Question: Miss Liyana, we all know that being a teacher requires a very good communication

skill in order to interact and communicate with the students. Can you explain to us what is
actually the meaning of communication skills?
Answer: Thank you for your question Miss Stephanie. Assalamualaikum and a very good
morning I greet to u. Before we talk further and deeper about the communication skills, I would
like to clarify to you the exact meaning of the word communication. This is just to make it look
clearer and understandable in case any of you still wondering and still need a better
understanding about it.
According to Noriati in the year of 2011, she said that communication means sending a
text message either verbally or non-verbally by a person to others and will have a response
from the recipient of the message. Here, we can understand that communication is not only
about sending a message verbally. But, we can also use our non-verbal communication skill.
Verbal and non-verbal are two different words with different meaning. It is not the same. We are
going to discuss about it later. Now, we are just going to discuss the meaning of communication
skills.
Communication is also not by just sending or giving a message to other people (recipient) but it
also associated with the received skill. We cannot call it a communication if it is only a one way
interaction. For example, when you ask me a question and I give u an answer. Then, that is
what we call communicate. Means, we communicate with each other. You ask me and I gave
you a response. Besides that, communication is also a human tool to share their thoughts,
ideas, and feeling either in verbally and non-verbally. So, thats all what I can explain to you for
now.







Question: One of the communication skills that a teacher must possess in order to become an
effective teacher is to have a very good oral skill. What can you tell us about oral skills? Why
actually do we need a very good oral skill?
Answer: Thank you for your question Miss Stephanie. Oral can be defined as a verbal
communication. Verbal communication is related to the action of using words and speaks
language. Well, actually just in case if you did not know, the ability to speak is actually the first
language skill by human. In a context of traditional society, they depend entirely on their ability
to convey a message and narrate a story. For example, if you still remember, maybe when you
are little, your parents will read you a story in order to teach you the moral values. So, that is
what we mean by using an oral skill to convey a message and also narrate skill. We cannot
narrate a story effectively if we do not have an oral skill.
But, when we want to talk about children communication skill, well actually children's
communication skills grow when children mingle with other people, either within the family,
neighbourhood or in school. Ability of the human in verbal skills is preceded by listening skill.
This would mean that teachers must create a teaching and learning environment that will allow
students to discuss and talk among themselves in order to develop their oral skills.
So, now we are going to talk in the context of a situation as a teacher. In order to
possess a very good oral skill communication, a teacher should have possessed these three
basic skills: pronunciation, intonation and also clear and structured.
Pronunciation
A teacher in Malaysia will be confronted with the diversity of student ethnicity
and background. Therefore, teachers need to connect with students from
different ethnic groups through language, especially the Malay language as the
medium of communication in Malaysia. Pronunciation should be clear and
precise and this is not limited only to teachers who teach subjects in Malay
language. All teachers, regardless of which ever subjects they mastered must
use correct pronunciation. This is in line with the concept of "language across
curriculum '. In the Malay language, the use of Bahasa Baku is very necessary
to avoid regional dialects being used in teaching and learning situations in the
classroom.


6.4.2 Clear and Structured
Messages and ideas can be understood when presented in a clear and
structured manner. Explanation from teachers to students should be in
accordance with the level of language proficiency and students' background.
Selection of appropriate words to ensure students understand and listen with
great interest. The students can understand better when the teacher has the
skills in questioning, answering and explaining things clearly.
6.4.3 Intonation
Teachers need to know how to adjust their voice intonation when interacting with
students and it should be adapted to the context of conversation and its purpose.
Teachers can enhance the effectiveness of intonation through the following
guidelines, namely:
Be enthusiastic in delivering any message so that the listener understand
the message clearly
Avoid using a flat voice tone (monotone). This type of tones cannot motivate
the students.
high and low intonation can help students to understand the messages
conveyed by the teacher. When teacher is able to express messages through
the tone very well, student can appreciate them better