‘Developing Effective Oral and Written Communication Skills’ is an English course that helps professionals develop work-related communication skills. . The participants will learn to speak in office situations and write effective emails, business letters and reports. The teaching approach is communicative and the participants will be involved in one-to-one interactions, group discussions, role plays and presentations. In the course, the participants will have hands-on practice in drafting emails, reports, etc. and engage in peer learning through peer editing.
TOPICS |
WRITING SKILLS |
LANGUAGE FOCUS |
Oral Communication:
Introducing oneself
Listening to a conversation between old friends and learning to introduce a stranger
Written Communication:
Analysing Audience |
Social language – practice of starters and closers with friends and strangers. Making small talk.
Determining who will read your document
Types of audiences
Audiences and their needs
Gathering Information on audiences: determining their needs and attitudes
Thinking about the conditions under which the audience receives your message |
Vocabulary associated with introducing people and engaging in small talk.
Learning to use verbs to do with identifying purpose of writing
Selecting formal and informal nouns and verbs when writing to people of different positions in an organization |
Oral Communication:
Making Requests and Offering Help
Written Communication:
Writing Emails
|
Making requests in the office, offering help and invitations
Format of emails
Making objectives of writing clear and concise
Organizing and expressing information in emails
Setting the right tone
Making desired decisions and actions explicit and clear |
Phrases for offering and accepting help and invitations.
Using concise and accurate expressions in emails
Choosing verbs relating to desired actions and outcomes of emails |
Oral Communication:
The pattern of phone call conversations.
Written Communication:
Writing Letters |
Common telephone phrases and responses
Understanding purpose of writing letters
Standard letter formats
Standard parts of letters |
Language functions associated with asking for information, person and making requests.
Using modal auxiliaries like ‘may’, ‘could’ and ‘would’ in making requests in letters |
Oral Communication:
Telephone terms. A phone conversation arranging to meet.
Written Communication:
Writing Letters |
Negotiating to meet around a busy schedule.
Suggesting and agreeing times and places to meet.
Writing Different Types of Letters: complaint letters and replies to complaint letters |
Expressions associated with agreeing and disagreeing.
Using correct punctuation
Learning to express negative messages in positive ways – use of polite expressions |
Oral Communication:
Considerations when negotiating a deal.
Written Communication:
Writing Letters |
Expressions related to proposing a business deal and counter proposing a deal.
Writing Different Types of Letters: informative letters and persuasive letters
Adopting the right style and editing letters |
Making conditions using the present and future conditional. Phrases for stalling time.
Using connectives and sequencing words to mark the steps in procedures
Using comparative and superlative adjectives in describing statistics and trends |
Oral Communication:
Talking to customers
Written Communication:
Getting Started: Analyzing Audience and Writing Situation |
Giving facts, and explaining functions and processes. Asking for and clarifying information.
Understanding the purpose and audience for manuals
Setting the right context for manuals
Writing a manual structure, organization and tone |
Using nouns and adjectives to form group nouns. Pronunciation practice.
Subject-verb agreement in writing |
Oral Communication:
Explaining solutions to customers
Written Communication
Characteristics of writing instruction manuals
The Writing Process |
Explaining process, problems and solutions to customers.
Written manuals: Purposes and audiences
A Process for Planning Manuals
Writing Specifications and Instructions
- Providing practical information
- Giving facts, not impressions
- Providing visuals to clarify and condense information
- Stating responsibilities precisely
- Persuading and offering recommendations
|
Transitions words related to explaining process, problems and solutions. Using active and appropriate verbs to explain these functions.
Parallel Structure in Professional Writing – Writing parallel headings
Learning to use of passives in manual writing |
Oral Communication:
Troubleshooting problems
Writing Instructions and Procedures |
Explaining to customers how to troubleshoot problems.
Conventions for Manual Writing
Format and Parts of Manuals
Why are instructions important?
- Safety
- Efficiency
- Convenience
- The Variety of Instructions
- Assessing and Meeting Your Audience’s Needs
- Plan Your Steps
- Do a Trial Run
- Write and Test Your Draft
- Revise and Edit
- Use the Right Style
- Use Visuals Effectively
|
Using conditions and modal verbs in troubleshooting problems.
Comparing the kinds of verbs used
- Defining problems
- Forecasting solutions
- Identifying selection criteria
Use of ‘would’ in making predictions and stating possibility |
Oral Communication:
Giving Instructions
Written Communication:
The Process of Writing Instructions |
Giving instructions to perform a certain task.
Listening and following instructions.
Asking for clarifications.
Planning the writing
- planning and organising the manual
- managing the manual development process
- making recommendations for solutions of problems
|
Using imperatives in giving instructions.
Learning to construct sentences: conjunctions and subordinations in sentence construction |
Oral Communication:
Planning an oral presentation
Written Communication:
The Four Parts to Writing Instructions
|
Learning to plan and write the outline of an oral presentation
- The Introduction
- The Steps
- Warnings, notes and cautions
- The Conclusion
|
Identify key phrases to use in powerpoint slides.
Choosing the right verbs in stating problems and describing current situation
Use of imperatives in stating proposed solution
Use of present and past tenses in writing manuals |
Oral Communication:
Deliver an oral presentation
Written Communication:
Designing Instruction Manuals and Visuals
|
Delivering the oral presentation
- The Purpose of Visuals
- Choosing Effective Visuals
- Writing About Visuals – Some Guidelines
- Creating Tables
- Creating Charts
|
Learning to use phrasal verbs in writing |
Editing Instructions |
Editing for correctness of grammar: consistency, tenses, spelling and punctuation
Editing for completeness and accuracy of information |
Peer editing of writing in class
Spotting errors in mechanics of writing |
