Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION

1
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
2

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

The College of Teacher Education:

At the end of the program, the graduates should be able to:
a. Explain the English language system, history and development comprehensively;
b. Communicate effectively, fluently and creatively using the English language in any
cultural and social setting;
c. Facilitate learning of the English language;
d. Work efficiently in any setting across the globe;
e. Display proficiency in job placement interviews;
f. Participate in discussion with various language systems; and
g. Produce well-written texts for research, academic and professional purposes.

COURSE TITLE

G.E. 3 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Purposive Communication is a three-unit course that develops students’ communicative

competence and enhances their cultural and intercultural awareness through multimodal tasks that
provide them opportunities for communicating effectively and appropriately to a multicultural
audience in a local or global context. It equips students with tools for critical evaluation of a variety
of texts and focuses on the power of language and the impact of images to emphasize the
importance of conveying messages responsibly. The knowledge, skills, and insights that students
gain from this course may be used in their other academic endeavors, their chosen disciplines, and
their future careers as they compose and produce relevant oral, written, audio-visual and/or web-
based output for various purposes.

COURSE OUTCOMES (CMO)

In this course, you should be able to:

1. describe the nature, elements, and functions of verbal and non-verbal communication and
multicultural contexts;
2. explain how cultural and global issues affect communication;
3. determine culturally appropriate terms, expressions, and images;
4. evaluate multimodal texts critically to enhance receptive (listening, reading, viewing) skills;
5. convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web-based presentations for different target
audiences in local and global settings using appropriate registers
6. create clear, coherent, and effective communication materials
7. present ideas persuasively using appropriate language registers, tone, facial expressions,
and gestures;
8. write and present academic papers using appropriate tone, style, conventions, and reference
styles;
9. adopt cultural and intercultural awareness and sensitivity in communication of ideas;
10. appreciate the differences of varieties of spoken and written language;
11. adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas; and
12. appreciate the impact of communication of society and the world.
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
3

Module 1

UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION

The importance of communication can never be underestimated not just in the 21 st century but also
all through-out the ages. Communication is very powerful. It is a tool that binds people together;
however it can also be a device to destroy relationships. This module will focus on language and
communication. This part will review communication processes, principles, and ethics, and
communication models. Topics about communication and globalization and varieties and registers
of spoken and written language will also be discussed.

Lesson 1
LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

I. Learning Outcomes:

In this lesson, you should be able to:

1. define speech, language, and communication;
2. explain the difference between first language;
3. discuss the importance of communication;
4. demonstrate an understanding of the key ideas in language and communication
through true or false questions;
5. describe communication and its importance through an illustration; and
6. Illustrate the relationship of speech and language to communication.

PRE-ASSESSMENT

A. Identification.
1. It is a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of
which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture,
express themselves.
2. Its function includes communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative
expression, and emotional release.
3. It is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning.
4. This refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we
want.
5. It’s how we say sounds and words.
6. It is an intentional communication that happens within the bounds of specific contexts.
7. It is the result of language contact.
8. It is a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar, or the system
of communication used by people in a particular country or type of work.
9. The language that someone learns to speak first.
10. A second language is any language that a person uses other than a first or native
language.
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
4

LESSON MAP

The map illustrates the relationship of speech, language, and communication. It shows how
communication is accomplished through a linguistic code and many means of transmission, such as
speech, intonation, tempo, gestures, vocalics, and language

Lesson Learning Outcomes

In this lesson, you should be able to:

1. define speech, language, and communication;
2. explain the difference between first language;
3. discuss the importance of communication;
4. demonstrate an understanding of the key ideas in language and communication
through true or false questions;
5. describe communication and its importance through an illustration; and
6. Illustrate the relationship of speech and language to communication.

CONTENT

ENGAGE

APPRECIATING THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Instructions: Explain each question briefly:

1. Can animals communicate?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
5

2. Can monkeys produce language?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the difference between first language and second language?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

4. Why do we need to communicate?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

EXPLORE :

SIMPLIFYING COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE, AND SPEECH

Communication is a human act of sending (verbal or nonverbal;

online or offline ) and receiving of messages where interpretations are
normally constructed in the process. Communication is a natural activity
of people. We are always engaged in almost sorts of communication. As
Watzlawick (1976 in Oyvind, et al., 2011), a communication expert, aptly
wrote, “One cannot communicate.” Apparently, all human beings are
wired for communication in one’s lifetime.
Studying communication therefore enables us to have a good grasp of this unavoidable
human activity and hopefully makes us good and responsible participants. By being good
participants means that as senders and receivers of messages, a common understanding is
achieved, resulting in a successful communication.

