11

Oral 1
Communication
in Context
Module 3

Luzviminda P. Laureniana
Author

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCY:

Uses various strategies in order to avoid communication breakdown

(EN11/12OC-Ia-6)
Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _____________________
Section: _________________________________

HOW TO USE THIS MODULE?

Good day student!

Before we begin with our lesson, I want you to make yourself ready and put away anything that
will distract you. Now, read and follow the given instructions to achieve our goals. Enjoy learning with
our module!

1. Read carefully and follow all the guidelines, contents, procedures and instructions indicated in every
page of this module.

2. This module provides learning activity sheets where you can write your answers.

3. Apply what you have learned. Answer all the activities carefully.

4. Take note important ideas that you will encounter in this lesson. Noting detail is one strategy that helps
you to remember some important information easily.

5. Consult your parent/guardian/teacher for any clarification regarding the instruction or content of this
module.

6. Have fun learning!

EXPECTATIONS

This module will help you learn the various strategies to avoid communication breakdown. It will
help you identify the barriers and find ways to solve those barriers. It also explains why there is a
breakdown in communication and gives you some solutions.

In addition, this module provides lessons and activities which will allow you to relate the concepts to
the real world and will give you some insights on how to avoid communication breakdown in a real
situation.

Moreover, this learning material provides discussions and learning task which will help you to
communicate better with your family, peers and other people.

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Lesson 1: Various Strategies in Order to Avoid Communication
Breakdown

PRE-TEST

Directions: Write Yes if it’s true and No if not.

____ 1. You talked to a foreigner who visited your school, but you could not fully understand what he/she
was talking about.
____ 2. Your teacher brought your class to a remote place and you did not know how to communicate
with the people around the place.
____ 3. You did not hear the last part of the lesson in your class because the garbage truck just arrived
near your school.
____ 4. Your class adviser asked you to run errand, but you were in a hurry to go and missed some parts
of the instructions.
____ 5. You had been listening to a whole day class and all the lessons were difficult, so you got a
headache.

LOOKING BACK

Directions: Read the dialogue. Identify the model of communication presented in the dialogue. Write
your answer in the blue box. Justify your answer in a paragraph form.

Situation: There are four friends in the party who have not seen each other for a long time.and
talking to each other.
Ruben: Hello guys! I am glad to see all of you here.
Mike: Yeah? Really?
Ruben: Of course! I haven’t seen all of you for more than a year. Right? But I got a chance to
talk to Leny on the phone a couple of months ago.
Leny: Yeah! I offered you a business proposal, but we never finished the entire transactions.
Ruben: Oh! Yes, I needed to go out of the country for a business conference then my boss
assigned me to another account that was the reason why I didn’t make any follow up regarding
your proposal. I am so sorry!
Leny: That’s alright! No need to apologize. I managed to close it anyway.
Maricel: Heyyyy! Good to see all of you here. Is it a reunion? HAHA!
Mike: No! Not yet! You look gorgeous! What have you been doing?
Maricel: Me? Thank you! Well, I am very busy. Giving speeches here and there. I work for a
charitable institution taking care of the abandoned children. The money isn’t enough, but I feel
fulfilled.
Ruben: This calls for a real reunion. Let’s go and get some food guys.
ALL: Let’s go!

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 ANSWER:
______________________________________________________________________________________

EXPLANATION:
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

A Million Dollar Question!

Have you had a quarrel with someone because you misunderstood his or her message?
You learned that communication is a process involving the sending and receiving of ideas and
feelings between participants. But the intended message may not be transmitted exactly the same as it is
in the mind of the sender, so it is not clearly understood by the receiver. This happens because of the
various barriers illustrated in the given situation. To avoid this communication breakdown you may use
some strategies that are shown below.

BARRIERS SITUATIONS STRATEGIES

Language barrier A Doctor talks to his patient You can use layman’s terms instead of
about her illness. jargons.

Cultural barrier A girl who visits her You should respect the other culture
hometown for the first time. and you should have confidence to
begin a conversation. Do not be afraid
to ask questions for clarification.
Physical barrier A father who talks to his Noise is a common barrier. You should
daughter on the phone when make some adjustments on how you
your neighbor’s dogs bark at will avoid such barrier.
the same time.
Prejudging The organizer of the event Before jumping into conclusion, make a
sends a text message to the clarification first. Ask for the real
flower arranger saying that motive of the message.
she is no longer needed in the
event.
Lack of interest and The mother gives instruction Pay attention to the speaker and double
attention to the child to stay foot, but check the information/message before
the child keeps on running. you do something.
Information overload The trainees attend a whole Prepare a notebook to jot down
day seminar with four important details so that you will not
brilliant speakers who forget them.
provide essential information
regarding their job
description.
Emotional barrier The boy feels bad because he Always be polite no matter what you
lost his pet. feel. Ask other people to give you a
moment to relax and calm down.

