Conversational Skills Research Articles

‘Making every contact count’ with patients with musculoskeletal conditions: a qualitative exploration of acceptability to physiotherapists

AimTo qualitatively explore physiotherapists’ experiences and acceptability of implementing ‘Making Every Contact Count Healthy Conversation Skills’ (MECC HCS) in routine practice with patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.MethodsThis article reports the second phase of a mixed method, sequential explanatory study. Physiotherapists trained in and delivering MECC HCS in their practice were invited to take part in semi-structured interviews. We hoped to develop a rich, in-depth understanding of their use and perceptions of the brief intervention and to contextualise findings from the first phase of the study. Qualitative data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.ResultsPhysiotherapists valued MECC HCS as being integral to their practice, promoting a person-centred approach to supporting behaviour change and enhancing self-management in patients with MSK conditions and pain. It was believed that this brief intervention could reduce workload pressure for physiotherapists and have significant wider benefits for health services. Time limitations associated with appointments did, however, pose as a challenge to MECC HCS delivery, and it was felt that more organisational-level support was needed to sustain it.ConclusionsThese findings support our quantitative data, collected in the first phase of this study. MECC HCS is a highly acceptable brief intervention that can be delivered in physiotherapy care to support behaviour change in patients with MSK conditions. Future roll-out may be optimised within organisations by providing regular refresher training and adopting a MECC champion.

Development and Validity of Teaching Communication Skills Questionnaires for Pre-Service Teachers (TCSQ-PST): A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The function of teachers' communication abilities in imparting their knowledge to students is crucial. Failure to acquire these skills will lead to the collapse of the classroom learning process. Numerous studies address the need to develop communication skills, but few study how to quantify teaching communication skills to future vocational teachers. This study aims to create a questionnaire and perform a validity and reliability analysis using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). This study involved 175 students at universities providing teacher education programs in Jakarta, Indonesia. This study reveals that teaching communication skills for candidate vocational teachers can be measured using the Teaching Communication Skills questionnaires for pre-service teachers (TCSQ-PST). The total TCSQ-PST items are 23 items consisting of four conflict management items, four conversation skill items, four comforting items, three persuasion items, four referential skill items, and four narrative skills items. Based on validity and reliability testing, each of the 23 items explaining teaching communication skills to candidate vocational teachers is valid and reliable. This study's findings have significant implications for judging the achievement of teaching communication skills for future teachers.

An AI-based English education platform during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examines whether the use of AI-Pengtalk, an AI-based Conversational English programme, provided by a broadcasting company (EBS) that specializes in public education can significantly improve conversational English skills and bridge the English language proficiency gap associated with parental socioeconomic status. Over the course of four weeks from April 27 to May 22 in 2020, 108 fourth-grade classes in 54 elementary schools voluntarily participated in this experiment. Two classes in each school were designated as a treatment group and a control group. For the treatment group, a tablet installed with a pilot version of AI-Pengtalk was provided and students were encouraged to make use of the programme. Two sets of surveys and English tests were placed pre and post hoc. After 4 weeks, test scores, log files, and survey responses of participants were analysed. A series of DID analyses demonstrate that the use of AI-Pengtalk improves the treatment group’s self-evaluation of their English abilities, confidence in using English, preference on English itself, and amount of time spent on studying English during the pilot experimental period compared to the control group. When other variables were controlled, the use of AI-Pengtalk also helped the treatment group achieve higher test scores. This study implicates that the use of smart English education like AI-Pengtalk may especially be able to better compensate for academic setbacks caused by low parental SES or, in the case of English learning, the reluctance to converse in English with other students.

The Key English Pronunciation Difficulties for Egyptian EFL Learners

Despite all the attempts by ESL and EFL learners to attain (near-)native proficiency, many phonological, lexical and spelling mistakes still occur in any L2 learning environment (Huwari 2019, 31). This paper aims to investigate the key English pronunciation difficulties, both segmental (on the level of speech sounds) and suprasegmental (rhythm, stress, and juncture), of Egyptian learners of English, in a corpus of audio and/or video recordings of English conversation and presentation skills classes by Egyptian university students who are also native speakers of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA). The project involves both contrastive analysis (of the phonological systems of English, Egyptian Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic) as well as error analysis. While the significance of contrastive analysis lies in helping EFL teachers predict the problematic aspects (Al-Saqqaf and Vaddapalli 2012, 56), error analysis would provide them with the actual problems encountered by the learners and the extent of their seriousness.

