To understand the term oral-communication we should be familiar with the concept of communication. According to a well-reputed American author Elizabeth Tierney,
“Communication as a process which begins with a message being delivered, the audience received the massage, reacts, and responds to it. This response may then speak other messages.
It’s a continuous process” According to Julia T. Woods which is a professor of Communication and Humanities studies at North Carolina State University,
“Communication is a systematic process in which people interact with and through symbols (language, non- verbal behaviors, etc.) to create and interpret meanings (the literal massage)”.
Now, we could easily conceptualize the term Oral Communication. Oral communication is a process of expressing information or transferring information or ideas by word of mouth.”
Communication skills possess very vital place in our daily routine life in order to survive in the society.
If we talk about our Pakistani English Language Teaching classrooms teacher lays stress only on reading and writing skills of the students. Pakistani teachers only try to build or enhance the student expertise only in the reading and writing.
There is a dire need for the young students of Pakistan to develop excellent oral communication skills which is also one of the demands of the market.
To build student’s expertise in oral-communication, the objectives of the teacher should be to help the students in improving their oral-communication skills and groom them to level where they are identified as smart, fittest and intelligent students with the high level of acceptability in society so they can easily lead a successful and stress-free life and became a role model for their younger ones.
The teacher also has to help the students in developing the oral communications of the students. Below there are some steps that a teacher can adopt to help his or her students in developing oral communications.
Steps for improving student’s oral-communication;
1) Set some rules and norms for class. By setting standards for class participation as early as possible, students will be more likely to understand their role in the discussion. Specific elements such as when a speaker should raise their hands, and more intangible aspects such as the tone for the classroom environment which is established by the
teacher. This will make your students understand how communication works within the classroom.
2) Always encourage all students to participate in classroom discussions. Look for an active response from the entire classroom. Give some extra attention to those students who hesitate in taking part in communication.
3) Provide frequent opportunities to the students for discussion with their peer fellows. The more often students work together to contribute in a discussion, the more comfortable they will be in the classroom increasing their willingness to communicate.
4) Adopt a policy of openness with your students. When you make a change to the class structure or give an assignment, be open with your students about your intentions, and seek their feedback. BY doing this teacher will be increasing the chances of open communication in both ways with the teacher and among the students.