How can universities bridge gaps in official languages proficiency?

Pupils of Nyakeore Primary School read through the books which were donated to them by a group of US kids under the banner of Friends of Africa. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard]

There are plans to have Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) offer English lessons to its students {nurses} in a bid to bridge gaps in communication skills {read English proficiency} laid bare last year when hundreds of nurses were locked out of job opportunities in the UK. This fiasco is just one of the many instances when/where prospective employers, although impressed by the technical know-how of a candidate, get frustrated by their glaring gaps in communication skills. They can’t write grammatically sound emails, can’t articulate their thoughts, can’t present a pitch etc. And language – written and oral – is the medium of communication in this context.

The top significant labour market communication skills are as follows: demonstrating the ability to listen effectively; comprehending oral and written instructions from supervisors and communication from co-workers; speaking the official language clearly, fluently and accurately; reading and understanding work instructions and standard operating procedures; and completing pertinent office forms, report sheets, tender documentation, work plans and specifications, incident report forms and notes. And these are the indicators communication skills gap demonstrated by modern-day graduates.

Institutions of learning that ‘turn the dial’ on a robust language policy and communication skills are able to mould not only technically sound individuals but effective communicators as well. Students’ language abilities in vocabulary, syntax, morphology and other areas of language structure ought to be top-notch. In this light, much needs to be done in the development of communication skills, especially in how students effectively use language and apply themselves in different social contexts.

Language proficiency and communication skills are mostly introduced at the elementary level, taught through middle and high school and stressed/sharpened in higher education. The teaching of such skills is given a premium in secondary education hence the importance of such club activities like public speaking contests, debates, writing and spelling competitions, etc. However, many students still demonstrate glaring gaps in the official languages when they join higher education. Does this mean, therefore, that the aforementioned afterschool activities and models of learning in our secondary schools are not having much impact in enhancing language proficiency at their level?

Or, could it be that teachers need to up their game, devise new strategies in order to have the desired impact on the learners? And if so, then how?

Here is what methinks;

1. As educators, we need to, as a matter of tradition, model impeccable presentations skills as we instruct the young ones. We need to impress upon learners that this is a skill that takes a learning curve. And these skill sets ought to be effectively incorporated into the curriculum of Teacher Training, and where the opportunity has passed, teachers and school authorities should find ways of ensuring that their team attain such skills and students can learn from them.

 2. Seeing as there is dwindling standards of writing skills in the young ones, occasioned mainly by technology, educators ought to be deliberate about fixing this from an early age. Again, this should not be limited to an instructional approach, it should be demonstrated practically by the instructors. Let learners see how it is done. Yes, I know it is demanding. The teaching profession, if well practised, is truly demanding. Those who know this have their teachers well-motivated and compensated. But I digress.

 3. Since Kenya decided that English would be one of its official languages - which is a plus for those seeking employment in English speaking countries abroad -  our teachers must be well versed in its usage. And to borrow a leaf from the IB, all teachers are considered language teachers. Because communication is at the centre of everything.   And so, if teachers miss the boat anywhere along the way, it is never too late to learn. The point is teachers and school authorities should see it as a sacred duty to ensure that those for whom they are responsible for, are not only given correct grammatical guidelines but also taught how to pronounce words properly. Schools, therefore, ought to ensure that both its teachers and students just get it right!  

 4. I remember during my early days in the practice, I introduced a language policy to help learners sharpen their speaking skills in the two official languages – English and Kiswahili. The response from a section of the faculty was tepid, if not indifferent. Needless to say, the idea didn’t fly. We need to sharpen ourselves first before we can effectively sharpen the young ones. Watching our diction, our prepositions, even having a bit of flair. We ought to not only teach, but also model good listening skills, non-verbal cues and communication, good conversation skills etc.

 So, what next after the instructors at elementary, primary and high school levels have upped their game? Institutions of higher learning must not drop the ball. They must work to sharpen further, if not augment effective communication skills in learners, with a view of preparing them for not only the labour market but life in general.   

Universities ought to introduce Communication Skills (CS) courses in all three or four years of undergraduate education as a spiral form of the syllabus. This will give students time to reflect on what they learn. Teaching almost the same concept with only different levels of complexity each semester or year will remind students to apply the knowledge in each year of their studies and even at workplaces after graduation.

The government is also urged to hire more academic staff to minimise the teacher-student ratio which is too high at the moment. Language or skills learning is effective when there is an interaction, and the teacher-student ratio in many of our higher learning institutions in the country is too high, too lopsided.

Students need to actively practice these skills after the learning sessions. They need to practice writing commentaries or applying the learned skills such as note-taking, citation and referencing to improve their works/assignments because knowing the skills alone is not enough, they must apply the skills in the Communication Skills course as well as transfer the skills to their specialised programmes. The instructors of the Communication Skills courses, and those teaching other courses need to work together/cooperate in enhancing students’ Communication Skills through insisting students to apply the skills, and also by evaluating the language or CS components in students works.

In 2012, research conducted by Dr Rahma Ibrahim Al-Mahrooqi, an Associate Professor of English at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman, studied how English communication skills are taught in Oman’s schools and higher education institutions. His study highlighted the results of integrating communication skills into the Omani school and university curriculum and the development this has made in their education system. The integration of English communication skills was made more vital by the fact that English is not spoken as a native language in Oman. Hence, teachers have to deal with communication skills explicitly in the classroom.

Their curricula (schools and higher education institutions) involve students actively in their studies and in genuine communicative tasks. Scenarios involving different speech acts, sketches, drama, debates, creative storytelling, data collection from real life, interactive video or film viewing, creating conversations and role-play, and using literature circles are all activities that have encouraged students to speak and use the language. Curricula and teaching methods across higher education institutions in terms of communication skills instruction are identical in the tertiary sector. Additionally, explicit instruction on pragmatics is added to these activities – strongly emphasising rules for the appropriate use of language – which has produced positive results. However, since most teachers there are not well-trained to integrate communication skills, the Ministry of Education, colleges and universities provided professional development courses to demonstrate to teachers how this can be done. These steps have ensured that students at all levels are well grounded in their official language of choice and hence possess and demonstrate good and effective communication skills.