Communicating_Effectively_in_Spoken_English_in_Selected_Social_Contexts

Introduction In our life today, English have been use widely in all over the world, in various field and situations. It has not just been using as a communication tools, but give an opportunity to peoples those who are involved in professional sectors, education and economics to gain profit from it. According to Camp & Satterwhite (2002), there are four main purposes in communication which are to inquire, to inform, to persuade and to develop goodwill. While Julia T. Wood (2009) says that, communication is a systematic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings. English is now the third most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some 380 million speakers. Through the global influence of native English speakers in cinema, airlines, broadcasting, science, and the Internet in recent decades, English is now the most widely learned second language in the world. Many students worldwide are required to learn some English, and a working knowledge of English is required in many fields and occupations. As English is so widely spoken, it has been referred to as a "global language." While English is not the official language in many countries, it is the language most often taught as a second language around the world, including Malaysia. It is also, by international treaty, the official language for aircraft/airport communication. Its widespread acceptance as a first or second language is the main indication of its global status. In Asia, our country Malaysia and our neighboring countries become the target for supplying goods and skills at a cheaper rate than countries in the west. Many countries in the world rely on English to communicate and to sell their products as what I had mentioned above. Former prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamed, said that English is important to the capital growth in the country. It is not only the changes of individual cultural and tradition languages but also Dr. Mahathir had explained how Malaysia turned from a poor, rice-cultivating country into one of the most competitive industrial giants in Asia . To make English as an important subject in Malaysia and to enhance the usage of the targeted language many big steps have been carried out by the Malaysian government, such as the policy of teaching Mathematics and Science in English in our primary and secondary schools just to support the government’s movement in introducing and implementation of English in Science and Mathematics. There are three types of communications according to Camp & Satterwhite (2002), oral communication, written communication and non-verbal communication. How Oral Communication Works Person’s ability to influence or bond with family and friends depends on the way they use oral communication skills. It may affect person’s performance. Today’s scenario, many corporate organizations and professional positions require people who are able to speak well and convincingly. In the Transactional Model, each person in the communication act is both a speaker and a listener as they can be simultaneously sending and receiving messages. In the process, each element exists in relation to all the other elements. There is no source without a receiver and no message without a source. Each person in this type of model reacts depending on factors such as their background, prior experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs and self-esteem. Both parties (speaker and listener), as well as environment, are also continually changing. Transactional model of communication that takes into account ‘noise’, or interference in communication as well as the time factor. The outer lines of the model indicate that communication happens within systems that both communicators share. For example, a common campus, hometown, and culture or personal system, such as family, religion, and friends. Camp and Satterwhite (2002) explained that oral communication is a two-way process that requires both a speaker and a listener. Oral communication therefore involves two crucial skills – listening and speaking. Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication is communication between several people. This form of communication may range from the impersonal to the very personal. Impersonal communication is when we talk with a person you do not really care about, which is often a coldness or an indifference in our attitude when we involved in this type of communication. Usually, the most personal type of communication occurs when we talk with people who are close to us, for example our best friend, family members and colleagues. This relationship is interdependent, which mean that the actions of one party may affect the other party. Interpersonal communication can take place face to face as well as through electronic channels like e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, video conferencing and chat rooms. In effective communication, the sender message should have good speaking skills and the receiver has good listening skills. We can’t listen with undivided attention to everything been said by people around us. A good way to improved on our listening skills is to identify the listening behavior appropriate in different situations. Listening need mindful attention as it’s not just hearing things. Listening and hearing are different set of skills. Hearing is merely the physical ability to hear sounds, occurs unconsciously, while listening is to hear something mindfully. Effectively listening requires us to listen intently and pay close attention to the speaker. If we miss part of the message or do not pay full attention, we cannot replay what has been said unless we have recorded the message or lecture. According to Devito (2009), effective listening comprises five components, receiving; understanding; remembering; evaluating; responding and receiving. There are two types of listening, passive and active. The difference between them is the level of involvement of the listener. Passive listening refers to people listen at a low level of concentration and absorb the minimum number of words. Usually, we remember or understand very little of what has been said. This kind of listening happens when we are on holiday or relaxing. We only begin to listen attentively when we hear things that interests us, for instance when we hear the call to go for lunch. Speaking skills is the skill that we use most in oral communication. Interpretation of symbols create meaning. Symbols, like words, which are used in communication does not have meanings on their own. Their meanings are derived from people. Every word has a dictionary meaning, but when used by a person in an expression, we have to look into the person and the context in which is the word is used to get the actual meaning. There are rules in communication as verbal communication has its own set of unspoken but widely understood rules. According to Wood (2009): ‘Communication rules are shared understandings of what communication are and are not appropriate in various situations’. There are two sets of rules that guide communication, regulative rules and constitutive rules. The regulative rules is unwritten rules that tell us when, where, how, and with whom you can have a conversation. An example is turn-taking when talking with someone. We should know that we shouldn’t interrupt the person speaking but we also need to look out for signals that will tell us when to enter into a conversation and when to end it. The constitutive rules define what communication means by showing us the meaning behind certain kinds of symbols used in communication. For example, head bowing in Asia is symbol of respect, kissing and hugging denotes love and affection while yawning and shouting during a conversation denotes rudeness. Punctuation in communication affects meaning. The full stop, for instance, marks the end of the sentence or idea and the beginning of another. Similarly, punctuation can signal the beginning or the end of a particular interaction. As to be an effective speaker, we need to pay attention to the following voice attributes as they affect quality of the speech; voice volume, voice pitch, intonation, tone of emotions and attitude, tempo speed of the speech, enunciation and pronunciation. Small Group Communication Small group communication takes place in a group, usually having five to ten people. This form