Teaching conversational skill in the Arabic language department at Raparin University, problems and solutions

This research, which is part of my master's thesis, aims to clarify the linguistic problems (grammar, morphology and sound) in the process of teaching conversational skill in the Department of Arabic Language at Raparin University, with proposing solutions that the researcher thinks are likely to solve those problems, and the researcher's work To know these problems by teaching the speaking skill for a full academic year (2021-2022 AD) and using two study tools, namely: the oral test card and the questionnaire), accompanied by the subject’s professor (Twana Qader Saber Al-Khalkani).

Hastening slowly on classroom-based conversational skills teaching: A commentary on Abbot-Smith et al., 2023

The focus of classroom instructional time continues to be debated among educators, policy makers, academics and health professionals such as speech-language therapists. In this commentary, we emphasise the importance of reserving precious instructional time for developing children’s biologically secondary skills such as reading, writing and spelling. We argue that maintaining a focus on these core curriculum areas is critical. We advise against committing Tier 1 classroom time to conversational skills at the current time, due to the paucity of research evidence to support this. We propose an alternative model for including conversational skills in classroom practice, through the application of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, and in particular, Response to Intervention.

Classroom conversations: What will it take? A commentary on Abbot-Smith et al., 2023

In their excellent review paper, Abbot-Smith and colleagues call for an emphasis on whole-classroom, tier-1 intervention approaches to supporting conversational skills in the preschool and primary grades. In our commentary, we discuss the benefits of and challenges to classroom conversation, particularly during the school transition period (ages 2 through 6), and we highlight several pathways that might help teachers foster more conversation with young children.

Supporting college student self-determination through motivational interviewing

PurposeThis study was intended to investigate a small-scale School-based Motivational Interviewing (SBMI) pilot with first-year college students. This approach honors student autonomy, supports self-determination and has the potential to impact educational outcomes in higher education. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence based conversational skill set, defined as “a collaborative conversational style for strengthening a person's own motivation and commitment to change” (Miller and Rollnick, 2013, p. 12). Student perceptions of satisfaction with the faculty-student mentoring intervention were sought. Relational aspects of MI (partnership, empathy and alliance) were also explored.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach was used for the SBMI study, focused on college students with recent academic setbacks (N = 19).FindingsThe intervention was deployed with high levels of MI technical fidelity and relational quality. Participants reported high satisfaction with the intervention. The relational aspects and participant perceived alliance with their faculty were highly correlated across the intervention, adding to the discussion of the mechanisms of MI that contribute to its effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThis work is formative, yet at this point is not generalizable given the scope of the study.Practical implicationsFindings are encouraging for further development of this innovative pedagogical approach. Possible future applications of research are provided.Social implicationsDiscussed herein, SBMI has the potential to meet the needs of traditionally underrepresented student groups.Originality/valueThe reported study is the initial portion of a larger intervention development project.

Use of Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum to Improve Difficult Conversation Skills Among Anesthesiologists: A Pilot Study.

Breaking bad news (BBN) is an important clinical task for physicians. Unfortunately, there is no standard method to teach and assess these skills of anesthesiologists. Although anesthesiology has become a relatively safe medical specialty, complications still occur that require disclosure to patients and their families. Disclosure of bad news can be a significant source of stress for clinicians, especially for those who have low confidence in their BBN skills. Anesthesiologists' skills in BBN can be improved with simulation-based mastery learning (SBML), an intense form of competency-based learning. An SBML curriculum was developed using the SPIKES (Situation, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Emotion, Summarize) framework for BBN and the NURSE (Naming, Understanding, Respecting, Supporting, Exploring) statements for expressing empathy. A pretest-posttest study was conducted from March 2020 to June 2022 to evaluate anesthesiologists' performance in BBN. Participants completed a 2-hour curriculum consisting of a pretest, didactic session, deliberate practice with feedback, and a posttest. Anesthesiologists were assessed using a 16-item skills checklist. Six anesthesiology attendings and 14 anesthesiology fellows were enrolled in the study. Three of 20 participants met the minimum passing score (MPS) at the time of their pretest. All study participants met the MPS on their first posttest (P < .001). The median participant confidence in BBN significantly increased (3 to 4, P < .001). Overall course satisfaction in the curriculum was high, with a median score of 5. Our study demonstrates that a BBN SBML curriculum for anesthesiologists significantly improved communication skills and confidence in a simulated environment. Because only 3 participants met the MPS before training, our results suggest that anesthesiologists could benefit from further education to gain effective communication skills and that SBML training may be effective to achieve this result.

