay attention to as an oncology nurse, and each requires care. They are self, colleagues, community, and patients and families. My journey to becoming a well-being clinician meandered through a variety of clinical practice, educational, and leadership opportunities. At each stopover, I developed knowledge, skills, and abilities in caring relationships. Three in particular were pivotal in my well-being practice development: my first nursing job as a float nurse in a small community hospital, a therapeutic communication class in my BSN completion program, and my Master of Arts in Lay Ministry (MALM) degree.

ADAB GURU DAN PELAJAR DALAM PENGAJARAN DAN PEMBELAJARAN SECARA DALAM TALIAN KETIKA PANDEMIK COVID-19

It’s has been almost 2 years since pandemic Covid-19 has shocked the world. The pandemic has affected all over the world in many sectors including education. Malaysia is one of the countries that also hugely affected by the pandemic, and Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) as one of the leading tertiary education has struggled to maintain its studying and learning process throughout the time. In order to continue its learning process, the educators and students have tried their best to proceed although facing challenges. Apart from using its own online application known as Myguru, several methods have also been applied by lecturers and students including social media mediums like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom, and many more. However, sometimes smart and high technologies could not meet all that people demand especially in terms of human touch or soft skills and manner. This paper hence explores the Islamic manner (Adab) been practiced and observed both by academicians and students in selected courses (HIA 3033&amp; HID 3033) while using the online learning process during a pandemic. This study will analyze the Islamic manner (Adab) of lecturer and students from early up to midst semester, their ways of communication, attitude, pre and post classes, punctuality, and attention. This study very essential because towards the end, not academic solely would be the main focus, but morally and Adab sound also would be achieved. Then, the process of learning without neglecting academics, skills, and attitudes would be realized in producing smart human capital in the future.

Designing Telecollaborative Projects for Professional Communication and User Experience

This article draws on Trans-Atlantic and Pacific Project (TAPP) collaborations (e.g., [Arn&amp;oacute;, 14] [Vandepitte, 16]) to show how students in already-existing technical communication classes can join other classes in realistic transnational projects through ICT and thereby acquire and enhance various types of transversal competences necessary to students&amp;rsquo; future performance in a globalized workplace.