Oral Communication in Context

Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

LESSON 1.1
Definition and Process of Communication
Table of Contents
Introduction 1

Objectives 2

DepEd Competency 2

Warm-Up 2

Learn about It 3
Defining Communication 4
The Communication Process 4

Key Points 6

Check Your Understanding 6

Let’s Step Up! 8

Photo Credits 10

Bibliography 10
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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Lesson 1.1
Definition and Process of
Communication

Fig. 1. Through communication, we make ourselves understood and we can understand

others.

Introduction
Rollo May, an author and existential psychologist stated that, “Communication leads to
community, that is, to understanding, intimacy, and mutual valuing.”

Communication, then, is more than just the process of saying something to another.
Instead, it is a way by which we could make ourselves heard and understood and a way for
us to know more about and understand others.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Define communication and explain its process.
● Explain how a breakdown of communication happens.
● Explain the value of being an effective communicator.

DepEd Competency
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to explain the functions, nature,
and process of communication (EN11/12OC-Ia-1, EN11/12OC-Ia-2).

Warm-Up

Word for Word

Materials
● pad paper
● writing materials

Procedure
1. Find a partner and take turns reading the following tongue twisters to each other:
a. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did
Peter Piper pick?
b. Betty bought a bit of butter but found the butter bitter, so she bought a better
butter.
c. Sheila sells seashells in a store named Sheila’s Shells. Her store is by the
seashore.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

d. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood
in the woods?
2. As one of you reads out the tongue twisters, the other one will write them down as
accurately as possible. Try not to ask your partner to repeat himself or herself.
3. After you’ve both had a chance to transcribe the tongue twisters, compare your work
and see how accurately you were able to write down the messages that have been
read to you.

Guide Questions
1. What were the challenges you faced during the activity?
2. How were you able to assure that you transcribed the tongue twisters accurately?

Learn about It
Communication is an important human need. We must be able to define what
communication is and how it works. In this way, we can further develop our communication
skills and understand how to make them even more effective.

Vocabulary
stimulus
an idea or concept that a sender would like to convey
(noun)

sender the person involved in the communication process who

(noun) encodes the message

receiver the person involved in the communication process who

(noun) decodes the message

decode
interpret
(verb)

feedback the response of the receiver to the message the sender

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

(noun) gave

Essential Questions
Why is communication an essential human need? Why is it important to
understand how people communicate with each other?

Defining Communication
Communication is the transmission of ideas and emotions between or among persons
using verbal and nonverbal cues. The word communication comes from the Latin word
communis, which means “common.”

To be common means to come together or to share something in common together.

Communication helps people adapt to or survive in the place they live in.

The Communication Process

The process of communication starts with a stimulus, an idea or concept that the sender
has and would like to convey.

The sender encodes the message by putting it into words and then expresses the ideas in
proper sequence. This message is then accepted and interpreted or decoded by the
receiver. The receiver may or may not respond to the sender. If the receiver chooses to
respond, then he or she will provide feedback. When providing feedback, the receiver
becomes the sender, and the first sender becomes the receiver of the message.

There may, however, be a breakdown in the communication process. This breakdown in the
process may happen because of noise, which is any barrier or hindrance that obstructs the
understanding of the message.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Look at the phone conversation below.

Cathy: Hello?
Annie: Cath? It’s Annie. I just want to ask you something.
Cathy: Sure, go ahead.
Annie: I was absent from school last Friday. Could you please tell me what our
lesson in English was about?
Cathy: Oh we just discussed mo . . . and then we had a quiz on the sub . . . so if you
...
Annie: Hello? Cathy? The line is breaking up. I can hardly hear you.

The stimulus in the conversation is Annie’s intention to ask Cathy about their lesson in
English last Friday. Annie translates this stimulus into words. Cathy receives the message,
decodes it, and provides feedback that she understands the idea by telling Annie what they
did in their English class. However, because of the element of noise, which, in this case, is
the crackling and breaking up of the phone line, Annie could not hear Cathy’s message well.

Let’s Check In
Answer the following questions about the communication process:
1. What is the idea or concept that a sender wants to convey?
2. What is the response of the receiver after he or she receives the
message?
3. Is feedback on a message given all the time? Why or why not?

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Key Points

● Communication is the transmission of ideas and emotions between or among

persons using verbal and nonverbal cues. It is an essential part of the human
experience, allowing us to be understood and to understand others.
● The process of communication starts with a stimulus, an idea or concept that the
sender would like to convey. This idea is encoded by the sender through a message.
The message is then decoded by the receiver, who will respond by providing
feedback.
● A breakdown in the communication process may happen because of noise, which is
any barrier or hindrance that obstructs the understanding of the message.

Check Your Understanding

Read the following dialogue and answer the questions that follow.

At the cafeteria food line, Anne and Cathy are separated by two people in the line.
Cathy: Annie! Annie! I cannot believe that I got the highest score in our math quiz!
Annie: What quiz?! I came in late and I missed our math class. What was the quiz
about?
Cathy: Oh really? Too bad, Ms. Lim reviewed with us before the quiz and . . .
Annie: What? I cannot understand you. Excuse me, sir? (directed toward a boy beside
her)
Cathy: . . . so that was why it was super easy! You should approach Ms. Lim this
afternoon.
Annie: What were you saying? I was not able to get your last few words.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

1. What is the stimulus of the conversation?

________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was the noise in the situation?

________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What could have been done to prevent a breakdown in the communication?

________________________________________________________________________________________

4. In what way did Annie provide feedback?

________________________________________________________________________________________

List down five other examples of noise that may affect the way a
message is delivered to the receiver. Explain your answer.

1. ________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________________________________________

Using your answers from the previous section, answer the following
questions:

1. How can we avoid these instances of noise when communicating?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

2. What are some ways through which we can have better communication?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Step Up!

