When I sat down to type out this reflection, the first thought that crossed my mind was: “I can’t believe that the module has actually come to an end.” I suppose this feeling came about because I’ve been so busy meeting deadlines for the module that I didn’t really feel the time passing after awhile.
Anyway, thinking back on how I started off at the start of the year, I realised that I have changed certain aspects of my communication practices. I wasn’t expecting much of change since the module only lasted 3 months. However, I have to say the change that I have experienced is quite significant and at the same time, I have also gained a number of communication-related skills.
In the final class, I mentioned that I generally viewed the module in 3 parts but actually it should be 4:
1. Peer Teaching
2. Application Letter/Resume Writing
3. Interview
4. Proposal + Oral Presentation
I feel that the module had a good balance between equipping us with oral communication skills as well as written communication skills. During the peer-teaching component, I realised the importance of creating lesson plans that can not only be used by the creator but also any other person who reads it. It was matter of trying to view the situation from another’s eyes – just because I understood the lesson plan wouldn’t mean that another individual could understand it too. So, minute details which we deemed insignificant and overlooked were actually important and should have been included in the lesson plan.
During the application letter/resume writing phase and the proposal phase, the skills imparted were slightly different. I felt that the focus had shifted to adopting the appropriate tone and writing in a clear and concise manner to sustain the readers’ attention. Marketing myself was one thing I was never good at but by the end of the many drafts I did for this component, this has considerably changed. I also learnt that one who has a good grasp of the English language doesn’t necessarily produce a good application letter or proposal because the skill required for such tasks are not entirely language-dependent. Alot of structure, organization and formatting are involved as well.
Finally, oral presentation skills. I remember being overwhelmed by the number things one had to take note of when the first lesson on oral presentations was conducted. From posture to voice quality to facial expressions – almost everything seemed to matter in such presentations. Being a naturally quiet person as compared to others, speaking in front of any crowd larger than 3 never fails to give me the jitters. And to remember other significant details on top of that only served to add to my nervousness during my peer teaching presentation. However, I feel that this aspect improved significantly during my oral presentation for the proposal. My hands were not shaking badly and my stuttering had reduced very much. I would have to attribute this to a conscious effort to keep my nervousness at bay. Also, the presentation was done towards the end of the module, by which everyone in class was familiar to me and so I did not feel so intimidated.
11 weeks ago, I wouldn’t have imagined myself to be confident enough to stand in front of a crowd of 20 to make any form of oral delivery or competent enough to produce an application letter or resume good enough to be used for a job application. But this module has enabled me to do all these and more. Although it was a very content and assessment heavy module that demanded alot of time and effort, I believe that I have gained a number of important skills and improved my confidence levels at the same time.
On a final note, (although I already mentioned this during class) I feel that the members of our tutorial group play an important role in determining how much each of us learns. The fact that our tutorial group is welcoming and accepting of everyone makes it easier to open up and perform better for components involving oral skills. So, I’m glad I got a great tutorial group (:
All the best to everyone! It’s been a pleasant 3 months with all of you!
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Hey Mufeedha, I know how you feel when you suddenly realised that the module was over. After the oral presentation I really heaved a sigh of relief. The end of semester crunch was quite a pain to juggle with other modules. Such is the price we pay for taking 2 non examinable modules at once.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that this module struck a good balance of written as well as oral communication skills, as well as matching them well. Peer teaching with the lesson plan, oral presentation with proposal, interview with business correspondence.
The presentation and speaking portion of the module was also very beneficial for me. I used to think public speaking like that was not a problem for me. After having to present something concrete such as the proposal for 5 minutes, I realised the value of preparation and rehearsing. I used to have the opinion that as long as you know the content, you can simply improvise the speech to explain that content and just 'go with the flow'. After doing this oral presentation I realised the importance of preparation and the like when dealing with longer, more concrete presentations.
I agree with you that the accepting attitude of everyone in class makes it much easier to share and participate. It really does make it easier to be open and relaxed to learn.
It was great working with you this 3 months! All the best for your exams. See you at the barbecue in June!
Hi Mufeedha,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is over. Glad that this module brought significant change to you. Hopefully, the skills that you learnt will be useful in future.
We have to take note that in future, there may be times when we will have to present to people we are not familiar with, hence, we may need more practice to overcome our nervousness.
I agree with you that everyone plays an important role in class. This is something like "network externalities", the value of a service or good increases as more people use it. Likewise, the more we participate in class, the more we learn. Now this is another example of "network externalities"!
All the best in your exams!
Hi Mufeedha,
ReplyDeleteYes, time flies, this module has come to an end in a blink of an eye. Nevertheless, we have really learned a lot of communication skills. Resume and application writing, the interview sessions, and oral presentations have definitely equipped us with useful skills in our work in the future.
Besides all these, we have definitely forged many new friendships via the fun interactions we had in class. It was really nice knowing you.
Good luck for your exams =)!
@Gerard: Haha yes taking 2 non-examinable modules definitely makes a semester very taxing but I guess Andrew, you, Jay and I survived :)was great getting to know you! All the best for exams! See you at the bbq!
ReplyDelete@Wei Li: I definitely agree with you on the point abt meeting unfamiliar people in the future to whom we may need to present. Although I am not entirely looking forward to that just yet, I believe we are all more well prepared for such a situation than we were 3 months ago right :)great getting to know you! All the best for exams!
@ Andrew: The friendships we have formed is definitely an additional plus point to this module - the small class size has facilitated this very well :)was great getting to know you! All the best for exams!