Effective communication (speaking): building bridges to understanding (Part 4)

Most of us engage in speaking whether verbally or by sign language. And most of us speak more in informal settings rather than in formal ones. Formal settings have rules. The classroom is a formal setting which has rules which many students see as constraining. While a number of these rules are unwritten, students are still aware of them. For example, there is the expectation that students will converse with the teacher, their peers not so much, in the Standard Language. So while students may have much to say to their peers inside and outside of the classroom, they may not have much to say to teachers who are seen as authority figures and the enforcers of rules.

In the Jamaican classroom, teachers expect that students will respond to questions when they ask them. However, many students remain quiet in classes. In addition to students seeing the setting of the classroom as being formal, students have a number of other reasons for being silent in the classroom. Some students may believe that they do not know enough about the content of the lessons which the teacher is presenting to comment on it. Or, some students genuinely do not know anything about the content which the teacher is presenting to them. Or, many students do not care enough about the content of the lesson to do research about it, therefore not having anything to say about it. Or, some students do not want to say anything. They learn best by listening. If the teacher wants to have an interactive classroom where learning takes place, these are challenges which s/he he will have to overcome.

In the school setting, teachers assign students communication tasks. Teachers require students to read, at least about the topics they study in classes. However, many teachers will be happy if their students read widely. Teachers also require that students write about the topics they study in classes. In addition, teachers expect students to pay attention, to listen to what they teach and what their peers have to say in classes about the lessons. The communication tasks of reading, writing and listening in which students engage in classes are preparing them to speak knowledgeably about the issues which arise from their lessons as well as in their daily interactions with their peers and other people with whom they come in contact. However, many students will speak knowledgeably about many things, but not about their lessons.

How can we who are teachers help students to communicate in classes about what teachers are teaching with the expectation that students will learn it? We have to, initially, allow our students to speak what they know. That is, to communicate in the language in which they are competent. Here, I am loosely using the concept of language.

In many societies, there is the standard Language and there may be a non-standard version of the standard Language or there may be multiple languages through which people communicate with each other. In Jamaica there is the Standard English which is the formal language. It is the language of books, the language of the mass media and the language of the education system. Many students come to school understanding this language. That is, they understand Standard English as spoken by others. And they are able to read texts presented in this Language. But many do not write well in this Language and many do not speak the Language. They are not able to competently engage speakers of English in conversation because, while they understand what the speakers of English are saying to them, the speakers of English, unless they understand their language, will not understand what they are saying. Therefore, no communication will take place.

The “Language” of most students through which they communicate very well is what Linguists refer to as the Jamaican Creole and by Jamaicans as Patois. Some Linguists, see this as a Language separate from the Standard English which has its own nature and structure and should be treated as such. Some social commentators see the Jamaican Creole as “broken English” which should be eradicated from the system (an unrealistic expectation because of the cultural “embeddedness” of this “Language) citing a number of reasons. There are other views between these two positions. However, the proponents of the different sides of the English/Patois debate have not yet forged a consensus on the way forward for English teaching.

One strategy which teachers may use to get students to speak about the issues which arise in their lessons is to, initially, allow them to speak what they know. If every time students speak a sentence in the Jamaican Creole in the classroom we tell them to paraphrase in English, they will be reluctant to ever speak in class again. So, we should allow them to express themselves using the Language in which they are most comfortable. After all, every Jamaican understands the Jamaican Creole.

After students have expressed themselves, teachers should reinforce to them the importance of being able to speak the Standard English. This is assuming that the teachers speak the Standard English in classes.

Teachers may provide this reinforcement by devising targeted speaking activities for students which they may engage in through role play, for example. These activities should reflect the subject matter which teachers are teaching. Students will still not consistently speak the Standard English outside of the classroom. But the targeted speaking activities may help to build their vocabulary which is useful in communication.

Speaking is the key mode through which communication takes place for many students. Teachers should continue to encourage students to speak, first in their language as long as the parties involved in the conversation understand each other, then in the “ideal” language. The aim of communication in the classroom is to ensure that students understand the concepts which teachers introduce to them. If students understand the concepts which the teachers introduce to them, learning will take place. If learning takes place, most of these students will be on their way to being productive members of society.

Read the other parts of this article at the following links:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3