As for me, English is not my native language since i was very young. I usually feel more comfortable to have a passive communication (like listening) with the other in English rather than an active communication such as speaking in English with friends. However, when i first came to Singapore, i know i can't avoid communicating with each other in English. Rather i found that it will affect me so much from my studies to my future career. Thus i decided to take this module ES2007S this semester hoping that it will put me in the practice of having professional communication skills in my daily life, and it is in ENGLISH!!!
After roughly browse through the textbook of this module, i found this module is very useful as it has given us an insight that communication is so important that it involved almost every part in our life. This module seems has broken down our daily communication to those very small and detailed skills that we will look into in depth for the whole semester.
First of all, we are reminded of the barriers of having active listening which is one of the key problems in our poor communication. I can't deny that I have poor listening skills in a way that i always slow in listening but quick in speaking. In many times I thought that I have already understood the speaker's meaning, but finally I found that I didn't actually. Sometimes i even tend to judge a person's meaning and behaviors before i truly lending my ears to listen to what he/she is going to say. By learning the barriers of active listening during the 1st few lectures, I think it will help me to achieve a better communication with the others in the future.
I also wish that through the practices that we are going to have in this module, my fear and resistance to converse in English will be overcome. Somehow I believe that I will enjoy this module with our class fellows seeing that we have a lot more to learn together in the next few lessons. :)
Post #7 - Final Reflection
16 years ago
Hi Hsuen Huey, I too feel that I have problems with my listening skills in that I tend to get distracted easily and so have trouble understanding the speaker fully. Perhaps paying more attention to the speaker and focusing on the speaker's content will help solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteHi Hsuen Huey, I do not find listening easy at all. The most difficult part of listening to me is to decipher the "hidden" meaning behind words. For example, when someone left out certain information when they speak to you, it may have deeper meaning than because they simply forgot to tell you. The context and your knowledge of that person et cetera plays a very important role in communications. We have to learn how to put various components and information together to be able to listen effectively. Through learning to listen, perhaps we can also learn how to speak effective as well!
ReplyDeleteI will defintitely agree that active listening plays a crucial role in effective communication. Often we are distracted by our own thoughts and so we are unable to grasp fully the content of the conversion. I personally believe that one can practise active listening and so I also believe this module will surely of great help for you. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI feel that we share the same boat Hsuen Suey. I used to be afraid of the English language, like as though it was a terrifying monster waiting to pounce on me. I lack the competence of using this language effectively. Moreover, I can convince others better in my native Malay language than in English. This is the main reason why I feel that effective communication plays a significant role in our multi-racial country with a predominant English-speaking medium, just like you mentioned. It serves as a tool for us to advance in our career and life as a whole. Let's strive to master the skills of effective communication!
ReplyDeleteHi Hsuen Huey
ReplyDeleteI do face the same problem with you.We tend to prejudge others or their communication before we truly understand. Sometimes, we may assume that we know how they feel and think. As a result, misunderstanding could be happened when we mindread. By practising active listening and mindfulness, we show the speakers that they are being valued and concerned and they may disclose more to us. How important it is! Let's practise active listening together! :p
Listening is never an easy task. So is speaking, especially when you're not competent in the language.I truly understand how you feel as I'm in the same boat as you. Both of us have too little exposure to the language and we never take the initiative to make an improvement. I'm glad you take this course. At least it's a start. Hope you'll be able to gain much from this course. We'll strive together and hope we'll have a good command of English soon! ;)
ReplyDeleteJing Yi.