CONCEPT
OF COMMUNICATION
Education
with its correlated activities of teaching and learning involves communication
as well as reciprocal interaction between the teacher and pupils as channels of
realizing it. Objective communication refers to the transmission of thoughts
information and commands by employing the sensory channels. The massage should
ideally be conveyed undiminished and without distortion.
The process of inter personal communication is both an art and a
science. Communication is an art- which involves skills, techniques and has its
roots in psychology. Communication is a science – for it involves the use of
audiovisual materials.
Educationists are of the view that communication takes place between the
teacher and student between institution and government between peers. And the
human ability to communicate depends upon the following factors.
a) Understanding
the fact that communication is not a monadic but a dyadic concept i.e. a two
way process.
b) Appreciation
of the principles of psychology i.e. human nature stimulus – response etc.
c) Thinking
skills ability of lateral thinking creativity, correlation and analysis.
d) Expression skills-ability to visualize, create
graphics and prepare software for the ideas.
e) Media
utilization skills, ability to employ different audiovisual materials.
Definitions:
The word ‘Communication’ has been
derived from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning common give and take or mutual
sharing. Hence communication is having common experience with people.
v Merrihus
has defined “Communication as a process of mutual exchange of thoughts ideas,
facts and emotions”.
v Stevens (1978)
conceived “Communication as the discriminatory response of an organism to a
stimulus”.
v “Communication
is a means of persuasion to influence to other so tha the desired effect is
achieved”.
Objectives
of Communication:
The objectives of communication are to
i.
Motivate
ii.
Inform
iii.
Suggest
iv.
Warn
v.
Order
vi.
To change behavior
vii.
Establish better relation with others
viii.
To make learning meaningful and
understood
1.3.1
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
I.
Communication
Context: The overall environment namely.
a. Physical
environment i.e. classroom, party or surroundings.
b. Social
environment i.e. the relationship between teacher and pupil.
c. Psychological
environment may be formal or informal.
d. Temporal
i.e. time or period.
II.
Source/Communicator:
A person or event who/ which provide
verbal or non verbal cues to which someone can respond. When the source is a
person, he is called as sender or teacher.
Shannon
calls it transmitter which operates the message in some way to produce a
signal suitable for transmission over the channel.
III.
Receiver/Destination:
A person who interprets the message
receiver performs the inverse operation of that done by the transmitter
reconstructing the message from the signal.
Destination is the person/thing for
whom the message is intended.
IV.
Message:
Message is from Latin world ‘Mittere’
means “To send” A set of verbal or non verbal symbols, gestures, cues movements
figures or words sent by the source.
V.
Symbol:
A symbol is something that denotes an
idea or fact or objective etc. They can be verbal or non verbal ex. In a speech
words are the symbols.
VI.
Channel:
For Shannon it is merely “the medium
used to transmit the signal from transmitter to receiver”. Channels are senses
of perception including visual (sight) auditory (hearing) tactile (touch)
gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell).
VII.
Encoding:
Encoding is the process of using
symbol to express the idea or feeling this called ciphering a message.
VIII.
Decoding:
It is the process by which the
receiver converts the message i.e. symbols sent by the receiver this is called
deciphering which involves understanding and interpretation of the message
sent.
IX.
Feedback:
It is the response a receiver gives to
sender as a result of sender’s message.
X.
Noise:
Noise is anything that distorts the
message. It can be external or internal to the source/receiver.
Characteristics
of Communication:
Communication is a global phenomena. All human being including animals
have their own ways of communication.
v It
is a process with some purpose.
v It
is a social interaction in which ideas, knowledge opinions etc. are exchanged
between two or more persons.
v It
is a universal process i.e. it occurs everywhere.
v It
is a continuous phenomenon.
v It
can be intentional or unintentional.
v It
includes both transference and understanding of meaning.
v Perfect
communication is never achieved in practice.
v For
effective communication, there is a common frame of reference between the
sender and the receiver.
v It
involves the sensory perceptions.
v It
creates reality.
v It
necessarily involves give and take.
v It
that spins the web of life is interactive.
v It
helps in the release of emotional expressions or feelings.
