This was a powerpoint presentation used for COMARTS instructor of STI COLLEGE BALAGTAS

1. The Teaching of
COMMUNICATION
ARTS
MICHAEL M. MAGBANUA, MA
Head, General Education
Presenter

2. The Goal:
The seminar will focus on how second
language teaching is perceived and taught by
teachers of English. There will be sharing of
effective strategies in order to teach the
English language based on the
Communication Arts 1-4 courseware.
Moreover, workshop will be incorporated
to equip teachers with necessary rules to
teach the four basic skills: reading, writing,
speaking and listening.

3. CONTENTS
I. Language: The Bedrock of Communication Arts
II. Teaching Communication as Art and Skill
III. The Teaching of Listening
IV. The Teaching of Speaking
V. The Teaching of Reading
VI. The Teaching of Speaking

4. I. Language: The Bedrock of Communication
Arts
Human beings need to communicate thoughts and
feelings to others of their kind. The message s may be
expressed, or transmitted, and received through any of
the perception channels: visual (sight), auditory
(hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and
tactile (touch). It is this need to share ideas which
gave rise to language. Thus, language is defined as the
expression or communication of thoughts and feelings
by means of vocal sounds and written symbols, and
communication of vocal sounds and written symbols,
and the communication of such sounds to which
meanings attributed.

5. I.1. How language is developed?
 Anthropology
 History
 Psychology
 Sociology
 Science
 Technology
Q: What then are the relevant implications of these to
language learning and teaching (communication arts?)

6. I.2. Language Learning Theories
 Naturalists/Innatists
 Nativists
 Behaviorists
 Structuralists
 Constructivists
Q: In what manner these various language theories over
times transpired into LESL and TESL?

7. II.1. Teaching Communication as Art and Skill
The term communication arts of language arts
encompasses a wide range of school activities
designed to help students become
knowledgeable about language so that they
can use it effectively. Communication arts
suggest that language learning involves artistic
as well as functional skills.
Q: What makes the teaching and learning of
communication considered as an art and skill?

8. II.2. Classifications of ComArts
Communication arts can be classified according
to—
1. The task involved – listening, speaking,
reading, and writing
2. The role of the individual – receiving
(reception) or expressing (production) a
message
3. The manner of communication – oral, non-
verbal, or written
Q: How come the teaching of grammar was not classified
in ComArts?

9. II.3. Measures of Communication Competence
(Beebe and Beebe, 2004)
1. The message should be
understood by the communicator.
2. The message should achieve the
intended effect the communicator
intended it to be understood.
3. The message should be ethical.
Q: …Hence, what essentially measures now one‘s
communication competence?

10. II.3. The Importance of Communication
(Source: Winsor; Curtis; Stephens, “National Preferences in Business Communication
Education: A Survey Update, “Journal of the Association of Communication Administration 3
(1997).
Rank/Order Factors Most Important in Helping Graduating College
Students Obtain Employment (Factors/Skills Evaluated)
1 Oral (Speaking Communication)
2 Written communication skills
3 Listening ability
4 Enthusiasm
5 Technical competence
Q: What does this finding had to tell our classroom
teachers and students as well?

11. II.4. Five Basic Characteristics of
Communication
1. Inescapable – it is everywhere
2. Irreversible -- never loops back on itself
3. Complicated – there are really at least six ―people‖
involved:
1. Who you think you are;
2. Who you think the other person is;
3. Who you think the other person thinks you are;
4. Who the other person thinks /she is;
5. Who the other person thinks you are; and
6. Who the other person thinks you think he or she is.
Q: How these six ―people‖ affect a learner‘s
communication competence?

12. II.4. Five Basic Characteristics of
Communication
4. Emphasizes content and relationships – for it offers
cues about the emotions, attitudes, and amount of
power and control the speaker directs towards others;
how something is said
5. Governed by rules – learned as to either obligated,
preferred, or prohibited in certain contexts based on
experience, by observing, and interacting with others
Q: Considering these characteristics, what relevant
language learning theory a ComArt teacher must
employ?

