CAPE COMMUNICATION TEXTBOOK

Hey guys...for those who did not know I wrote a textbook for my favorite subject...yeah couldn't let my favorite people suffer from panic attacks because there was no specific text that catered for CAPE Communication Studies. It's out and available from Ishmael Khan, Metropolitan Bookstore, The Source, UWI Booshop, Nelson's Bookshop in Tobago and for those who just love to shop via the 'net it's available at Amazon.com...just Google and voila!!!. So far those who have used the book have had great many things to say about it but the most common thought was ...IT'S SOOOO STUDENT FRIENDLY!!" Well I am blushing but seriously I aimed to please and I am really pleased that you my favorite 'ppls' are pleased.!!!!!
Feel free to post a comment.

SAMPLE ESSAY FOR SELVON'S LONELY LONDONERS

SAMPLE ESSAY FOR MODULE TWO QUESTION
Response to Samuel Selvon’s Lonely Londoners (Excerpt pp. 76 – 77)

Word length should be approximately 500 words!!!!

In the extract from Samuel Selvon’s “The Lonely Londoners” I will be analysing the dialectal variation, the attitudes to language, communicative behaviours and registers all of which were either utilized or exhibited by the characters.
In nearly all instances a person’s choice of dialectal variation is influenced by certain factors such as first language, language that he/she is comfortable with, the audience involved and sometimes the content of the message. In the excerpt there exist two dialectal variations namely the Creole and the Standard English. Galahad, to all evidence was a West Indian and spoke the Creole throughout the excerpt as seen in these examples of his speech, “Where I living.” The Creole feature present here is the absence of the verb and in the next instance, “You like it? Where the Creole feature is the absence of the verb “Do” and instead the only indication that this was meant to be a question would be the inflection in his voice at the end. Daisy, on the other hand spoke Standard English as seen in her examples of speech, “Is this your room?” The presence of the verb at the beginning of the sentence indicates the interrogative/question type.
A person’s can exhibit either positive or negative attitudes towards the language choice of another person because of what they perceive to be the better language. Attitudes are influenced by factors such as their perception of superior as against inferior language, their perception of Creole as the language of the slaves, the uneducated, and the lower class. Subsequently, the same person may believe that Standard English when chosen is superior and better shows that the speaker is educated, in a high income range and recognises that Standard English can indicate the speaker’s goal for upward mobility. In the excerpt we see two distinct attitudes to language; Daisy’s criticism of Galahad’s language choice as seen in her, “You know it will take me some time to understand everything you say.” and Galahad’s defensive attitude as seen in his, “What wrong with it?...Is English we speaking.” Galahad’s response shows that he is quite proud of using Creole as he considers not only a language but English language!
Daisy’s quiet behaviour, Galahad apparent stalling, Daisy’s shifting about and walking hand in hand are all examples of communicative behaviours. These behaviours send messages to the other person involved and usually accompany the spoken words. In the case of Daisy’s quiet behaviour a reader can surmise that she was anxious and nervous about what was going to happen in Galahad’s room as for Galahad’s stalling we can take this as him feeling ashamed and not wanting Daisy to see the low conditions that she was living in. Normally when a person shifts about restlessly he is sending a message that she is very uncomfortable with the situation and in this case Daisy’s discomfort came across in her shifting about restlessly. Walking hand in hand is a sign of intimacy as apparent in this scenario.
The choice of register is dependent on the audience, the context or situation and the content. Registers also relate to the communicative behaviours and in this case Galahad and Daisy are very close friends, “Come and go in the yard.” ... who were on the verge of taking the relationship to the intimate level as seen in Galahad taking off his good clothes in front of Daisy and putting them away. The context here was certainly intimate.

In conclusion, it is duly noted that the writer has successfully engaged all four elements that we were required to analyse , thus rendering the passage quite appropriate for analysis.

THE BENEFITS OF GOALS SETTING


INTRODUCTION

Setting goals with students is an important process that can, unfortunately, become lost in the day-to-day mechanics of program and classroom management. By understanding the importance of goal setting; however, both students and teachers can make this process a valuable educational experience to facilitate teachers’ understanding of their students as well as the students’ understanding of themselves.


HOW DOES GOAL SETTING BENEFIT OUR STUDENTS?

