Communication Skills for Working Life (3 cr)

Evaluation scale

0-5

Objective

The students are:
- able to act in an appropriate and skillful way in various communication and interaction situations faced in the world of work.
- able to function in different communication situations taking the recipient, the situation, and the requirements of their professional field into consideration, and to communicate in a structured, intelligible and convincing manner.
- aware of different communication styles in different cultures and they can use this knowledge in their communication.
- able to write appropriate texts, e.g. summaries and reports, and they are familiar with JAMK’s Project Reporting Instructions.

Content

The contents of the course are selected from the following, according to the requirements of the degree programme concerned:
1) Work-related group communication (e.g. principles of group communication; discussion, listening and argumentation skills; presentations, procedures, documentation and feedback in the most common work-related communication situations; self-assessment and peer assessment, solving conflicts)
2) Expert-to-expert communication (e.g. target-oriented development of one’s own communication competence; work-related text types; role of communication culture and non-verbal communication)
3) Official-style report in accordance with JAMK’s Project Reporting Instructions.

Materials

Provided by the course lecturer.Liukko, S. & Perttula, S. (The latest edition). Project Reporting Instructions. Jyväskylä: JAMK University of Applied Sciences.

Completion alternatives

Oral skills: presentations and/or other oral assignments (e.g. company presentation, presentations on communication issues in different cultures, work-related oral communication)and/or exam(s);50 % Written skills: written assignments (e.g. summaries, reports, essays)and/or exam(s); 50% Continuous demonstration of skills considered.

Student workload

- lectures 30 hrs - virtual study 20 hrs - assignments 21 hrs - independent study 10 hrs Total 81 hrs (one credit equals 27 hours of student work).

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

If the student does not meet the minimum criteria set for the course, the grade is 0 (Fail).

1 The students are able to communicate sufficiently in simple and routine working life situations. Oral and written communication is, at times, incoherent and inappropriate in style. Their skills of considering and using different communication styles are limited.

2 The students are able to communicate comprehensibly in written and oral working life situations although communication may be incoherent at times. They are aware of different communication styles required by different target groups and cultures, but they are not always able to adapt their knowledge.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

3 The students are able to communicate relatively fluently in an appropriate style in written and oral working life situations. They can, for the most part, take different communication styles into consideration also in multicultural working life situations.

4 The students are able to communicate fluently in written and oral working life situations using an appropriate style. They are aware of cultural differences in communication and can adapt their communication style according to each target group.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

5 The students are able to communicate very fluently and take an active role even in demanding written and oral working life situations applying the acquired knowledge in practice. They are able to use an appropriate style in each situation and are also aware of different communication styles in different cultures, and can adapt this knowledge.

Qualifications

Good writing and speaking skills in English.

Further information

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