DEFINING COMMUNICATION

The root of the word “communication” in Latin is communicare, which means to share, or to
make common.Weekley, E. (1967). An etymological dictionary of modern English (Vol. 1, p. 338).
New York, NY: Dover Publications. Communication is defined as the process of understanding and
sharing meaning.Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An introduction to human communication:
Understanding and sharing (p. 6). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
At the center of our study of communication is the relationship that involves interaction
between participants. This definition serves us well with its emphasis on the process, which we’ll
examine in depth across this text, of coming to understand and share another’s point of view
effectively.

The first key word in this definition is process. A process is a dynamic activity that is hard to
describe because it changes.Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An introduction to human
communication: Understanding and sharing. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Imagine you are alone in
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
6

your kitchen thinking. Someone you know (say, your mother) enters the kitchen and you talk briefly.
What has changed? Now, imagine that your mother is joined by someone else, someone you
haven’t met before—and this stranger listens intently as you speak, almost as if you were giving a
speech. What has changed? Your perspective might change, and you might watch your words more
closely. The feedback or response from your mother and the stranger (who are, in essence, your
audience) may cause you to reevaluate what you are saying. When we interact, all these factors—
and many more—influence the process of communication.
The second key word is understanding: “To understand is to perceive, to interpret, and to
relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know.”McLean, S. (2003). The basics of
speech communication. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. If a friend tells you a story about falling off a
bike, what image comes to mind? Now your friend points out the window and you see a motorcycle
lying on the ground. Understanding the words and the concepts or objects they refer to is an
important part of the communication process.
Next comes the word sharing. Sharing means doing something together with one or more
people. You may share a joint activity, as when you share in compiling a report; or you may benefit
jointly from a resource, as when you and several coworkers share a pizza. In communication,
sharing occurs when you convey thoughts, feelings, ideas, or insights to others. You can also share
with yourself (a process called intrapersonal communication) when you bring ideas to
consciousness, ponder how you feel about something, or figure out the solution to a problem and
have a classic “Aha!” moment when something becomes clear.
Finally, meaning is what we share through communication. The word “bike” represents both a
bicycle and a short name for a motorcycle. By looking at the context the word is used in and by
asking questions, we can discover the shared meaning of the word and understand the message.

What then is purposive communication?

Purposive communication is an intentional communication that happens within the bounds

of specific contexts.

Context. Communication happens in specific contexts. Context includes settings or

environment (family, school, workplace, religious communities); social relations (friends, husband,
and wife, parent and child, collegues/boss-subordinate in the office); scenes which include place,
time and occasion (business meeting, job interview, social gathering- parties, weddings, etc.) and
culture (history, tradition, beliefs, norms, values).

What is Language?

Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want.
Language includes:

• What words mean. Some words have more than one meaning. For example, “star” can be a
bright object in the sky or someone famous.
• How to make new words. For example, we can say “friend,” “friendly,” or “unfriendly” and
mean something different.
• How to put words together. For example, in English we say, “Peg walked to the new store”
instead of “Peg walk store new.”
• What we should say at different times. For example, we might be polite and say, “Would you
mind moving your foot?” But, if the person does not move, we may say, “Get off my foot!”

Together with the creation of human life is the creation of a wonderful and dynamic human
capacity—language. Animals are said to be able to communicate with each other. Whales sing,
wolves howl, dogs bark, and birds chirp. The sounds these creatures produce often reflect the state
of their emotions. While it may be true that animals communicate, only human beings are truly
capable of producing language.
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
7