Assessment of Pragmatic Aspect of Language in Children Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract Background Assessment of the pragmatic language development in the Arabic speaking societies was a competence in the previous years. Recently, an Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test was developed (EAPLT). The relation between ADHD and language is especially intuitive in young children. No previous study used the EAPLT to evaluate pragmatic aspect of language in children with ADHD. Aim This study aimed to assess the pragmatic aspect of language in children with ADHD. Methods A case control study design was used. Fifty patients with ADHD were enrolled randomly from 4 to 8 years old and a normal group of children with the same age and number randomly selected by systemic random sampling from classrooms of different schools in Cairo. Data regarding the child’s age, sex, IQ, mental age, the expressive and the receptive language ages by the Modified PLS4, the pragmatic language age range, percentile, the acquired and the delayed pragmatic language skills according to EAPLT were collected. Results Results showed that Language in general was affected in children diagnosed with ADHD, receptive and expressive language age was significantly different than the normal group (p value for receptive=0.017) (p value for expressive=0.024). In the ADHD group 25 children (50%) of the group showed delayed receptive language, and 28 children (56%) of them showed delayed expressive language. The pragmatics aspect of language assessment (p &amp;lt; 0.001) showed significant difference between ADHD and control groups in almost all aspect of pragmatics. Also in conversation skills the results (p &amp;lt; 0.001) showed significant difference between ADHD and control group. Conclusion This study showed that children with ADHD had a delayed language, pragmatics and conversational skills compared to normal controls within the same age and IQ.

Developing a Digital Health Intervention for Conversation Skills After Brain Injury (convers-ABI-lity) Using a Collaborative Approach: Mixed Methods Study.

People with acquired brain injury (ABI) experience communication breakdown in everyday interactions many years after injury, negatively impacting social and vocational relationships. Communication partner training (CPT) is a recommended intervention approach in communication rehabilitation after ABI. Access to long-term services is essential, both in rural and remote locations. Digital health has potential to overcome the challenges of travel and improve cost efficiencies, processes, and clinical outcomes. We aimed to collaboratively develop a novel, multimodal web-based CPT intervention (convers-ABI-lity) with key stakeholders and evaluate its feasibility for improving conversation skills after brain injury. This mixed methods study consisted of 3 key stages guided by the Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share (IDEAS) framework for developing effective digital health interventions. Stage 1 included the integration of current end-user needs and perspectives with key treatment and theoretical components of existing evidence-based interventions, TBI Express and TBIconneCT. Stage 2 included the iterative design of convers-ABI-lity with feedback from end-user interviews (n=22) analyzed using content analysis. Participants were individuals with ABI, family members, health professionals, and paid support workers. Stage 3 included the evaluation of the feasibility through a proof-of-concept study (n=3). A total of 3 dyads (a person with ABI and their communication partner [CP]) completed 7 weeks of convers-ABI-lity, guided by a clinician. The outcome measures included blinded ratings of conversation samples and self-report measures. We analyzed postintervention participant interviews using content analysis to inform further intervention refinement and development. Collaborative and iterative design and development during stages 1 and 2 resulted in the development of convers-ABI-lity. Results in stage 3 indicated positive changes in the blinded ratings of conversation samples for the participants with traumatic brain injury and their CPs. Statistically reliable positive changes were also observed in the self-report measures of social communication skills and quality of life. Intervention participants endorsed aspects of convers-ABI-lity, such as its complementary nature, self-guided web-based modules, clinician sessions, engaging content, and novel features. They reported the intervention to be relevant to their personal experience with cognitive-communication disorders. This study presents the outcome of using the IDEAS framework to guide the development of a web-based multimodal CPT intervention with input from key stakeholders. The results indicate promising outcomes for improving the conversation skills of people with ABI and their CPs. Further evaluation of intervention effectiveness and efficacy using a larger sample size is required.

The promise and practice of teaching social communication skills: A commentary on Abbot-Smith et al., 2023

In this commentary, I endorse Abbot-Smith and colleagues’ call for social conversation skills training and raise challenges to designing such efforts. One challenge is to identify a set of conversational skills that are essentially universally important insofar as what is appropriate and effective conversational behavior varies situationally and culturally. A second challenge is to identify meaningful outcomes for training and how they should be assessed. In considering these challenges, I discuss Social Problem-solving Skills Training, cultural variability in children’s conversational behavior, and governmental agencies’ standards for students’ conversational competence.

