The goal is to reveal the need for integrating and deepening communication skills in the 10th grade, based on the requirements of the educational standard.
The objectives are to present the forms of activity that serve the goal, the resources that may be useful, and the methodology of the lessons.
Actuality: In this age of digital technologies developing at the speed of light, it is important to understand what in education is particularly permanent and still inaccessible to artificial intelligence.
Authorship: To show by what means and methods, not mentioned in the standards, it is possible to ensure compliance with the requirements.
High school: what new things are we going to learn?
The average student completing basic school has somehow mastered the basic rules of language, understands the simple text he/she has read, tries to convey the problem that excites him/her, and similar simple things. This is perhaps enough for everyday communication with a wide circle, but is it enough for a person with ambitions who has decided to continue his/her studies at the next level, whose communication will not be limited to simple everyday life? In response to the grammar course offered after the basic school final exams, the student has the thought “I have already passed it” in his/her head. It is not easy to convince him/her that there are noteworthy subtleties in the grammar he/she has learned, especially if these subtleties do not have any practical application. So, what new things should the new high school students learn?
Let’s start with the fact that no matter how much the standards define a certain level of mastery of oral, written, and non-verbal means of communication for the 9th grade graduate, it is incomprehensible how to achieve it, especially since the ability to listen is ignored among the final results. Although it is mentioned in the “Standards”: “When compiling the content of the subject “Literature” for grades 7-9, the student’s interests due to age characteristics, psychology, as well as ensuring the continuity of the formation of structural, systematic and critical thinking are taken into account”, a clear conclusion is not appropriate when studying literary material, therefore, it is not clear whether the conclusion is the result of critical thinking, being influenced by the opinions of other readers, or being imposed by literary critics or the teacher.
Here, the choice of communication material is important: the above-mentioned abilities develop more quickly through non-fiction text. For the 10th grade “Culture of Speech” course (a component of the “Armenian Language” field), I also choose an informational text to develop the mentioned skills. I draw attention to the information contained in the text, the way it is conveyed, and the vocabulary, in particular, we follow the number of foreign words or professional terms in the speech. We pay attention to why the author needed them. After the analysis, I suggest guessing who the speech we are studying is addressed to, what its purpose is, and how successful the speaker is (Armenian Language, 10, assignment of 03.10.24). It is not always the case that a well-structured speech with a clear purpose becomes the material of the lesson; sometimes we learn from the mistakes of others. Today’s technical possibilities make any speech experiment accessible, but a publication made for an aimless or absurd purpose forms an attitude not so much towards the content of the publication as towards its author. This should at least lead students to the idea of not publicly engaging in empty talk (Armenian Language, 10, assignment of 19.11.24).
It is not always a well-structured speech with a clear purpose that becomes lesson material; sometimes we learn from the mistakes of others. Today’s technical capabilities make any verbal experimentation accessible, but a publication made without a purpose or with an absurd purpose creates an attitude not so much towards the content of the publication, but towards its author. This should at least lead learners to the idea of not publicly engaging in empty talk.
People who have matured to a certain extent in the 10th grade undoubtedly understand that new and constantly renewed relationships require a more vigilant attitude towards the environment. That is why it is necessary to learn to listen first. The human desire to impress usually interferes with listening to the other person; it is necessary to take care that the student begins to think about the quality of the impression made as well.
It is also necessary to master “listening” to the subtext of speech: understanding the subtext, also the purpose of speech, should certainly ensure the perception of the text received by the person and the manifestation of an appropriate attitude and evaluation. Here we are helped by various, sometimes also contradictory, journalistic texts. Students get acquainted with several techniques of forming opinions and approaches in the public, and then evaluate the text presented to them accordingly. Here we often use well-known advertising texts as material. Students are also given the task of creating an advertising text, using the techniques they have learned to influence the public.
By the way, the articles of their teachers also become the subject of discussion for the students. I usually transcribe them into the lesson of the day without mentioning the author, in order to avoid bias. But since today’s technology allows the author to be identified in seconds, I have suggested using only my articles for this year’s course and have set a precondition to be ruthless towards the author.
2. Non-verbal means of communication
Thus, the goal of the speech culture course in the 10th grade is to develop students’ communication skills, as a result of which they will not only be able to construct active and persuasive speech, but also critically approach the speech they receive and show an appropriate attitude towards it. Here, the non-verbal means of speech, body language, facial expressions, and gestures are important. These are, of course, studied at a sufficient level. We usually use Armenian short films (“The Master and the Servant”, “Tzhvzhik”, “The Golden Calf”, etc.), where facial expressions and gestures are emphasized.
But the means that are deliberately used to achieve the appropriate effect of influence are also noteworthy: clothing, colors, accessories, etc. In this regard, the most striking means are, of course, images. During the course, we use not only the works of famous artists, but also other images, from posters to coats of arms. The results are interesting: coat of arms, canvases, posters, etc.
The artistically presented character, as we find out with the students, may differ from the real character. After all, the artist’s attitude to the model is also expressed here. After this task, I suggest making a portrait of one of my friends in a verbal text. The experience of the past two years has shown that some emotional obstacles arise when describing a friend. That is why this year I suggested that everyone make their own portrait using certain means of imagery: here is an example. After this, it is easy to move on to another genre of self-presentation: business writing: writing a resume (CV) and a motivational letter. I draw the students’ attention to the choice of style according to the purpose. I emphasize that it is important to easily obtain the necessary information for the addressee of the writing.
Based on the collected experience, within the framework of speech culture, we learn, of course, to argue politely, to argue, to substantiate what is said, to express a position. The reviews turned out to be interesting with the task of defending or denying the given provision (around March 8: according to boys and according to girls; about films).
Obstacles
Two times two is always four. However, speech culture has many criteria that often contradict each other. It is necessary to speak (write) concretely but impressively, sincerely but convincingly, to win over the listener but not to reach flattery, and so on. Among all this, evaluation becomes a real challenge. The merits and shortcomings of a learner’s constructed speech often counterbalance each other, and it becomes unclear why the teacher is not impressed with their work – could it be they don’t like them?
From this mood arises the second obstacle: “what does this have to do with the subject of ‘Armenian Language’?” The educational community always resists new things, so it’s not at all easy to establish the relevance of new content.
The third challenge is the accessibility of artificial intelligence, which students don’t just use but exploit – reassigning to it any type of written task. Here perhaps it is necessary to think-create such an environment and circumstances where the skills intended for oral speech culture would be necessary.
Let’s summarize: it is deeply rooted in society that the supreme goal of school is to prepare for exams. However, throughout life, a person needs to relate to others, be understood, and understand others. In this sense, the traditional attitude toward speech culture is outdated. It is necessary to work extensively and fundamentally with different types of texts, having in one’s arsenal public speeches, interviews, written commentaries, articles, speeches delivered for special purposes, and other types of speech samples, as well as images and other non-verbal communication expressions that are publicized and perceived during a specific time period in the context of current events, authored by specific people for specific purposes. For students to notice the intention and techniques used by others, it is necessary not only to consistently and thoroughly analyze texts but also to construct speech with specific intent themselves, using one or two of the most common techniques.