13. II.5. 5 Basic Communication Principles
Principle One: Be aware of your
communication with yourself and others
Principle Two: Effectively use and interpret
verbal messages
Principle Three: Effectively use and interpret
nonverbal messages
Principle Four: Listen and respond thoughtfully
to others
Principle Five: Appropriately adapt messages
Q: What do behaviorism and constructivism had to
say with these communication principles?

14. II.6. Barriers to Effective Communication
Physical Barriers - environment, background noise, etc.
Language - When a person uses inappropriate words while
conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding between
the sender and a receiver.
Emotions - few of the emotional interferences include hostility,
anger, resentfulness and fear.
Lack of Subject Knowledge – the receiver could misunderstand
your message.
Stress –for at the time of stress, our psychological frame of mind
depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values.
Q: Rank as to which of these largely agitate you, and
your student‘s communication performance?

15. II.7. Essential Characteristics of a
Communication Arts Teacher
1. Is competent user of the language?
2. Has the ability to interact with students?
3. Has the healthy interest in literature?
4. Has a positive attitude toward the
communication arts curriculum?
5. Applies various methods approaches and
strategies of teaching?
Reflective Teaching: Refer to these characteristics as
you honestly rate yourself as to : ―No – Sometimes –
Yes‖.

16. II.8. Pedagogical Implications of Language Learning Studies to
the Teaching of Communication Arts
4. Other recommendations come from Bassano (1986), who recognizes
that students have different needs, preferences, beliefs, learning styles,
and educational backgrounds, but argues that the imposition of change
upon these factors can lead to negative reactions.
5. Bernat and Inna Gvozdenko (2010) offers teachers six steps towards
dealing with student beliefs:
1. become aware of students' past classroom experiences and their assumptions
about language learning;
2. build students' confidence;
3. begin where the students are and move slowly;
4. show them achievement;
5. allow for free choice as much as possible; and
6. become aware of the students' interests and concerns, their goals and
objectives.
Q: What best supports Bassano‘s recommendations? How do
you see these six steps being doable (or not doable) in your own class?
Why?

17. II.8. Pedagogical Implications of Language Learning Studies to
the Teaching of Communication Arts
1. Horwitz (1999) points out that while teachers cannot tailor instruction to
each belief of each student, and must out of necessity deal with groups of
students, the investigation of beliefs which inform different behaviors in
the language classroom is useful in making teachers aware of different
learner types that need to be accommodated.
2. Wenden (1986) proposes that if we are to discover what characterizes
successful language learning, we need to discover what students believe or
know about their learning and provide activities that would allow
students to examine these beliefs and their possible impact on how they
approach learning.
3. Discovering students' attitudes and beliefs is possible, as it is generally
accepted that language learners are capable of bringing this knowledge to
consciousness and articulating it (Willing, 1988; Kalaja, 2003; Hosenfeld, 2003)
Q: What must be the role of a ComArt teacher in facilitating
these implications to ELT? In what way he could he perform it?

18. II.9. Approaches and Methods of English
Language Teaching and Learning
Approach – is a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language
teaching and learning. It describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. It
is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about something to be learned are
specified. (Ex: Communicative approach; Audio-lingual approach; Whole
Language Approach; CALP; CALLA)
Method – is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material.
No part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected
approach. It is the level at which theory is built into practice and choices are made
about the particular skills and content to be taught, and the order by which the
content will be presented. (Ex: Direct method; Grammar Translation Method;
Total Physical Response Method…)
Technique – is the level at which classroom procedures are described. It is the
medium of implementation. (Ex: song parody; song analysis; round-table
discussion; buzz session…)
Q: How does my understanding of these ELT principles help
me in achieving my goal in Communication Arts?

19. II.10. Common Methods and Approaches in TESL
1. Grammar Translation Method
Goals: To read literature in the target language.
To memorize grammar rules and vocabulary of the target
language
Characteristics:
 Grammar is taught deductively.
 The students‘ native language is used to explain new items
in the target language and to enable comparisons between
the FL and the student‘s native language.
 The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language
practice.
Q: On whose set of students do you think GTM is relevant (or
irrelevant)? Why? What specific learning task would you likely
give them?