“Daring to deal with the difficult and unexpected” registered nurses’ confidential conversations with patients with palliative care needs: a qualitative interview study

BackgroundIn palliative care, registered nurses provide advanced nursing care to relieve patients’ symptoms and increase their quality of life based on physical, mental, social and existential dimensions. Conversations, often about existential issues, are an important part of nursing and can affect quality of life positively. Confidential conversations between patients and nurses occur naturally while other nursing activities are being performed. Despite their great importance for palliative care these are rarely described.AimTo gain a deeper understanding of how nurses in palliative care experience and describe confidential conversations with patients.MethodSecondary analysis of data from 17 open-ended face-to-face interviews with registered nurses in palliative care was conducted. Qualitative content analysis using an inductive approach was used to gain a deeper understanding and analyse the latent content.ResultsThe confidential conversation was considered an important part of palliative care and is the nurse’s responsibility. This responsibility was described as complex and placed various demands on the nurses, both personal and professional. A prerequisite for the conversation was the interpersonal relationship. The conversation allowed the patient to process important matters not previously addressed or put into words. It had no predetermined content, was unplanned and entirely on the patient’s terms. For nurses the conversation could be experienced both as draining and a source of power and strength. The nurses also described safeguarding the patient through the conversation.ConclusionNurses’ confidential conversations with patients are essential in palliative care and must be highlighted more to increase the quality of palliative care. The confidential conversations often have an existential content and are challenging for the nurses. Therefore, nurses need time, knowledge, and supervision to increase their conversation skills.

Development of a practical guideline for person centred goal setting in geriatric rehabilitation: a participatory action research

Key summary pointsAimDeveloping an evidence based practical guideline for patient-centred goal setting in geriatric rehabilitation.FindingsThe guideline consists of eight recommendations, including three recommendations concerning conversational skills. Those three are further elaborated into practical advices.MessageGeriatric rehabilitation teams can improve their patient centred working with goals by discussing the recommendations in their team and choosing the recommendations to work on.

Peer Tutor Method in Improving the Ability to Do English Conversation Assignments in High School Students

The purpose of this research was to examine whether or not high school students may benefit from using a peer tutor to improve their English conversation skills. High school students were the subjects of this study that combined qualitative and quantitative approaches to data gathering and analysis. Significant improvements in students' English conversation abilities throughout the course of the study backed up the researchers' conclusion that the peer tutor technique was helpful in helping high school students learn the language. Student interest and engagement, peer support and cooperation, and personalized feedback and assistance all play a role in the peer tutoring method's success. Discussion of the study's implications for educators and language instructors was included, with a focus on how the peer tutor technique might increase students' interest and motivation in language learning and the need for further study in this area. The abstract wrapped up with a summary of the study's key findings, which centered on the peer tutoring approach's efficacy in improving high school students' proficiency in English conversation. The abstract was well written, providing prospective readers with a short summary of the study's aims, methodology, and findings.

Evaluation of a charge nurse leadership development program.

Evaluation of a charge nurse leadership development program.

English

Teaching conversation skills is a difficult task for teachers and requires careful attention when selecting the textbook that best suits learners&#39; needs and interests in addition to their different learning dispositions. This study proposes a system for analyzing the content of the conversation English textbook for second-year undergraduate students in An-Najah National University according to five major rubrics: topic consistency, frequency of drill use, type of syllabus, self-expressing activities, and the appropriate type of language they use. These rubrics, which include the different learning dispositions, determine the appropriateness or the inappropriateness of the textbook used for teaching oral communication depending on the level of existence or absence in the textbook. After analyzing the content of the conversation textbook, it was found that it lacks creative and interactive activities. Besides, it is revealed that there are not enough exercises to practise the language naturally and authentically. Based on these results, the researcher recommended specialists and conversation textbook designers to include adequate role-playing activities and problem-solving activities that enhance students&#39; interaction, motivation and develop their speaking ability in constructing further conversation textbooks. &nbsp; Key words: conversation English textbook, second-year undergraduate students, rubrics for analyzing oral communication, interactive activities.

Assessing Attitude and Behavioral Intention toward Chatbots in an Insurance Setting: A Mixed Method Approach