1.3.2
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
1.
(Face to Face) Speaking – Listening:
In this type of communication interaction is face to face as in the case
of listening to a lecture. An important characteristic of this is the
eye-to-eye contact. This type of communication is found to be very effective
because the listener here can ask questions, clarify doubts and derive
emotional satisfaction. Because of this, it is also known as inter-personal.
This type of communication occurs in meetings, seminars, conferences,
classrooms etc.
2.
Writing – Reading:
In this type of communication the decoder is physically separated from
the encoder all the time and yet the decoder is able to enjoy and appreciate
the feelings of the author (encoder). However its drawbacks are –that immediate
doubts cannot be cleared and there is no scope to know the facial expressions
of both encoder and decoder. This type of communication occurs in reading
newspapers, magazines, books etc.
3.
Visualizing – Observing:
In this type of communication, the person is physically separated from
the communicator and yet is able to feel the impact as in films or television.
The same is true in dramatization where facial expressions and gestures produce
a great impact.
1.2.3
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION (OR) SMCR MODEL
OF COMMUNICATION
Communication
cycle:
The entire communication chain is as shown below. Source, encoder
-message-decode-receiver. There are essentially four components in the process
of communication. They are:
i.
Sender or source technically called
‘Encoder’.
ii.
Message or Signal.
iii.
Medium or channel of communication.
iv.
Receiver is the transmitter of message.
Sender must have correct information and transmit it accurately at the optimum
speed. The message may be designed for a single person or a group of people. It
may be conveyed by expressions, gestures, speech or written symbols or by hand
drawn or photographic picture. This message can evoke meanings in the minds of
the receiver. The message is communicated when it is acknowledged, understood
reacted upon or responded to. Every medium exerts its influence and its
peculiarities on the message and thus becomes a part of the message. The
receiver must understand the message or in other words, must decode it or
interpret it and must produce the desired response, which must be received by
the sender. This is called the ‘feedback’ channel. Thus the encoder and the
decoder are important because the message has to be communicated clearly so
that the person receiving it is able to understand it. Any failure at these two
points may mean failure of communication.
(SMCR
Model or sender message, channel, receiver model)
The process of communication
is incomplete without the basic elements involved in it, Sender, receiver,
message channel and feedback. Let us discuss briefly about these basic
elements.
1.
Sender/ Source/ Encoder:
Any
communication begins with sender who is a source of thought or any idea. This
idea is encoded in a way that can be understood by both sender and receiver.
Five factors influence the sender encoded message.
These
are:
v Communication
skills
v Attitude
v Knowledge
v Position
in the social system
v Culture
Factors affecting the Message
The source or sender of the
message selects the channel out of formal or informal channels. Formal channels
are established by the organizations. Other forms of message such as personal
or social follow the informal channels in the organization.
2. Receiver:
Receiver
must attend to interpret and respond to the transmitted message. The goal of
communication is reached when the receiver accepts the sender’s message. i)
Attention and, ii) comprehension are means the receiver uses to attain the goal
of acceptance of message.
3. Feedback:
It is the final link in the
communication process. Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in
transferring our message as originally intended. It tells us whether the
understanding has been achieved or not.
4. Channel:
The channel means the medium
through which the message travel. The channel is selected by the sender. This
channel links the sender with the receiver. Social scientists recognize two
types of channels.
1) Sensory
channels based on the five senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.
2) Institutionalized
means such as face to face, conversation, printed materials and electronic
media.
We use institutionalized
means to transmit most of our messages. Each institutionalized medium requires
one or more of the sensory channels to carry the message from the sender to the
receiver. For instance, when we use face to face conversation (an
institutionalized medium) we make use of sight (gestures, expressions) sound
(voce, other noise) and possibly touch smell or taste.