20. II.10. Common Methods and Approaches in TESL
2. Direct Method
Goals: To communicate in the target language.
Characteristics:
 There are extensive drills in listening, imitating, and speaking so that the
students‘ use of the different forms of the language becomes second nature to
them.
 The emphasis is on correct pronunciation and grammar.
 There is no memorization of grammar rules.
 Grammar is taught inductively by generalizing from examples.
(Ex: The teacher corrects grammar errors made by the students and briefly
explains why such corrections are necessary; or, The teacher asks questions in the
target language on the passages read, to which the students reply in complete
sentences.)
Q: What do you think is the strenght and weakness of this
method?

21. II.10. Common Methods and Approaches in TESL
3. Oral-Situational Approach
Goals: To utilize the target language in real situation.
Characteristics:
One of its main characteristics is that new language points are
introduced and practiced situationally.
Situational language teaching adopts an inductive approach to
the teaching of grammar.
Explanation is therefore discouraged, and the learner is
expected to deduce the meaning of a particular structure or
vocabulary item from the situation in which it is presented
Q: How oral-situational approach can be carried through in
business writing and answering job interviews?

22. II.10. Common Methods and Approaches in TESL
4. Audio-lingual Approach
Goals: To use the target language communicatively.
To master the target language enabling the students to use it
automatically as new habits are formed and native language
habits are overcome.
Characteristics:
 The native language is not used in the classroom.
Grammar is induced from models.
The students interact through chain drills of role playing, in dialogs,
and at the teacher‘s direction.
Pronunciation is taught from the beginning, often with minimal pair
drills.
Q: How does my understanding of these ELT principles help
me in achieving my goal in Communication Arts?

23. II.10. Common Methods and Approaches in TESL
5. Communicative Approach
Goals: To become communicatively competent
To use the language appropriate for a given social context
Characteristics:
 Activities are highly communicative; speakers have a choice of what to say and how
to say it; feedback from listeners will determine if the purpose is achieved.
Authentic materials are used as text.
Grammar and vocabulary that the students learn follow from the function, the
situational context, and the roles of the interlocutors.
The teacher is the facilitator of the students‘ learning.
Errors of form are tolerated and are seen as a natural outcome of the development of
communication skills.
Activities are often carried out by the students in small groups.
The use of the native language is accepted when feasible.
Translation may be used when needed.
Informal evaluation is done by the teacher in his role as adviser/communicator.
Q: Is this approach ‗traditional‘ or ‗improved‘? What language
theory supports this LT approach? Considering this approach,
how would you facilitate extemporaneous speech in your class?

24. III. The Teaching of Listening
A. Why Teach Listening?
According to study conducted by Learning Ally (2011), listening is the
foundation of language; it is the brick and mortar of learning. Listening is
an interactive, interpretive process that requires us to:
Tap into prior knowledge
Organize the content
Regulate our listening speed and processing
Interpret meaning
Recognize the whole and the parts of the information
Respond accordingly.
Speaking proficiency is dependent to a well-developed listening skill.
Writing skill is enhanced through effective listening.
Developing listening skill is essential to higher academic and
professional success.
Q: Why do you think listening is the most neglected and
underdeveloped skill in teaching communication arts?

25. III. The Teaching of Listening
B. Classifications/Levels of Listening
1. Informational Listening – occurs as people understand, remember, and
respond to the content of an oral communication.
2. Analytical Listening – when listeners methodically examine words, ideas,
and nonverbal components. The listen to identify the main idea and
subordinate ideas; establish the relationships between ideas; generalize
from the ideas; distinguish between fact and fantasy or fact and opinion;
identify speaker‘s feelings or points of view; and interpret various speech
elements such as varying intonations, pitch, tones, tempo, or volume of
the voice.
3. Critical Judgmental Listening – this occurs when people make decisions
about the rightness or wrongness, harmfulness or harmlessness of facts and
ideas, and the way both facts and ideas have been presented.
4. Appreciative Listening – occurs when people listen to enjoy, and
understand the moods expressed in stories, poems, plays, and music, and
conjure mental pictures through picturesque language.
Your Task: Plan a classroom activity that develops each level of
listening.