Conversational robots (chatbots) are currently an extended Insurtech that is widely used to enable policyholders’ communication with insurance firms. This paper analyses customers’ acceptance of chatbots in procedures with regard to in-force policies. We analysed a semistructured survey answered by workers of a public Spanish university. Structured questions have been grounded in the well-known technology acceptance model (TAM), which is based on two explanatory variables: perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). We have also considered two additional explanatory factors: social influence (SI), whose impact on behavioral intention (BI) is mediated by PU, and trust (TRUST), whose influence on BI is supposed to be made throughout PU and PEOU. Likewise, we asked two open questions about the advantages and disadvantages of chatbot use to make procedures linked with in-force insurance contracts. We performed our analysis by using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative analysis tests the suitability of TAM on our data and has been performed by using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM). Subsequently, to reach a deeper understanding of the reasons that explain the respondents’ behavioral intention, we provide a systematic overview of the answers to open questions with the help of the groundwork provided by TAM. We have checked that the basic TAM along with social influence and trust provide a satisfactory explanation for behavioral intention toward bots. Likewise, we have observed a general reluctance toward the use of chatbots. The qualitative analysis showed that arguments explaining resistance come from all explanatory factors considered in the paper. Therefore, mainstream responses have outlined that interaction with chatbots is difficult, and many times, the procedure must be finished with the assistance of a human operator. Likewise, many responses point out as a relevant drawback that they provide a dehumanized service without empathy. Consequently, interactions with chatbots are perceived as cumbersome, ineffective, and a loss of time. Although some people perceive that the faster service provided by chatbots in concrete circumstances is an advantage, other theoretical consequences that may add value, such as temporal flexibility and the possibility of proving better services with the same cost and/or reducing insurance prices because of the reduction of firms’ administrative costs, are generally not perceived. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications. We have shown that TAM provides a reliable theoretical model to understand policyhoders’ acceptance of chatbot technology in an insurance setting. Perceived usefulness, reliability, social opinion about bot adoption, and usability must be improved to avoid generalized policyholders’ reluctance. That resistance is because of issues such as conversational skills, the capability to provide an interaction closer to being human, and users’ perception that chatbots actually add value to policyholders.

Medical Student Perceptions of Sociocultural Issues in Healthcare: A Multisite Study of Medical Spanish Education

Theory Cultural competence and humility are core elements of medical education in a diverse society. Language is inseparable from culture, as language informs, indexes, frames, and encodes both culture and worldview. Spanish is the most common non-English language taught in U.S. medical schools, yet medical Spanish courses tend to artificially separate language from culture. It is unknown to what extent medical Spanish courses advance students’ sociocultural knowledge or patient care skills. Hypotheses Based on current predominant pedagogy, medical Spanish classes may not adequately integrate sociocultural issues relevant to Hispanic/Latinx health. We hypothesized that students who completed a medical Spanish course would not demonstrate significant gains in sociocultural skills following the educational intervention. Method An interprofessional team developed a sociocultural questionnaire, and 15 medical schools invited their students to complete the questionnaire before and after completing a medical Spanish course. Of participating schools, 12 implemented a standardized medical Spanish course and three served as control sites. Survey data were analyzed regarding: (1) perceived sociocultural competence (recognition of common cultural beliefs, recognition of culturally normative non-verbal cues, gestures, and social behaviors, ability to address sociocultural issues in healthcare context, and knowledge of health disparities); (2) application of sociocultural knowledge; and (3) demographic factors and self-rated language proficiency (Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, or Excellent) on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale for healthcare (ILR-H). Results Overall, 610 students participated in sociocultural questionnaire between January 2020 and January 2022. After the course, participants reported an increased understanding of cultural aspects of communication with Spanish-speaking patients and the ability to apply sociocultural knowledge to patient care (all p < 0.001). When analyzed by demographic factors, students who identified as Hispanic/Latinx or as heritage speakers of Spanish tended to report increased sociocultural knowledge/skills following the course. When examined by Spanish proficiency, preliminary trends showed that students at both ILR-H Poor and Excellent levels did not demonstrate gains in sociocultural knowledge or ability to apply sociocultural skills. Students at sites with a standardized course were likely to improve sociocultural skills in mental health conversations (p < 0.001) while students at control sites were not (p = 0.05). Conclusions Medical Spanish educators may benefit from additional guidance on teaching sociocultural aspects of communication. Our findings support that students at ILR-H levels of Fair, Good, and Very Good are particularly well-suited for gaining sociocultural skills in current medical Spanish courses. Future studies should explore potential metrics to evaluate cultural humility/competence within actual interactions with patients.

Creating New Abilities with Language

This article explains how new abilities are acquired when speaking a language that I call the Soral language. The language is created with the aid of computer technology that organizes the words in a way that enables our brain to attach meaning to the sound of the words. The following abilities are acquired when speaking the language.&#x0D; &#x0D; The ability to understand the meaning of words that have never been heard before or seen in a book.&#x0D; Improved ability to recall words from memory.&#x0D; Larger vocabulary.&#x0D; Improved conversational skills.&#x0D; Improved understanding of the meaning of words.&#x0D; Ability to understand medical and other technical terms without formal training.&#x0D; Ability to learn the language more easily than other languages.&#x0D; &#x0D;