What exactly is language? Linguists agree that a language can only be called a language if it
has a system of rules (also known as grammar), a sound system (phonology), and a vocabulary
(lexicon). These are the requirements for identifying a means of communication as a language. A
monkey may be able to signal to its partner that it is sharing food. The monkey will produce sounds
and gestures, but will not be able to organize the sounds into a meaningful system with rules. What
the monkey is producing is not a language in the strictest sense of the world. Human beings, on the
other hand, are able to communicate their desire to share food through several ways that are
understandable to other human beings. They may utter a word (Food!), raise a question (Want
some food?), or give a statements (I’d like to share this food with you).
When people use language, they can understand each other because they belong to the
same speech community. They can understand each other because in their speech community,
people share the same set of rules in the language system. While growing up, people acquire the
languages used by those in the community. This is the process of language acquisition. The
languages acquired while growing up are known as mother tongues, which may also be referred to
as first languages. People discover later on that other languages are needed for various reasons.
These other languages may be referred to as second languages. People learn these languages by
studying formally in school or informally on their own. This is the process of language learning.
What happens if people visit another speech community that is different from their own?
Americans and British speak English. However, they spell English words differently? They
pronounce words differently. They have different ways of expressing the same concepts. It can be
said that the Americans and the British belong to two speech communities which do not have
exactly the same set of rules for their languages. This is why there are differences in their
languages.
What happens if you, for example, who speaks a mother tongue and English, go to work in
China where the residents speak Putonghua (Mandarin) and a little bit of English? Will you be able
to communicate with the Chinese? The answer is yes. Though it will be a challenge for you and
your Chinese friends to try to understand each other, eventually you will be able to communicate as
you slowly learn each other’s languages. What is happening here is called language contact. The
result of such contact may be a new form of language. It is possible that in your attempt to
communicate with each other, you and your Chinese friend will produce a new language form that is
understandable to both of you. You own languages may also change as you constantly interact and
communicate with each other. Thus, language change is the result of language contact.
Language is indeed a complex human capacity. It is, therefore, important to be aware of its
features and behavior to be able to use language more effectively and productively in
communicating with others.

WHAT IS SPEECH?

Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes:

Articulation
How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able
to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”

Voice
How we use our vocal folds and breath to make sounds. Our voice can be loud or soft or high- or
low-pitched. We can hurt our voice by talking too much, yelling, or coughing a lot.

Fluency
This is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking. People who
do this a lot may stutter.
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
8

RELATIONSHIPS OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

To fully appreciate the tasks involved in learning to speak a language, you need to be familiar
with the relationships of three commonly used but often confused terms: speech, language and
communication. These terms are not identical. They denote different aspects of the same process.
Communication is the broad term for the two-day dynamic process of message transmission.
It embraces both the verbal and nonverbal aspects. The verbal includes the modes, which are
signing, reading and writing, speaking and listening. The nonverbal compromises the extra linguistic
elements, such as the paralinguistic, metalinguistic and nonlinguistic. These elements enhance the
meaning of what words say.
Speech and language are only a portion of the larger process of communication. Language is
the medium or vehicle through which messages are sent and received while speech is one of its
modes. It is the verbal means of communicating or conveying meaning. More specifically, speech is
the process of shaping into words the sound of the voice and the energy of the breath, by means of
the speech organs.

EXPLAIN

UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE

Instruction: Watch the video entitled the “Importance of Communication”.

After watching the video, answer the questions given below.

Here’s the link of the video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgp-bfdiCoY

Activity 1: Explain each question briefly.

1. What is communication?
__________________________________________________________________________
_ _____.

2. Can you imagine the world without communication? What do you think will happen to the
world?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__
3. Based from the video, mention at least 3 importance of communication.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
______

TOPIC SUMMARY

In this module, you learned that:

o Speech generally refers to the action of producing speech or the act of speaking.
o Language refers to the ability to communicate through speech by delivering and receiving
meaningful messages.
o Communication is the broadest category of them all. Communication includes spoken
language but also includes many other non-verbal cues which are essential for interacting and
communicating with others
o Language is a human capacity that consists of (a) a system of rules (also known as
grammar), (b) a sound system (phonology), and (c) a vocabulary (lexicon).
 Module 1 - UNDERSTANDING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATION
9

o While growing up in a community, people acquire the languages used by those in the
community. This is the process of language acquisition.
o The languages acquired while growing up are known as mother tongues, which may also be
referred to as first languages.
o Other than the first languages, there are other languages that are need for various reasons.
These other languages are referred to as second languages.
o People learn their second languages in school or on their own. This is the process of
language learning.
o In our interaction with other people, our languages come into contact with their languages,
resulting in language change. Language change is a natural behavior of all languages.
o Speech and language are only a portion of the larger process of communication.
o We cannot not communicate.

REFERENCES

Books:
.
Madrunio, M. R., & Martin, I. P. (2018). Purposive Communication: Using English in
Multilingual Contexts. 839 EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City. C & E Publishing,
Inc.

Magan, R., Nano, MC., & Turano C., (2018). Purposive Communication. Recoletos
St., Manila. Mindshapers Co. Inc.