Innovation in Language Learning
The role of self perceived communication competence in developing the students’ communication skills
Cristina Violeta Catalano, Babes Bolyai University, Cluj napoca (Romania)
Abstract
The development of students’, future teachers for primary and preschool education, communication skills and communicative competence is very important for the their future career in education.
The aim of our study is to identify and analyze the students’ communication skills using the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales in order to identify some communication skills, difficulties in communication in groups and in the end to accomplish a program for developing the communicative competence.
We applied this scale instrument on a sample made of 90 undergraduates enrolled in Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education. The scale includes 16 statements concerning feelings about communication, rate performance and points, so for the good rate the student obtained 3 points, for moderate rate, 2 points, for poor performance, 1 point. These statements reffered to group discussion, meetings, interpersonal conversation and public speaking. The results of our study showed that 60% of the students communicate efficient in small groups of discussions, 65% of them are very nervous when they have fear of public speaking. The other statements helped us find out more information about the students’ communicative behavior, how many of them are introvert and how many are extrovert persons, and in the end to make a training course for helping them to develop the communicative competence and to reduce the fear of communication in different situations.
The study presents both advantages and limits. An important advantage is that self perceived communication competence is a starting point for developing the students’ communication skills and communicative competence. The limits of the study refer to the fact that the sample is not a representative one and does not include students in distinct universities.
References:
[1] H, Burgess. “What future for initial teacher education? New curriculum and new directions”. The Curriculum Journal. 11. 2007.
[2] H., Catalano. “Practica pedagogică în universitate şi formarea competenţelor didactice. ”Studii de pedagogie universitară. coord. M. Bocoş şi I. Albulescu, Editura Presa Universitară Clujeană, Cluj-Napoca, 2009.
[3] F., Kory.“Comunicarea interpersonală”. Editura Polirom. Iaşi. 2013.
