Learning to listen

A Features piece published in the Oct. 26 issue of the Journal considered communication problems within the classroom. The article focused on the resources available to instructors who have difficulty communicating with students, including courses offered to English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching staff. The article also captured both student and faculty perspectives on communication barriers in teaching.

A communication barrier, affects both the student and the instructor, and poses challenges each side must be willing to tackle. This applies to any communication issue, whether it be an accent, a quiet voice or a tendency to speed through material.

Instructors must acknowledge that communication issues can complicate the learning process, and be prepared to repeat material, or explain material in a different way. Their teaching style should emphasize the communication of key points via visual representations. Furthermore, instructors need to let students know that they are open to feedback surrounding these issues.

This is in no way a commentary on the intelligence or qualifications of any instructor. A willingness to facilitate learning applies regardless of whether or not an instructor has difficulty communicating with students. Instructors at all levels and from all backgrounds should work to improve their ability to teach. However, the responsibility is not on the shoulders of the instructor alone.

Communication issues can present real obstacles to students, impairing learning or forcing them to drop out of an important course. But simply giving up because an instructor is difficult to understand is purely an act of laziness.

Just as instructors need to be open to improving their teaching, students need to make an effort to facilitate their own learning. International Vice-Provost John Dixon does well to point out the reality of this scenario, stating that this skill is a realistic part of “engagement with diverse people in the world.”

Instructors and students alike need to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of the University Survey of Student Assessment of Teaching (USAT), the primary method of student feedback. While an instructor who relies on the USATs alone to inform their teaching style is short-changing the students they teach, students who fail to complete these forms diligently are depriving the instructor of constructive feedback. A personal attack on an instructor in a USAT evaluation doesn’t help them improve.

Ultimately, the solution to communication problems is more communication.

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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