Write a short essay about your own perspective on communication and the
communication process by answering the following questions. You will be graded using
the rubric below.
1. What is communication? Define it in your own words.
2. Why is it important to understand the communication process?
3. How can understanding the communication process help you become a better
communicator?

Criteria Below Needs Meets Exceeds

expectations improvement expectations expectations
1 2 3 4

Content (50%) The focus on the The focus on the The focus on the The focus on the
Clear and topic is unclear. topic is topic is topic is very
evident focus on somewhat sufficiently clear.
the topic clear. clear.

Organization The progression The progression The progression The progression

(25%) of ideas is of ideas is of ideas is of ideas is
Logical disorganized. somewhat organized. well-organized.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

progression of Transitions are organized. Transitions are Transitions are

details/events; unclear, making Transitions are sufficiently clear and
clear transitions the text almost somewhat clear, leading to effective,
between ideas impossible to clear, leading to full leading to full
understand. vague understanding. and easy
understanding. understanding.

Language There are four There are two to There is one There are no
(25%) or more three language language error. language errors.
Spelling, language errors. errors.
mechanics,
grammar, and
word usage

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Photo Credits
Fig. 1. Conversation by Valery Kenski is licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) via
Flickr.

Bibliography

Hybels, Saundra, and Richard Weaver II. 2011. Communicating Effectively. 10th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill.

Seneca College Pressbooks System. “Unit 2: The Communication Process.” Accessed

September 30, 2021.
https://pressbooks.senecacollege.ca/buscomm/chapter/1-3-the-communication-proc
ess/.

Sheppard, Mike. “Proxemics.” The University of New Mexico. July 1996. Accessed December
14, 2016. http://www.cs.unm.edu/~sheppard/proxemics.htm.

Steinberg, Shiela. 2007. An Introduction to Communication Studies. Cape Town, South Africa:
Juta & Co., Ltd.

University of Minnesota Libraries. “Communication in the Real World: 1.2. The

Communication Process. Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/1-2-the-communication-process/.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Answer Key

Lesson 1.1. Definition and Process of Communication

Warm-Up

Guide Questions
1. What were the challenges you faced during the activity?
Answers may vary. Students are expected to share the difficulties they
encountered while doing the activity.
2. How were you able to assure that you transcribed the tongue twisters accurately?
Answers may vary. Students are expected to share the techniques they utilized to
properly complete the activity.

Let’s Check In
1. What is the idea or concept that a sender wants to convey?
The idea or concept that the sender wants to convey is called a stimulus.
2. What is the response of the receiver after he or she receives the message?
The receiver provides feedback to the sender after he or she has received the
message.
3. Is feedback on a message given all the time? Why or why not?
The receiver of the message may choose not to respond. In some cases, it might
also be difficult for the receiver to provide feedback and continue the
conversation because of noise.

Check Your Understanding

Read the following dialogue and answer the questions that follow.

At the cafeteria food line, Anne and Cathy are separated by two people in the line.
Cathy: Annie! Annie! I cannot believe that I got the highest score in our math quiz!
Annie: What quiz?! I came in late and I missed our math class. What was the quiz

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

about?
Cathy: Oh really? Too bad, Ms. Lim reviewed with us before the quiz and . . .
Annie: What? I cannot understand you. Excuse me, sir? (directed toward a boy beside
her)
Cathy: . . . so that was why it was super easy! You should approach Ms. Lim this
afternoon.
Annie: What were you saying? I was not able to get your last few words.

1. What is the stimulus of the conversation?

The stimulus of the conversation is Cathy’s desire to share good news to Annie.
2. What was the noise in the situation?
The physical noise in the canteen was the noise in the situation.
3. What could have been done to prevent a breakdown in the communication?
Cathy could have moved or switched places first before talking to Annie.
4. In what way did Annie provide feedback?
Annie provided feedback by expressing her confusion since she was not able to fully
comprehend what Cathy was saying.

List down five other examples of noise that may affect the way a
message is delivered to the receiver. Explain your answer.

Answers may vary. Possible answers include static in the phone line, a physical
barrier like a wall or door, or one’s inability to understand a dialect or an accent.

Using your answers from the previous section, answer the following
questions:

1. How can we avoid these instances of noise when communicating?

Answers may vary but should include concrete examples of how to avoid or mitigate
noise in communication.
2. What are some ways through which we can have better communication?
Answers may vary but should include concrete examples of how to avoid or mitigate
noise in communication.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 1: Nature and Elements of Oral Communication

Let’s Step Up!

Write a short essay about your own perspective on communication and the
communication process by answering the following questions. You will be graded using
the rubric below.
1. What is communication? Define it in your own words.
2. Why is it important to understand the communication process?
3. How can understanding the communication process help you become a better
communicator?
Answers will vary. Guided by the questions, students must complete a unified and
cohesive essay on communication and the communication process.

Criteria Below Needs Meets Exceeds

expectations improvement expectations expectations
1 2 3 4

Content (50%) The focus on the The focus on the The focus on the The focus on the
Clear and evident topic is unclear. topic is topic is topic is very
focus on the topic somewhat sufficiently clear.
clear. clear.

Organization The progression The progression The progression The progression

(25%) of ideas is of ideas is of ideas is of ideas is
Logical disorganized. somewhat organized. well-organized.
progression of Transitions are organized. Transitions are Transitions are
details/events; unclear, making Transitions are sufficiently clear and
clear transitions the text almost somewhat clear, leading to effective,
between ideas impossible to clear, leading to full leading to full
understand. vague understanding. and easy
understanding. understanding.

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Language (25%) There are four There are two to There is one There are no
Spelling, or more three language language error. language errors.
mechanics, language errors. errors.
grammar, and
word usage