Social scientists have
generally found that receiver’s attention is more likely to be gained from
channels. Each channel has its merits and demerits. But effective communication
depends on the proper selection of the channel.
5.
Message:
When we speak, the speech is
the message, when we write the writing is the message, when we paint the
picture is the message and when we gesture, the movements of our arms the
expressions on our face are the message.
Thus
our message is what the sender attempts to transmit to his specified receivers.
Every message is affected by the group of symbols, the content of the message
itself and the decisions that we make in selecting and arranging both symbols
and content i.e. the way we treat the message.
Forms of Message
(or) Meaning of the Message
The treatment of the message
is the arrangement or ordering of the content by the sender.
The selection of content and
the treatment of the message depend upon the communication skills, knowledge
level, attitude, our position in social system and culture of both sender and
receiver.
Sender’s communicative
success includes verbal communication skills. (Listening, speaking, reading,
writing) LSRW skills and reasoning thought process as well. The effectiveness
of our communication is also determined by our ability with non verbal
communication skills. Our attitude influences our behavior. Attitude for the
present purpose may be defined as generalized tendency to feel one way or
another about something. For instance you may have a favorable or unfavorable
attitude towards voluntary organizations on Science which are striving hard for
the development of science. Attitude influence our communication in three ways
- attitude towards ourselves, attitude towards subject matter and attitude
towards receiver.
1.3.4 CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION
INTRODUCTION
Teaching may be considered as a sort of
communication. The teacher is supposed to communicate new ideas, attitudes,
information, behavior, skills etc., to the student. Teacher’s communication
will be fruitful only when students receive, understand and communication and
the students are receivers of the communication. If the students understand the
communication they will respond to it in the appropriate way. This response may
be in the form also for example attitude change or behavior change etc.
1.3.5 BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS OF
COMMUNICATION
Barriers to communication: A
barrier to communication is an obstacle in a work place that prevents effective
exchange of ideas or thoughts. They may produce a negative impact on
communication process. Following are some of the barrier in communication.
1.
Physical barriers
2.
Language barriers
3.
Psychological barriers
4.
Background barriers
5.
Organizational barriers
1. Physical Barriers:
i.
Environment:
The
environment where in the communication is taking place has an effect. The
atmosphere, co-ordiality, temperature etc have an effect on communication.
ii.
Noise:
It
is a type of disturbance that disrupts communication which results in lack of
clarity. Noise is of various types:-
a.
Written
noise: Illegible systematic writing leads to confusion.
b.
Visual
noise: The time lag between sender and receiver.
c.
Physical
noise: Noise that physically disrupts communication, such
as standing next to loud speaker, noise from cinema halls construction site
next to school.
d.
Semantic
noise: Different interpretations of the meaning of certain
words.
e.
Syntactical
noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such
as abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.
f.
Organizational
noise: Poorly structured communication can prevent the
receiver from accurate interpretation for ex. Unclear and badly stated
directions can make the receiver even more lost.
g.
Cultural
noise: Stereotypical assumptions can cause
misunderstanding, such as unintentionally offending a non-Christmas person
wishing them a ‘Merry Christmas’.
h.
Psychological
noise: Certain attitudes can also make communication
difficult. For instance, a great anger or sadness may cause someone lose focus
on the present moment. Disorders such as Autism may also severely hamper
effective communication. Psychological impairment noise physical maladies that
prevent effective communication, such as deafness or blindness preventing
messages from being received as they were intended.
iii.
Invisibility/
Distance: Physical distance between sender and student especially
in oral communication may lead to distortion of message. Invisibility may
hamper the reception of non-verbal communication.
iv.
Ill
health/ Physical discomfort: Uncomfortable seating
arrangement may irritate the student. Ill health of the student (stomach pain,
headache etc) may hamper the sender and receivers ability to communicate.
v.
