Schools miss the mark to teach effective communication

Schools miss the mark to teach effective communication

Students are challenged to communicate properly as schools are struggling to teach speech to a necessary standard, according to the Speech Communications Association (SCA) which will provide teachers with guidelines at their conference on October 12-13 at Kings School, Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland.

“Speech and Oral language is more than presenting. It is important that youth get the confidence and skills they need to succeed in life and communicate effectively. Without this we will always struggle to lift our literacy rates in NZ” says Del Costello, SCA member and Director of Tall Poppies Group

Schools can interpret oral language requirements as preparing PowerPoint presentations, learning the content and presenting to the class, with a minimal amount of speech and confidence skills gained. Teachers don’t have the tools teach oral language effectively. It’s the cornerstone to literacy and educational success

The gap of speech education is more prevalent in boys

“Boys behaviour gets worse over time if they are not taught to communicate their emotions effectively. They suppress their emotions and then act out more than usual, creating a high social cost,” says Jon Winder, an honorary SCA member and co-founder of the B-Cool Program for Boys

 “Professionals in the corporate world are now having speech and confidence coaching to succeed in everyday tasks, such as presentations, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations. Everyone from teachers and lawyers to CEOs,” says Dianne Jones, President of SCA and tutor of radio and television at Christchurch Polytechnic Broadcasting School.  

Costello and Winder will address these issues at the annual SCA conference at Kings School in Remuera. “Finding our voice” is the focus of the event, bringing together both speech and communication professionals and teachers

SCA is the governing body of speech communication in New Zealand. SCA aims to promote and advance all aspects of theatre arts and speech communication by ensuring the maintenance of professional standards so their members can become better communicators. SCA hosts conferences and holds seminars and workshops for its members to develop their speech communication skills. They help their members pass Speech New Zealand and Trinity College of London exams

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