Goal setting serves to establish a partnership with the students. The goal setting process:

Ø Promotes learner ownership by establishing the student as an agent in learning.
Ø Helps students become aware of the differences between short-term and long-term needs.
Ø Provides students with opportunities for success.
Ø Helps students set realistic expectations as they realize that everything they set to accomplish will not happen overnight but rather in a more realistic time frame.
Ø Helps low self-esteem students gradually develop into new, rekindled, high self-esteem learners.
Ø Helps students become self-motivated and persistent in the pursuit of life-long learning.
Ø Allows students to learn that goals can and do change.
Ø Helps students learn to reflect of their progress or lack of progress toward goals and modify and set new goals, as needed.



WHAT IS THE TEACHER’S ROLE IN STUDENT GOAL SETTING?


Student goal setting allows teachers to specifically target their classroom instructions. When the instruction comes directly from the learners’ goals, instructors give the students exactly what is needed to promote their success. As a result:

Ø Authentic goal setting should inform curriculum development.
Ø As students begin to “own” their learning the teacher becomes a facilitator.
Ø This ownership and progress encourages students to learn outside the classroom.
Ø Both students and teacher measure progress as it relates to the achievement of short-term and long-term goals.
Ø Students are equipped with a skill that enables them to learn and grow beyond the classroom.

final study tips

final study tips

CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES: WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

Communication has been generally defined as the imparting of information (Webster's, 2001). According to the (American Heritage, 2000) communication is, "The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior,"

So you have been trying to get a message to your friend, you have called, texted, written e-mails, sent the message via another mutual friend and there has been no response. So then, have you communicated with your friend? The answer is "no", your message sending has been one way and thus far totally unsuccessful. Attempted, unsuccessful, unidirectional sending of messages is not communication, but it can be called "attempted communication."

"Communication" is a process (Noun). "Communicate" is an action (Verb). "A communication" is a message. Sending a message or in this cases, messages is not the same as communicating. You could say that by leaving the messages for your friend, you have initiated communication. It could even be said that you are in the act of communicating. But, until your friend accepts your text message, opens it, reads your message, and understands and give the appropriate response to your words--only when all of that happen--you have only attempted communication. As long as your messages remain unanswered, the communication attempt is still in progress. When, after 15 days your text message is deleted--we can officially declare the process as a failed communication.

Communication can be successful or unsuccessful. Successful communication requires a recipient to understand the message that was sent. Communication is said to be unsuccessful when either the message that was sent did not reach its target, or the message that reached its target was not understood. A message sent and received, but not understood is a "failed or unsuccessful communication."

SOME SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES PORTFOLIO

Hi Students...Remember it's not too early to begin PREPARATIONS!!!
From past experience I know that choosing your Portfolio topics can be a tedious exercise, so I am making these suggestions...sometimes as happened to some of my students, just having these suggestions can help you with coming up with your very own topic.
A gentle reminder though, remember that a very important criterion to consider when choosing a topic is that you must be able to gain access to Primary information (as from an interview) and Secondary information (as from books, internet articles etc).
Good Luck!

SOME SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES PORTFOLIO

• Cricket: A Unifying factor/element in West Indian culture
• Single Parent Families: Good or Bad
• Under –achievement in the male population
• Tertiary Education: A Blessing or a Curse
• The Middle Child Syndrome
• CARICOM: Success or Failure
• Recession: Is There or isn’t there?
• Bring Back De Ole Time Days
• Fathers: The Missing Link
• West Indian Mothers: The strenght of the family
• Extra-curricular activities
• Prejudice in Relationships
• Violence in Schools: What are the causes and Solutions?
• Mental Illness a serious cause for concern
• Going Green: Making Environmentally Friendly Choices
• The World of Cyberspace
• Are You Addicted to the Internet
  
  
  

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO START TO PREPARE FOR CAPE COMMUNICATION STUDIES

Hey...I know that Communication Studies "jus' finished" and some of the Lower Sixes, soon to be Upper Sixes do not want to be reminded of any exam that is going to be nex' year!!! But I am a firm believer in the maxims that say "Make hay while the sun shines and the earlier you begin, the earlier you finish."

And so here I am welcoming students through out the Caribbean to the newest blog spot...catering solely to the needs and concerns of students doing and hoping to do Communication Studies in the future. I promise that I will try my hardest to support any student who makes his or her Communication Studies needs and requests known.

In the upcoming postings I will make available suggested answers to questions, sample essays of each Module and ideas for producing your best portfolio ever!!!

My aim is to support students to get the 1 that they are seeking in Communication Studies!

Welcome!