Classroom activities to improve communication skills of students

Introduction

Effective communications skills are very important to possess for the students. This not only helps them to perform actively in classrooms and academics but also helps them to achieve high positions in their careers and jobs. Active communicators are high in demand everywhere because of their effectiveness in speaking, interacting, developing strong interpersonal relationships, and cracking big deals and projects. But it is a skill that cannot be gained in a single day. With regular practice, students will be able to communicate efficiently. Let us discuss some important activities that teachers can practice in their classrooms to improve the communication skills of the students. 

Types of communication

Verbal communication

This type of communication means verbal speaking. It involves the exchange of information by spoken words. Language, the pace of talking, tone, attitude, vocabulary are some components that need to be used properly for effective verbal communication. 

Non-verbal communication

It is the type of communication in which the delivery of information, views, interests, etc is done without spoken words. For example, the body language of the person shows how effective he or she is while speaking or listening. Eye contact, body postures, tone, body movements, facial expressions are part of nonverbal communication. 

Communication by visuals

This type of communication involves a speaker communicating and explaining his or her information with the help of visual tools and aids available to them. For example, modules, PowerPoint presentations, graphics, animations, etc. 

Written communication

It is a type of communication carried with the help of written words and language. Good vocabulary, command of grammar, etc are necessary to have effective written communication. Examples of these are mails, letters, notices, texts, or messages. 

Active listening

Only speaking is not involved in communication. Active listening to the speaker is also the type of it. This is necessary to complete two-way communication effectively. 

Activities to improve the communication skills of the students

Group discussions

A technique or activity that teachers can include in classrooms for increasing effective communication in students is group discussions. Discussions and exchanging information on any beneficial topic are very helpful. If a class has more students, teachers can divide them into small groups, if the strength is normal, discussions can be carried out directly. In both traditional classrooms or on the classroom app, this activity can be carried easily. Important points to include are 

• Give simple and interactive topics to the students so that they can discuss them easily without facing difficulties. Ensure to give a topic on which students can think creatively and interact as much as possible.

• You can get involved too. Try to relate with the views of the students. Add on your pointers and make it as knowledgeable as possible.

Debates

Debating is a great activity that can be included in the classroom, to enhance the communication skills of the students. Debate is a process in which one party is in the favour of a topic and the other party acts as an opposition one. By including these processes in teaching and learning, can prepare students to have effective communication ability and can also improve their debating skills. The debating technique not only improves speaking but also, critical thinking, logical thinking, language, self-confidence, and much more. What teachers can do to conduct this activity in classrooms are, divide the students into two halves. Ask the one half to say in favour of the topic and the other one in opposition. Examples of some debating topics are the internet as a boon or curse, social media advantages, and disadvantages, etc. 

Listen and question

Effective communication is not limited to only verbal speaking. It also includes the process of active listening. So in order to make students effective communicators, make them active listeners as well. Both traditional teaching, as well as online teaching sites, can practice this activity of listening and questioning. For this activity, teachers can choose the speakers and listeners. The speakers one by one will speak on the topics and listeners have to actively listen to them. After this, the questioning process should be carried out. Also, don’t forget to have a two-way questioning process which means speakers ask listeners and listeners question the speakers as well on the doubts, queries that they have related to the topic. 

Recitations

Reciting is also a very helpful activity to improve the communication skills of the students. The sounds, rhyming, beats, vocabulary, etc helps students to grab knowledge and skills of pitch, tones, voice, volume, and variations. Also, recitations in the classrooms help students to boost their confidence level. They become effective speakers by this process. Along with active speaking, the memorizing skills of the students are also improved. 

Story making

An activity by which students can interact and speak more appropriately is story-making. Both traditional classrooms and online teaching sites can include this activity in their teaching patterns. In this regard, a teacher can give a few words and characters to the students on which they can prepare a story and later dictate it in the class. This will improve the communication, imagination, and creative thinking skills of the students. 

Conclusion

All the above-mentioned activities can be used to improve the effective communication skills and abilities of the students. Teachers must include these activities and techniques in their teaching patterns and should encourage students to participate as much as possible. All the teachers should focus on getting a hundred per cent class participation of the learners.