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 ACTIVITIES

Activity 1.1. Comics Strip

Directions: Read the dialogues below to answer the questions.

Questions:
1. Why Lucy did not send the documents to Mr. Tan?
__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was her Boss’ reaction upon hearing Lucy’s reason of not sending the documents to Mr. Tan?
__________________________________________________________________________________

3. What do you think causes their communication breakdown?

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. How can Lucy avoid the same communication breakdown next time?
__________________________________________________________________________________

5. Could you cite briefly a certain event where you had encountered a communication breakdown? How
did you deal with it?
__________________________________________________________________________________

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Activity 1.2. Problem-solution Activity

Directions: Provide at least two or more strategies to each of the given situations to avoid communication
breakdown.

SITUATIONS STRATEGIES

1. Your teacher asked you to report a topic in

class, but your classmates were very noisy, and
they didn’t listen to you.

2. You felt very sleepy when your father told

you what you needed to do while he was away
for a business trip. You didn’t get all the
instructions.

3. A group of American students visited your

school. They started a conversation with you,
but they spoke too fast and you couldn’t follow.

4. You were asked to attend a career

symposium. You felt that the speakers were too
boring to listen to.

5. Your Research teacher discussed several

concepts regarding research. There was too
much information to remember. You missed
most of them.

REMEMBER

Communication is a process involving the sending and receiving of ideas and feelings between
participants. But the intended message may not be transmitted exactly the same as it is in the mind of the
sender so it is not clearly understood by the receiver. You can use some strategies to avoid
communication breakdown.

Here are some barriers that may cause communication breakdown and their corresponding
solutions.

1. Language barriers –inability to understand unfamiliar accents; use of unfamiliar words or

expressions, jargon or idioms
Strategy: Use simple and precise words to convey your message.

2. Cultural barriers – communication breakdown due to differences in views, and beliefs; and
insensitivity to the culture of others.
Strategy: Respect other culture by showing interest in the conversation. Provides positive remarks or
comments.
3. Physical barriers – noise, poor lighting, and distance (e.g., participants are seated too far from each
other)
Strategy: Make some adjustments by removing the barrier or going away from the barrier.

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4. Prejudging – jumping to the conclusion or deciding prematurely that the message has little or no value
Strategy: Listen attentively to what the speaker has to say before you pass judgment. Practice critical
thinking by analyzing what has been said before you give your reaction.

5. Information overload – giving too much information at a time

Strategy: Ask for repetition or clarification.

6. Lack of interest and attention – The listeners don’t give proper attention or display no interest to the
message or information given.
Strategy: Pay attention and give the speaker time to develop and express his/her ideas before you accept
or reject them.

7. Emotional barrier – The emotional state of a person affects the way he/she communicates. The way
you feel may cause communication breakdown.
Strategy: Be sensitive to other’s feelings. Give yourself or others time to relax and calm down before
you indulge in a conversation

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Directions: Identify the specific barrier that causes breakdown in communication in the following
examples, and suggest a possible solution to address the problem. Write your answer on the space
provided.

1. barking dogs

2. limited vocabulary

3. no job experience
4. sickness

5. no boyfriend since birth

6. negative comments on facebook

7. static microphone

8. quarrel with your mother

9. sleeping audience

10. slow internet connection

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 POST TEST

Directions: Draw a line to match the barrier in column a to its corresponding solution in
column b.

Column A Column B
1. Cultural barriers a. Use simple words to convey your message.
2. Emotional barrier b. Respect other culture by showing interest in
3. Prejudging the conversation.
4. Language barriers c. Make some adjustments by going away from
5. Physical barriers the barrier.
d. Listen attentively to what the speaker has to
say before you judge.
e. Ask for repetition or clarification.
f. Pay attention and give the speaker time to
develop his/her ideas.
g. Be sensitive to other’s feelings.

REFLECTION CARD

Module 3
ASK YOURSELF!
A. Direction: Create a comic strip about your personal encounter on communication breakdown with
possible solution.

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B. Direction: Use the rubrics below to answer the questions in an essay form. Write your answer on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. What have you learned from this lesson? How are you going to apply it in your daily communication?
RUBRICS
Exemplary Competent Developing
Criteria
5 3 1
1. Explains clearly the ideas using the keypoints learned from the
modules.
2. Demonstrates deep understanding of the lesson in this module
by citing analysis of a real life situation.
3. Demonstrates original thoughts by relating the lesson to
personal experiences.
4. The ideas are organized and clearly written.
5. Free from grammatical errors.
TOTAL

Good Job!
You were able to finish this
module. I hope you had fun
learning. See you in the
next module! Enjoy!