of communication serves relationship needs (like companionship, family bonding and affection or support) as well as task-based needs. For example, deciding on disciplinary actions or resolving conflict in the workplace. These types of group often form in academic institutions which meet regularly for discussions or to work collaboratively on projects. While at the workplace, small groups may meet to discuss issues related to work, or to solve a problem or to do team-building purposes. Learning to communicate effectively in teams contributes to success and advancement in many careers. From the small group communication, we can learn to exchange ideas, solve problems and share experiences as it allows us to interact with others. Successful group interaction requires active group participation. Members are invited to ask and respond to questions, express opinions, negotiate and give suggestions in order to achieve the objectives of the meeting. Each member has a role to play towards the end of the meeting. However, there is usually one person who manages the discussion. This person is in charge to open the discussion, introduce the subject, invite people to contribute ideas, interrupt to seek clarification and lastly close the discussion. The other members of the group required to put forth arguments, substantiate them, negotiate, seek clarification and etc. In a discussion, there are different ways to ask and responds to questions. It is common to ask Wh-questions when we wish to get more information or seek clarification about an issue (who, what, how, why, and when). For example, ‘who are the poor pupils'’ There are also sometime, we respond to a question only with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. When replying orally, we usually answer not in complete sentences. For example, ‘Are you going to help them'’ We answer it by giving either yes or no. Furthermore, we should ask to get information in a polite way by using a polite forms such as ‘Could you please…’; ‘May I know…’; ‘Do you know…’; and other kinds of sentences. In group, leader or members should know and find out the purpose of the questions that have asked in discussion so that a respond is relevant with a question. For example: Judy : What figure shall we take as the cut-off point' (Asking for information) Chairman : How about we take the father’s earnings as RM1,000 and below per month as the cut off' (Asking for agreement) Judy : I’m sorry, I didn’t (Asking for clarification) Public Communication Public communication is also known as public speaking, which involves communication between a speaker and an audience. This audience may range from just a few people to thousands or millions of people according to the occasions. The aim of the speaker is usually to inform or to persuade the audience to act, to buy, or to think in a certain way. A teacher may address an assembly of students on codes of behavior or school rules. As for politician, their speeches may contents on how he will be dealing with certain issues in order to win votes in election. An executive may give business presentation to get more sales. It is important to understand some of the basic principles of effective public speaking so we are able to influence, persuade as well as entertain your audience when we communicate with a number of people. Public speaking can be a training field for us to improve our social skills. We can learn to control our fear of speaking in front of an audience, boost up our self-confidence and project ourselves better in diverse situations. A good speaker is usually sensitive to audience needs and reactions by learn to be a good listener who is mindful of verbal and non-verbal feedback. In order to build a strong credibility as a good speaker, we have to build up our confidence level by changing the way we think, going for systematic desensitization, getting skills training, preparing and practicing our speech before present it to public, using relaxation techniques and gaining experience either from others or giving speech often. Speaker’s appearance also can influence audience by dressing suitably according to the occasion, adopt a confident posture and use positive body language, speak well with good pronunciation, intonation, and articulation, pause at intervals when we speak, and lastly, speak loud and clear enough so that you can be heard by all your listeners. Conclusion English is now the third most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some 380 million speakers. In our life today, English have been use widely in all over the world, in various field and situations. It has not just been using as a communication tools, but give an opportunity to peoples those who are involved in professional sectors, education and economics to gain profit from it. As English is so widely spoken, it has been referred to as a "global language." While English is not the official language in many countries, it is the language most often taught as a second language around the world, including Malaysia. It is also, by international treaty, the official language for aircraft/airport communication. Its widespread acceptance as a first or second language is the main indication of its global status. Communication is an essential part of our lives. We communicate everyday with different people, at different times, in different ways. We also communicate with our family, friends, people at work, and people we meet, socially or professionally. At times, we may even need to communicate with larger audience such as members of the public. There are three types of communications according to Camp & Satterwhite (2002), oral communication, written communication and non-verbal communication Interpersonal communication is communication between several people. This form of communication may range from the impersonal to the very personal. Impersonal communication is when we talk with a person you do not really care about, which is often a coldness or an indifference in our attitude when we involved in this type of communication. Person’s ability to influence or bond with family and friends depends on the way they use oral communication skills. It may affect person’s performance. Today’s scenario, many corporate organizations and professional positions require people who are able to speak well and convincingly. The Transactional Model views communication as an ongoing and continuously changing process which takes into consideration the effects of noise, time, and systems. In this model, communicators can send and receive messages simultaneously. Oral communication can be in the form of intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, public, mass, corporate and intercultural communication. Oral communication is a two way process that requires a speaker and a listener. It is most effective when the sender has good speaking skills and the receiver has good listening skills. There are two types of listening, passive listening and active listening. Active listening can be improved by paraphrasing the speaker’s message, identifying our weaknesses, preparing own mentally, physically, and setting priorities. The principles of speaking contend interpretation of symbols creates meaning, regulative and constitutive rules, punctuation affects meaning, and voice attributes (e.g., volume, pitch, tone, tempo) affect speech quality. Possessing good oral communication skills is beneficial to you at a personal level as well as socially and professionally. Verbal enunciation is the act of speaking. Stress and intonation are important in speech. They signal meaning, attitude and grammar. The way our voice goes up and down in speech is referred to as an intonation. When interacting with people from different cultural, religious and ethnic groups, remember to be mindful of different social and cultural practices, significant religious holidays; language and expressions which may be difficult for people of other cultures, living in different countries to understand. Members of group discussion have to participate actively by asking questions, responding to questions, and offering opinions to make the discussion successful. Tips for giving an effective speech are by dressing suitably for the occasion, adopt a confident posture and use positive body language, speak well with good pronunciation, intonation and articulation, pause at intervals when speak, and speak loud enough so that audience can hear clearly.