Communications is a very important skill in every job aspect. Teaching is one of those jobs where communication between almost every aspect is vital. Teachers have to not only communicate with their collegues, but have to deal with pupils as well as parents. In this line, everything is about how well you communicate with others. To have good peer relations, teachers have to communicate well with their peers. To be a great teacher, teachers have to get constantly get feedback from their pupils as well as their parents on how to help their child better. All these can be achieved with good communication.
I feel that the modules taught here are extremely useful to the teaching industry.
The pronunciation module has taught me that I have been pronouncing some words wrongly my entire life. It opened up my eyes as to how to pronounce certain words clearly and how it can be done. As a teacher, particularly one that teaches English, if my pronunciation isn't right then I wouldn't be doing a favour to my pupils.
The other module on oral communication has also taught me to be a more confident person. During teaching, oral communication is a big part when it comes to communicating. Teachers have to go into class daily and address the classroom. Apart from this teachers sometimes also has to address the entire school. This module has taught me on how to better prepare myself when it comes to communicating orally either to collegues or pupils. I found that the video analysis of my own oral presentation was very useful as I got to see the mistakes and some of the habits which I have when speaking to others. Combining this with the pronunciation module, I found that they are both interlinked and it has helped me to prepare my speech better.
Often, when I was teaching at my contract school, I received many emails from parents pertaining to matters such as CCA as well as concerns in their child's work. The written communication module has helped me learn that there are many different ways to deal with these emails so as not to offend any party. I have learnt that emails should also vary according to the person receiving them. For example, an email written to a parent should not sound so offensive and not put it in a way that it is the parents fault. It can also prove useful when organising events and emails have to be sent out to vendors.
The voice production module has helped me to learn how to take care of my voice. When I was a form teacher, I often had to compete with 39 other pupils in the classroom. I would sometimes get sore throats and these could last for days on end. I have learnt that I can do voice training exercises as well as how to project my voice so that it is louder and has less strain on my throat. I will definitely apply these exercises in the future.
Lastly, the classroom communication module has taught me on how to use questioning effectively when communicating with pupils. Prompting techniques in question as well as the sequence of questioning can prove to be very useful when communicating with pupils. Classroom management can also managed easier through the use of these techniques.
Apart from what I've learnt, I feel that QLK501 is a very well organised module. Materials are easy to access as well as resources. Everything is well laid out in the website and what is on the website can be understood easily. I have enjoyed this module and I hope future student-teachers will as well.
