COMMUNICATION

Vocabulary

Types of spoken communication

A discussion when two or more people discuss a specific matter. It is often a formal
situation where topics are discussed, often from different points of view.

A conversation where two or more people talk informally. There may not be a specific
topic to discuss or different points of view.

A dialogue very similar to a discussion, although often more formal and with the aim
of finding a solution to a specific problem.

An interview a formal meeting where a person is asked questions and their answers are
either evaluated or reported.

A monologue a single person speaking for a prolonged period. This is often used in
acting, but can also indicate that someone has dominated the conversation and it is only them
speaking.

A speech when a speaker talks in front of an audience for a given purpose (e.g. A
wedding speech).

A lecture a speech given to an audience or class, especially for teaching purposes

A debate similar to a discussion, but often used as a formal contest of different points
of view (e.g. A political debate)

communicating without speaking

Body language how a person positions themselves (e.g. Facing someone, looking at the
floor, crossing their arms) that tells us how someone feels.

Non-verbal communication similar to sign language, but this can be clear, pre-
arranged signals. A policeman directing traffic, for example, often uses his/her arms to tell
drivers where to go, when to stop etc. this is non-verbal communication.

Sign language use of the hands to show words and meaning used by (and to
communicate to) deaf people.

Language

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 Mother tongue (also called native language or first language) this is the language
you were brought up listening to and speaking

Bilingual the ability to speak fluently and accurately in two languages

Multilingual the ability to speak fluently and accurately in more than two languages

Polyglot a person who is multilingual

Types of communicator / listener

Active listener someone who listens and asks feedback questions to make sure they
understood.

Inattentive someone who does not pay close attention to what is being said or shown

Miscellaneous vocabulary for communication

Gossip talking about the personal or private affairs of other people (often based only in
rumours, not facts).

Hint an indirect clue or indication, something not said directly (e.g. she hinted that she
would like a new computer for her birthday, but didnt say so directly).

Confession admitting something that was wrong, illegal or shameful (he gave a
confession to the police about the car he stole)

Body language - communicating with your body (wave, slouching) censorship - deleting
or covering parts of media (books, movies, websites)
Colleague - somebody that you work with
Facial expression - communicating using facial features (smiling, winking)
Gossip - talking about other people. The information is often untrue
Journalism - the profession of reporting or photographing or editing news stories for one
of the media
Pamphlet - a small paper book that contains information about an argument
Propaganda - when the media favours certain kinds of stories or distorts messages to
influence the opinions of behaviour of people.
Social media - online tools for communication such as facebook and twitter.
Tabloid - a newspaper having pages half the size of those of a standard newspaper.
Usually includes information about celebrity gossip and sensational headlines
Telecommunication - communicating over long distances
User-friendly - if something, especially something related to a computer, is user-friendly,
it is simple for people to use

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Sample questions

Q1: what is the most remarkable advantages of mobile phones?

contact friends and family anywhere and any time, not miss important calls, use for
emergencies or in need of help, take photos to capture memories, connect to the internet and
check emails.

Q2: how did people contact each other before the telephone was invented?
letters, telegrams, urgent messages, invention of telephones

Q3: what inconvenience may the use of mobile phones cause?

busy with cell phones even when important events are going on, limit face-to-face time with
friends and family

Q5: what difficulties may arise when people communicate without being able to see each
other, by telephone or e-mail for example?
misunderstand, unreliable messages/ phone calls, lack of facial expression/ personal touch

Sample reading
How technologies benefit communication

Throughout history, developments in technology and communications have gone hand-in-hand,

and the latest technological developments such as the internet have resulted in the advancement
of the science of communication to a new level.

The process of human communication has evolved over the years, with many path-breaking
inventions and discoveries heralding (bo hiu, du hiu, a tin) revolutions or a lift from one
level to another.
1. The invention of pictographs (ch tng hnh) or the first written communication in the
ancient world heralded written communication. These writings were on stone and
remained immobile (bt ng).
2. The invention of paper, papyrus, and wax, culminating (cc im l) in the invention of the
printing press in the 15th century, made possible transfer of documents from one place to
another, allowing for uniformity (s ng dng) of languages over long distances.
3. The latest revolution is the widespread application of electronic technology such as
electronic waves and signals to communication, manifesting (biu l) in the electronic creation
and transfer of documents over the world wide web.
Speed and costs

The most significant impact of technology on communication is the spread of the internet and the
possibility of sending emails and chatting. In the pre-information technology days, a document

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often required re-typing on the typewriter before the final version. Sending the letter across a
distance to someone else required a visit to the post office and a postage stamp. Faster methods
such as telegrams had severe limitations in text, and remained costly.

Computers and the internet have made easy the process of creating and editing documents and
applying features such as spell check and grammar check automatically. Email allows sending
the document to any part of the globe within seconds, making telegrams and even ordinary letters
mostly obsolete ( li thi). The internet has thus increased the speed of
communications manifold (nhiu ln), and reduced the costs drastically.
Quality

The huge amount of knowledge accessible by a click of the mouse has helped improve the
quality of communication. Translating a text from an unfamiliar language to a familiar language,
seeking out the meaning of an unknown word, and getting follow up information on an
unfamiliar concept are all possible thanks to the internet.

Technology allows easy storage and retrieval (s truy tm li) of communication when needed,
especially verbal communication, the storage of which was very difficult before. It now becomes
easier to rewind and clear misconceptions rather than make assumptions, or contacting the
person again to clear doubt.
Change in style

The invention of new gadgets such as mobile phones makes communication easier by allowing
people to communicate from anywhere. An underestimated impact of mobile gadgets is their
impact on the nature of communications. The nature of such impact includes the following:
the possibility of high quality communication from anywhere in the world to anywhere else at
low costs has led to a marked decline in face-to-face communications and to an increased
reliance on verbal and written communication over electronic mediums.
the small keyboards in mobile phone and other hand-held devices that make typing difficult
has resulted in a radical shortening of words and increasing use of symbol and shortcuts, with
little or no adherence (s lin quan gn b) to traditional grammatical rules. Such change now
finds increasing acceptance in the business community.
communication has become concise (sc tch) and short, and the adage (cu chm
ngn) brevity (s ngn gn, sc tch) is the soul of wit finds widespread implementation,
though unintentionally.
Accessibility

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The answer to the question of how technology has changed communication is incomplete
without a mention of technology's role in the democratization (s dn ch ha) of
communication systems. Technology has brought down the costs of communication significantly
and improved peoples access to communication.

The proliferation (s gia tng nhanh) of online forums, live coverage of news, and other such
media related initiatives have resulted in world wide access and participation in news and
information for almost everyone.

In the realm (lnh vc) of business, access to communication or privileged information

was hitherto (cho n nay) a major source of competitive advantage. Technology helps remove
such barriers and ensure a level playing field in this aspect for the most part.
Nature of communication

The ease of communication and the spread of interactive communication methods such as instant
messengers and video conferencing have increased the volume of communications but reduced
their average length. People now communicate whatever comes up instantly, and tend to break
up different topics into different communications.

Finally, technologies integral (ko th thiu) to the internet help spread the net of communication
by tracking down old friends, shedding light on new business opportunities, creating new
opportunities for business and personal purchasing, and similar ventures.

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