Lesson 1

Language, the Vehicle of Communication

Suppose that you needed to ask a friend for a ride home. How could you send this message? You might point to yourself and then point to a car. You could also draw a car and then draw yourself and your home. Of course, the simplest way to send this message would be to use language to ask for a ride.

Language is the main way that people communicate. it's such a central part of your daily life that you probably take it for granted - yet you've been developing your language skills ever since you were born.

Take a moment to think about the following questions:

• When did you begin to talk? What were some of the first words that you said?
• Is English the language that you learned first? if not, what experiences do you recall as you learned English?
• Do you remember listening to someone tell you stories?
• Do you remember listening to someone read you stories? Were there some stories or books that you particularly enjoyed listening to?
• What is your first memory of reading?
• Do you remember anything about the first books that you read?
• Do you recall learning to write? Did you enjoy your first writing experiences?
• What are your earliest memories of watching television? Which programs and movies did you particularly enjoy?
• Did you ever engage in play-acting as a child? Do you remember pretending to be someone or something else?
• Did you enjoy drawing and painting as a child? What did you like to draw?
• Did you like working with clay or blocks? What did you like to create?

1. Choose three of these questions to answer in your notebook. Talking with someone who has known you most of your life may help you to recall some of your early memories.

When you communicate, you use language to read, write, speak, and listen. Two other ways that you communicate are through viewing and representing. When you view or represent a message, you use a non-verbal form of communication. Still, you use language to think about whatever you're viewing or representing.

When you represent a message, you might use actions or gestures, or you might draw a picture. People represented ideas long before they learned to write and read words. For example, thousands of years ago, people drew pictures on the walls of caves to represent important events in their lives.

2. Take a moment now to reflect on your skills as a communicator. Make a chart in your notebook similar to the one below.

a. Use the chart to evaluate yourself as a communicator. Think about your strengths and your weaknesses.

b. Which ways of communicating do you do best? Which ways do you prefer?

3. How do you think you could improve your communication skills? In your notebook, identify three ways that you could upgrade your skills.

In this lesson, you thought about yourself as a communicator, and you reflected on some of your early experiences as you learned to communicate.

Suggested Answers

1. Some people have strong memories of childhood experiences; others have less vivid recollections. You may recall both pleasant and unpleasant experiences with language. These experiences will likely affect how you feel about studying ELA now. Talking with a parent or other family member may help you respond to this question and fill in gaps in your memory.

2. When you filled in your chart, did you think about your strengths and weaknesses in each area? Here are some other questions that might help you evaluate your communication skills:

• What types of reading and writing do you think you do well?
• How do you feel about working in groups?
• How do you feel about speaking in public?
• Do you enjoy listening to people and to the radio?
• What television programs do you like to watch?
• Do you enjoy doing artwork, such as drawing, painting, or working with clay?
• What types of communication do you think you'll use most in your future?

3. When you thought about improving your communication skills, you might have mentioned learning more strategies or getting more practice in a particular area. Communication works like most other things: if you want to be a better guitar player, you spend more time practising. You also might need lessons. Similarly, if you want to be a better reader, you probably need to spend more time reading. If you feel that you're extremely weak in a particular area, you might need special help from a tutor.

Lesson Glossary

 

representing

sending a message through visual means

non-verbal

without words