Distraction:
Improper
selection of media outside influence hindering the message.
vi.
Improper
time: If the communicator takes class at wrong times i.e.
during lunch in games period etc. Informal messages during meetings may
irritate the receiver.
2. Language barriers: Language
is the vehicle for communication.
i.
Verbosity
& Verbalism:
Uninterrupted
speech by the teacher, bookish language of the teacher high sound language of
the teacher makes the communication meaningless and boring.
ii.
Language
inadequacy:
Sometimes in communication sender may
not be proficient in the language making his message unclear. Sometimes sender
and receiver don’t comprehend each other’s language which results in language
barrier.
iii.
Unclear
graphics and symbols:
During written
communication, if the sender uses some symbols which are rarely used, then the
receiver gets wrong picture which leads to improper under landing.
3. Psychological barriers:
In interpersonal
communications some psychological factors like 1) Prejudices, 2) Disinterest,
3) Inattention, 4) Imperception, 5) Redundancy, 6) Unrewarding experiences, 7)
Feeling of anxiety, 8) Unfulfilled curiosity, 9) Negative attitude may
4. Background barriers:
i.
Previous
knowledge and experiences:
If the student bags previous
experience he fails to understand the present experiences given. If the
previous experience has been dissatisfying and unrewarding the result will be
negative impact on present communication.
ii.
Cultural
disparities and generation gap:
If there is cultural lag and
generation gap between sender and receiver, it will lead to distortion of
message.
5. Organizational barriers:
i.
Rules
and regulation: Strict enforcement of rules, discipline
may create an atmosphere wherein communication becomes formal and rigid.
ii.
Hierarchial
relationship and lack of co-operation: If the relation
between boss and subordinates suffers from ill feelings and there is lack of
co-operation among staff and this affects communication.
iii.
Choice
of Media: Wrong choice of media affects communication.
iv.
Group
size: Number of student in a class has an effect on communication.
Also communication needs to take care of individual differences in a class
should and should not treat receivers as a single mass.
1.3.6 BARRIERS SPECIFIC TO
CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION
There
are twelve ways of responding by a teacher in the classroom they are:-
1.
Advising
2.
Criticizing
3.
Diagnosing
4.
Diverting
5.
Excessive – inappropriate questioning
6.
Logical argument
7.
Moralizing
8.
Name calling
9.
Ordering
10. Praising
11. Re-assuring
12. Threatening
Measures to overcome barriers to
communication:
I.
To
overcome physical barriers:
v The
environment should be conducive to communication.
v Provision
for proper seating arrangement should be made.
v One
should ensure proper visibility and audibility.
v Care
should be taken to provide comfort to the receivers.
II.
To
overcome language barriers:
v The
sender must use simple language.
v Sender
must reduce verbalism.
v Graphics
and symbols must be explained before using.
v Visual
aids must be used as a support to spoken language.
v Prepare
handouts, recommend books and use written communication whenever required.
III.
To
overcome psychological barriers:
v Efforts
should be taken to motivate, sustain interest and rewarding experiences must be
made.
v Counseling
services must be undertaken to remove prejudices and ill feelings.
v One
must provide assistance, show sympathy and deal patiently.
v Audio
visual aids can be used to avoid limited perception.
IV.
To
overcome background barriers:
v One
must access the learners background.
v The
communicator must keep in tune with latest trends and try to adjust with the
younger generation.
V.
To
overcome organizational barriers:
v Efforts
must be made to develop a healthy conductive atmosphere among the communicators
and between sender and receiver.
v Depending
on the group size appropriate media needs to be employed to reach out to all.
Eight elements which facilitate
communication
- By Jim LipCamon
1.
Focus on the problem not the person.
2.
Feel good about yourself.
3.
Be descriptive not evaluative.
4.
Validate, rather than invalidate.
5.
Be specific not global.
6.
Be conjunctive not disjunctive.
7.
Communication is owned not disowned.
8.
Communication requires listening.