26. III. The Teaching of Listening
B. Four Stages of Listening
Identification – perception of sounds and phrases, identifying these
directly and holistically with their meanings.
Identification and selection without retention – listening for the pleasure
of comprehension, extracting, sequential meanings without being
expected to demonstrate comprehension through active use of language.
Identification and guided selection with short-term retention – students
are given some prior indication of what they are to listen for; they
demonstrate their comprehension immediately in some active fashion.
Identification and selection with long term retention – students
demonstrate their comprehension, or use the material they have
comprehended, after the listening experience has been completed.
Q: How can the fourth stage be achieved as your class listens to
a panel discussion-- ―The most sought-after jobs today‖

27. III. The Teaching of Listening
C. Two Basic Levels of Listening
The Level of Recognition – which refers to recognizing
automatically the phonological, syntactic, and semantic codes of
the language. Here, student has to learn phonological codes
(phonemes; rhythm; stress; intonation patterns; and emotional
overtones and variations); syntactic code (word classes; word
order; and interrelationship of words); and semantic code (word
meaning; connotation; culture; idioms; expletives; clichés;
colloquialisms; pauses; and fillers)
The Level of Selection – which refers to the listener‘s ability to
select what is important for retention.
Your task: Propose a language-learning activity that develops
these two levels of listening.

28. III. The Teaching of Listening
D. Suggested Listening Activities
Task 1: Discriminating Critical English Sounds. Listen to these words. On your
answer sheet, write the number of distinct sounds you heard on each word series.
(Input: mate—myth—meat--mate) = 3
(Input: lip—leaf—lipped--left—lift—lipped) = 4
Task 2: Identifying news details. Listen to the newscaster as he reports the news
for the day. On your answer sheet, answer the given questions.
Task 3. Discriminating Ungrammatically-Constructed Expressions. Listen to each
expression. On your answer sheet, tell whether each statement is CORRECT or
INCORRECT as far as correct grammar is concern.
Task 4. Music appreciation. Listen to the music being played. Interpret the mood
or message of the song using crayons or water color.
Q: What variations can you make out of these suggested
listening activities considering the need and level of learners?

29. III. The Teaching of Listening
D. Assessing Listening Skill
You can use post-listening activities to check comprehension, evaluate
listening skills and use of listening strategies, and extend the knowledge
gained to other contexts. A post-listening activity may relate to a pre-
listening activity, such as predicting; may expand on the topic or the
language of the listening text; or may transfer what has been learned to
reading, speaking, or writing activities.
In order to provide authentic assessment of students' listening
proficiency, a post-listening activity must reflect the real-life uses to which
students might put information they have gained through listening.
It must have a purpose other than assessment
It must require students to demonstrate their level of listening
comprehension by completing some task.
Q: What assessment device and tool would you plan to assess
your student‘s listening skill?

30. IV. The Teaching of Speaking
A. Elements in the Teaching of Speaking
1. Speech
a. Elements of Human Voice –types of voice; pitch; rhythm;
tempo; volume; tone; pitch; texture…
b. Process of Sounds Production -- accent; pronunciation;
articulation; enunciation; phrasing; blending/linking
2. Oral/Nonverbal Communication
a. Individual – reporting; monologs; story-telling;
impromptu; extemporaneous speeches; oration
b. Dyads – dialogs, interviews, etc.
c. Grouping – speech choir; chamber theater; role
playing; dramatization; short skit; panel and round
table discussions; buzz session; brainstorming;
charade, etc.

31. B. Proficiency Levels in Speaking
1. Native speaker -- (mother tongue) someone who
has spoken the language from at least the age of 5;
understands essentially everything in the language:
all vocabulary, complicated grammatical structures,
cultural differences, and dialects.
2. Debater -- (fluent) can participate in extended
conversations; understand the language when
spoken normally, figure out meaning of words
within context, debate; has good accent…
3. Conversationalist-- (advanced) has the ability to
converse about fairly abstract ideas, state opinions,
read newspapers; can reorganize sentences in order
to communicate and figure out the majority of
vocabulary within the context.

