Alina Dumitru
S1801774
Unit 1- Task 4
Developing effective communication
In my work placement I was going to a nursery that has got children between two
months to five years old. I was only focusing on children that are three to four years
old as they needed more support with their colours, numbers, animals and also
following instructions carefully. The events that happened while I was there was to
prepare for the Christmas show for the parents and I had to make sure that children
know their lines and that they have their costumes ready for the event.
While I was at placement I have observed five barriers to communication. These are:
● Behaviour of some children
● Lighting
● Noise
● Minimal English
● Sitting
Behaviour of some children:
This is a barrier because some children do not listen to instructions and they end up
making communication way harder. The fact that they are misbehaving and they do
not listen to their conversation with the teacher makes it hard for the teacher to make
the instructions clear to the child. A challenging behaviour can reduce the
communication as most people do not like to communicate around people that have
an unpleasant behaviour and they know that communication cannot be used when
someone is not showing that they are listening (Blog, 2015). To overcome this
barrier, me and the teacher decided to give stickers to the children that were having
a good behaviour, and this is how the child that was misbehaving decided to sit
down with the rest of the group and listen carefully to the instructions, so he can get
a sticker.
Lighting:
Lighting is a barrier to communication in a nursery because without a good lighting,
teachers will not be able to use gestures to make it easier for the children to
understand what they have to do. Poor lighting is not effective when teachers try to
communicate with each other because, while the children are sleeping all the lights
have to be shut and teachers are in different parts of the nursery, so communication
when it's dark couldn’t be effectively used because their gestures and face
expressions were hard to recognise. To overcome the barrier, the teachers that had
to communicate about something very important, had to go to the staff room and
leave other teachers to look after the children when they are sleeping.
, Alina Dumitru
S1801774
Unit 1- Task 4
Noise:
Noise can reduce the use of communication as people will not be able to hear each
other (Fleximize, 2020) . For example, if one of the people that the communication is
going on between is blind, that person needs to hear the whole conversation and no
noise is allowed. When I was at placement, the teachers were trying to
communicate, but because of the noises that the children were making, they could
not understand each other perfectly. To overcome this barrier, we have decided that
we should tell the children that it is respectful to be quiet when teachers are talking to
each other so they can understand what each other is saying.
Minimal English:
Minimal English can be a barrier when we communicate because when someone
does not speak English properly it is hard for that person to communicate effectively.
In the nursery we had a little girl that spoke minimal English and it was very hard for
the teachers to communicate with her as she might not understand and she won’t be
able to answer back. To minimise this barrier, we found out what language she
speaks at home and she was talking the same language as me, which is Romanian.
The teacher decided that it is more beneficial if I communicate with her in Romanian
so the teachers can understand what she wants and they will have some answers to
their questions.
Sitting:
Sitting can also be a barrier to communication because if the people that are having
a conversation are not facing each other, then it is impossible for them to have
effective communication. In the nursery that I had work experience in, the tables in
the classroom did not face each other. When the teacher will want to communicate
with them while having lunch, she won’t know if the children are listening because
they are not facing her and they cannot make eye contact. To overcome this barrier,
we decided that everytime we have lunch, one teacher will sit with them at one table
and another teacher will sit with them at the other table so we can make sure that the
information is being followed successfully and the communication is effective.
S1801774
Unit 1- Task 4
Developing effective communication
In my work placement I was going to a nursery that has got children between two
months to five years old. I was only focusing on children that are three to four years
old as they needed more support with their colours, numbers, animals and also
following instructions carefully. The events that happened while I was there was to
prepare for the Christmas show for the parents and I had to make sure that children
know their lines and that they have their costumes ready for the event.
While I was at placement I have observed five barriers to communication. These are:
● Behaviour of some children
● Lighting
● Noise
● Minimal English
● Sitting
Behaviour of some children:
This is a barrier because some children do not listen to instructions and they end up
making communication way harder. The fact that they are misbehaving and they do
not listen to their conversation with the teacher makes it hard for the teacher to make
the instructions clear to the child. A challenging behaviour can reduce the
communication as most people do not like to communicate around people that have
an unpleasant behaviour and they know that communication cannot be used when
someone is not showing that they are listening (Blog, 2015). To overcome this
barrier, me and the teacher decided to give stickers to the children that were having
a good behaviour, and this is how the child that was misbehaving decided to sit
down with the rest of the group and listen carefully to the instructions, so he can get
a sticker.
Lighting:
Lighting is a barrier to communication in a nursery because without a good lighting,
teachers will not be able to use gestures to make it easier for the children to
understand what they have to do. Poor lighting is not effective when teachers try to
communicate with each other because, while the children are sleeping all the lights
have to be shut and teachers are in different parts of the nursery, so communication
when it's dark couldn’t be effectively used because their gestures and face
expressions were hard to recognise. To overcome the barrier, the teachers that had
to communicate about something very important, had to go to the staff room and
leave other teachers to look after the children when they are sleeping.
, Alina Dumitru
S1801774
Unit 1- Task 4
Noise:
Noise can reduce the use of communication as people will not be able to hear each
other (Fleximize, 2020) . For example, if one of the people that the communication is
going on between is blind, that person needs to hear the whole conversation and no
noise is allowed. When I was at placement, the teachers were trying to
communicate, but because of the noises that the children were making, they could
not understand each other perfectly. To overcome this barrier, we have decided that
we should tell the children that it is respectful to be quiet when teachers are talking to
each other so they can understand what each other is saying.
Minimal English:
Minimal English can be a barrier when we communicate because when someone
does not speak English properly it is hard for that person to communicate effectively.
In the nursery we had a little girl that spoke minimal English and it was very hard for
the teachers to communicate with her as she might not understand and she won’t be
able to answer back. To minimise this barrier, we found out what language she
speaks at home and she was talking the same language as me, which is Romanian.
The teacher decided that it is more beneficial if I communicate with her in Romanian
so the teachers can understand what she wants and they will have some answers to
their questions.
Sitting:
Sitting can also be a barrier to communication because if the people that are having
a conversation are not facing each other, then it is impossible for them to have
effective communication. In the nursery that I had work experience in, the tables in
the classroom did not face each other. When the teacher will want to communicate
with them while having lunch, she won’t know if the children are listening because
they are not facing her and they cannot make eye contact. To overcome this barrier,
we decided that everytime we have lunch, one teacher will sit with them at one table
and another teacher will sit with them at the other table so we can make sure that the
information is being followed successfully and the communication is effective.
