Communication

How do I teach key skills Communication?

Speaking and Listening Skills

This component is often the one learners are most frightened of, particularly with regard to the talk and presentation requirements. Learners need to develop their confidence in speaking and listening skills and have a number of opportunities to practise them.

Speaking and listening are important components of good communication, although they are often taken for granted. They are skills that must be taught and practised.

View 'Listening Skills' document (PDF 95kb)

Reading and Information Skills

The ability to locate sources of information and extract relevant data is a skill all learners will require, whatever their course. This component, therefore, could well be the starting point in developing the Communication key skill.

Writing skills

Learners are likely to have a range of abilities in written communication; some will have weak writing skills, while others will have a high degree of competence. An A*-C GCSE grade does not guarantee expertise in spelling or punctuation, and may not cover knowledge of the different forms of written communication required for the key skill, e.g. reports, business letters etc.

Using Images to improve communication

In writing documents, images can convey main points, ideas and lines of reasoning when used well. Use this checklist to ensure your images do the job they were chosen to do.

Table 2: Questioning the image
Questioning the image	Yes?	If not, how can it be improved?
Does it convey a main point, idea or line of reasoning?
Is it captioned to ensure the meaning is clear?
Is it titled to ensure the meaning is clear?
Is it positioned so that it can be read with the appropriate text?
Is it referred to in the text?
Does it complement/supplement the documents' meaning?
Is it clear and readable?
If it has several possible meanings, is that intentional?

It is important to choose images that are meaningful. Consider the following types of images and how they could best be used to convey meaning. Think about whether or not they would provide good portfolio evidence.

cartoons
maps
floorplans, elevations, schemata
clip art
reproductions of paintings or sculpture
flowcharts
set or costume designs
construction instructions or dress patterns

Note the requirements for the portfolio: Images, whether used to obtain or convey information, must be meaningful. That is, they must provide main points, ideas or lines of reasoning. They must not be used simply as decoration.

Note too, that for the purposes of the Communication key skill, images must convey information by ways other than by using numbers or words, so text or number tables are not acceptable.

Why might you choose to use an image to convey or obtain information?

Some readers are visual learners.
Images can demonstrate scale, proportion, relative size and placement and visceral impact. Colour can help.
Images can sometimes convey or summarise information more effectively and efficiently than words.
Some types of information are visual. You can describe a painting, but it is important for the reader to see the painting to make your points more real.
Images can help make a text more readable as well as more meaningful. It is important to consider your readers' needs, expectations and enjoyment.

View 'How do I teach communication?' document (PDF 33kb)

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