32. B. Proficiency Levels in Speaking
3. Survivor -- (intermediate) converses using
basic vocabulary; uses the present, past, and
future tenses more or less correctly; can
survive in an immersion situations– ordering
foods; giving and receiving
directions/instructions, etc.
4. Novice -- (beginner) has extremely limited
vocabulary and grammar, understands very
little of the language when spoken
normally; may find difficulty in oral
conversations.
Think about: What is mine and most of my students proficiency level
in speaking? What factors possibly influence this level type? What
effort/s do I make to improve/sustain such level?

33. C. Speaking Test Assessment Focus
Considering various entry levels, speaking skills can be
assessed as to whether the speaker is able to, but
not limited to:
describing, giving opinions, giving personal
information, stating (dis) likes and preferences,
commenting, asking for information or
descriptions, (dis) agreeing, exchanging opinions,
deciding, suggesting, selecting, comparing,
contrasting, planning, persuading, interrupting
politely, expressing future uncertainty or possibility,
asking or giving advice, speculating and deducing
hypothetical processes, etc.
Your Task: Plan a particular communicative activity that assess
speaker‘s various speaking abilities. What tool you think is effective?

34. V. The Teaching of Reading
A. The Reading Theories
A.1. Linguistic theories
a. Top-down theory/model
b. Bottom-up theory/model
A.2. The sociolinguistic theory
a. The role of schema
A.3. The cognitivist theory
a. The interactive model
Q: What could be the pedagogical implications of these
assumptions in the teaching of reading in an ESL class?

35. B. Components of Teaching Reading
1. Developing Word Power or Vocabulary
2. Developing Reading Comprehension
3. Reading-Study Skills Connection
Strategies in Developing Word Power or
Vocabulary
Word games; charades; structural analysis
(processes of word formation; roots;
context clues, etc.)

36. 2. Strategies in Developing Reading
Comprehension
Story grammar
Sentence completion
Semantic webbing
Sun mapping
Concept mapping
Fishbone technique
Diagrams
Flowcharts
Models
Sketching
Cloze procedure technique
Think-aloud technique

37. Skills in Reading
1. Critical reading – a technique
for discovering information and
ideas within a text
2.Critical thinking – a technique
for evaluating information and
ideas for deciding what to
accept and believe
3.Appreciative reading – for
pleasure reading

38. Strategies for Reading Comprehension
1. Identify the purpose in reading
2. Use graphemic rules and patterns to aid in botom-up
decoding (for beginning level learners)
• “short” vowel sound in VC patterns (bat, him, leg,
wish, etc.)
• “long” vowel sound in VCe (final silent e) patterns (late,
time, bite, etc.)
• “long” vowel sound in VV patterns (seat, coat, etc.)
• distinguishing “hard” c and g from “soft” c and g (cat vs.
city, game vs. gem, etc.)
3. Use efficient silent reading techniques for relatively rapid
comprehension (for intermediate to advanced levels)
4. Skimming – consists of quickly running one’s eyes
across a whole text (an essay, article, or chapter for
example) to get the gist
5. Scanning – quickly searching for some particular piece
of information (looking for names or dates, to find a
definition of a key concept)

39. VI. The Teaching of Writing
A. Components of Teaching Writing
A.1. Linguistic structures
a. Morphological (word forms)
b. Syntactics (word order)
c. Semantics (word meaning)
d. Pragmatics (word function)
A.2. Mechanics
a. Orthography (standard spelling)
b. Punctuations
A.4. Styles and Formats
a. Indentions, spacing, paragraphs, keyboarding,
margins, etc.

40. VI. The Teaching of Writing
A. Strategies in Teaching Writing
1. The Conceptual Approach
2. The Process Approach

41. B. Writing Activities/Tasks
1. Diary
2. Precis
3. Introductions
4. Speeches
5. Journalism-based writing (news stories, editorial…)
6. Journals
7. Accomplishing forms/sheets
8. Captions
9. Essays
10. Product labels
11. Creative arts-based writing (scripts; dialogs)
12. Reviews (book or movie reviews)
13. Annotated bibliography
14. Term papers/research papers

42. C. Assessing Writing Output
1. Portfolio assessment
2. Peer critiquing
3. Self assessment
4. Use of specialized rubric

44. The Teaching of
COMMUNICATION
ARTS
MICHAEL M. MAGBANUA, MA
Head, General Education
Presenter