Before the session

It is important to understand what we mean by communication. Communication is about sharing information from one person to another person or a group of people. Every type of communication includes at least one sender and a receiver. The main types of communication people use, often together, every day are:  

  • Verbal communication: is the spoken words people use to communicate with others.
  • Non-verbal communication: refers to the tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language people use.
  • Written communication: is the written words people use to communicate with others.
  • Listening: refers to the active process of receiving, understanding, and interpreting verbal and nonverbal messages being communicated by other people.
  • Visual communication: refers to the transmission of information and ideas using symbols and imagery. It’s very powerful, there’s an expression in English which says this: a picture speaks 1000 words.

The way we communicate depends on who we are communicating with, and its purpose. 

Useful language

Below is some vocabulary you may to check members understanding of during this session:

Empathy: is feeling with people, it’s about recognising and acknowledging other people’s feelings and perspectives.

Observant: quick to notice things.

Misinformation: is incorrect or false information. 

Reliable: means consistently good and trustworthy.

Welcome (5 mins)

Make sure you’re in the meeting space 10-15 mins before the club starts. Depending on your registration process make sure you’ve a register either to tick people’s names off or for people to add their names too. Also, make sure the suggestion box is visible for members to see and access, again make sure you’ve got papers and pens for people to make their recommendations / suggestions.

Greet members as they enter, invite them to sit/stand wherever they are comfortable. 

Start the club at the advertised time:

  1. Introduce yourself, what an English Club is, and your role during the club meeting.
  2. Tell members there are five golden rules they need to follow to ensure this meeting is an enjoyable experience for everyone.
  • Use English – don’t correct anyone’s English 
  • Be respectful and supportive. You may have different levels of understanding and abilities to contribute to the discussions.
  • Everyone has the right to an opinion.
  • Make sure everyone in your group has an opportunity to talk / ask questions. Max 3 mins per person per question.
  • All mobile phones off or put on silent.

 3. Ask members if they have any questions.

 4. Ask members if they are ready to start.

Warmer (15 mins)

How much?

  1. Put members into groups of four.
  2. Ask members, in their groups, to think about their typical day at work and how much of their day is spent communicating in some way?
  3. Give members one minute to discuss this and give you percentage (%).
  4. Ask each group for their percentage. The answer is 80%
  5. Ask members, to think about how much of their day they spend reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
  6. Give members 5 mins and tell them they need to give a percentage for each skill.
  7. Start the clock. Monitor, and give support where needed.
  8. When the time is up call out each skill and ask the groups for their percents: The correct answers, according to a research study are:
Reading 16%
Writing 9%
Speaking 30%
Listening 43%

 9. Ask members what they find surprising about those percents?

Main activity (1 hour)

Below are some question rounds, you don’t have to do all of them, let the club members guide you, if they are enjoying a question round let it run beyond the 17 minutes.

Round 1: Question 1 (20 mins)

  1. Put members into groups of 5-6 using the different types of communication people use every day: Verbal communication, Non-verbal communication, Visual information, Written communication, Listening etc.  
  2. Tell each group to introduce themselves to each other.
  3. Show / give each group the first question:  What do you think you do well when you communicate?
  4. Give support where needed. Encourage members to discuss all the different options and their outcomes. If members finish the first question quickly ask them to discuss: What is the purpose of communication? What communication skills are you working on or would like to develop further?
  5. After 17 mins facilitate feedback. Invite members to share what their communication strengths are.

Round 2: Question 2 (20 mins)

  1. Put members into groups of 5-6 using different tools of communication: Adverts; Newspapers, Radio, Telephone; Television etc. 
  2. Tell each group to introduce themselves to each other.
  3. Show / give each group the second question: How do you think will people communicate in the future?
  4. Monitor, give support where needed. Encourage turn-taking / asking questions.
  5. If members discuss the second questions quickly ask them to discuss: What problems do you see when it comes to the digital age and communication?; Do you think people can communicate with ghosts and spirits? Why/Why not?
  6. After 17 mins facilitate feedback. Invite members to share what their groups discussed.  

Round 3: Question 3 (20 mins)

  1. Put members into groups of 5-6 using different characteristics of a good communicator: good listener; empathetic; confident; friendly; observant etc. 
  2. Tell each group to introduce themselves to each other.
  3. Show / give each group the third question: Is the information shared on the internet more reliable than what is in newspapers or on TV?
  4. Monitor, give support where needed. Encourage turn-taking / asking questions.
  5. If members answer the question very quickly get them to discuss: How does social media contribute to misinformation? Has communication technology changed the way children learn?
  6. After 17 mins facilitate feedback. Invite members to share what their group members discussed.

Wrapping up (5 mins)

  1. Ask members how their meeting went. Did they enjoy discussions? Did they enjoy using English and listening to the other members using English?
  2. Ask members if the club met their expectations.
  3. Tell members there’s a suggestion box (point to it) where they can share topic ideas or activities we could do.
  4. Tell members when the next club meeting is and what the theme/topic is. Encourage them to come / bring a colleague etc.
  5. Thank everyone for coming.

Further resources

If the members enjoyed the club session you could share the following resources with them either on Facebook or in the English Club WhatsApp group:

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