Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy
Standards for K Through 12 Education
Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards for K through 12 Education is the first in a series of three documents. This document concentrates on speaking, listening, and media literacy standards.
The second document, Activities for Teaching to the Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy Standards, will set proficiency levels as they relate to speaking, listening, and media literacy and focus on in-class projects and assignments to aid in teaching toward the standards.
The third document, Assessing the Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy Standards, will present means for evaluating and testing the learning which results from teaching speaking, listening, and media literacy.
The present concept of educational standards for teaching and learning began in January 1992, when the National Council of Education Standards and Testing called for a system of voluntary standards in the "core" subjects of English, mathematics, history, geography, and science.1 The national education reform legislation, Goals 2000: Educate America Act, proposed the development of standards in a number of subject areas, including communication.2
Understanding and skill in communication must be a vital part of K through 12 education. The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meaning within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media.3 The subject matter of communication studies is drawn from both classical traditions and contemporary research. Teachers in the field of communication promote the effective and ethical practice of human communication.
There is growing awareness of the relationship between student success in grades K through 12 and competent verbal and visual communication skills. Many states now include speaking, listening, and media literacy in their curricula for English and language arts. Other organizations have produced standards for the reading and writing portions of the language arts.4 The National Communication Association, the largest international association of communication scholars and teachers, has undertaken the task of determining standards for speaking, listening, and media literacy.
Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy
Speaking, listening, and media literacy are three of the elements of communication. Each of these elements has distinguishing characteristics.
Speaking
The spoken word, essential to our individual and social development, remains a central way of conveying messages. Whether in daily informal interactions or more formal settings, communicators are required to design coherent messages, deliver them clearly, and adapt to their listeners. The process of speaking includes selecting a topic, gathering information, organizing the ideas, taking into account the characteristics of the listeners, and planning all aspects of the presentation.
Listening
Listening is the active process of receiving, interpreting, and responding to messages.5 People call on different listening skills depending on whether their goal is to understand and retain information, analyze and evaluate a message, show empathy for the feelings expressed by others, or appreciate a performance.
Media Literacy
Being a critical and reflective consumer of communication requires an understanding of how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in ways that are both subtle and profound. Mass media such as radio, television, and film, and electronic media such as the telephone, the Internet, and computer conferencing influence the way meanings are created and shared in contemporary society. So great is this impact that in choosing how to send a message and evaluate its effect, communicators need to be aware of the distinctive characteristics of each medium.
The Importance of Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy
Students listen to the equivalent of a book a day; talk the equivalent of a book a week; read the equivalent of a book a month; and write the equivalent of a book a year.6
Communication shapes our sense of self and the way we interact in our environment, from gathering and presenting information to managing conflict. Speaking, listening, and media literacy are fundamental to the process, purpose, and influence of interpersonal relations in the family, the workplace, and one-to-one social interactions.
Speaking, listening, and media literacy are learned skills. "Students must study and practice communication in order to achieve competence; it does not come naturally."7 It is a mistake to assume that because students can talk and hear when they enter school, they require no systematic instruction in understanding and using communication skills. Consider these findings:
 | Nearly 20 percent of the nation's young people cannot accomplish any of the simplest communication tasks, including relaying specific information, giving instructions, recounting details, defending personal opinions, and developing a persuasive argument; 63 percent cannot give clear oral directions.8 |
| 95 percent of the population reports some degree of anxiety about communicating with a person or in groups.9 |
| Adults listen at a 25 percent level of efficiency.10 |
| Watching television encourages children to form stereotypes, which they use to judge the world around them.11 Yet, most children have no formal training in being wise media consumers.12 |
Students need to be competent speakers, listeners, and media participants in a variety of settings including personal and social situations, in the classroom, at the workplace, and as citizens of a democratic society.
The essence of the teaching-learning process is communication. "The classroom consists of the verbal and nonverbal transactions between teacher and students and among students." 13 The ability to learn in a world of expanding information and cultural diversity demands competence in communication.
Communication competency is indispensable for successful participation in the world of work. The ability to communicate effectively will often determine a person's perceived over-all competency and level of success. The communication skills ranked as most important to job effectiveness include listening, persuading, advising, instructing, and small group problem solving.14
The study and practice of communication skills has been shown to reduce communication anxiety and to increase speaking and listening abilities.
Media literacy can help individuals become more aware and discerning citizens and consumers of ideas and products. In an increasingly technological world, students need to learn to understand how communication changes when moving from one medium to another, to be able to process information critically, and to create messages that are appropriate for both the medium of transmission and for the audiences of those messages.
We should no more deprive our students of intentional, organized education in speaking, listening, and media literacy than we would deprive them of instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, or science.
Criteria for Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards
The speaking, listening, and media literacy standards were developed to help students become effective communicators. These standards establish an organizational framework for communication content and skills and represent a collaborative view of communication educators concerning what constitutes education in speaking, listening, and media literacy.
The speaking, listening, and media literacy standards have been developed based on several assumptions:
| Acceptance of the standards should be voluntary. |
| The standards do not constitute a national curriculum. |
| The standards should serve as a framework for the development of curricula by individual states, school districts, and local schools. |
| The standards should be a living document that will be revisited and reexamined on a regular basis. |
| The standards should be both performance-based and knowledge-based. |
| The standards should relate to existing knowledge and skills in the area of speaking, listening, and media literacy. |
| The standards should be set at developmental levels that show growth in learning from grades K through 12. |
| The standards should not be all-inclusive, but should leave opportunity for additions deemed necessary by states, school districts, schools, and individual teachers. |
| The standards should be written in non-technical, non-academic language. |
The Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards
These speaking, listening and media literacy standards are intended to aid in the development of K through12 curricula. These standards focus on what effective communicators should be able to understand and do.
Fundamentals of Effective Communication
Effective communicators can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of . . .
- the relationships among the components of the communication process;
- the variables influencing the effectiveness of the components of the communication process;
- the various levels of the meanings of messages;
- the role of personal knowledge and the knowledge of others in the nature and quality of communication;
- the influence of the individual, the relationship, and the situation on communication choices;
- the role of communication in the development and maintenance of personal relationships;
- the role of communication in creating meaning, influencing thought, and making decisions;
- the role of communication in the democratic process; and
- the role of personal responsibility in making ethical communication decisions.
Effective communicators can demonstrate the ability to . . .
- identify and use communication strategies by taking into consideration individual differences;
- identify and use communication strategies to enhance relationships and resolve conflict;
- evaluate the aesthetic and functional value of all types of communication; and
- show sensitivity to the ethical issues associated with competent and effective communication in society.
Speaking
The effective speaker can demonstrate . . .
- knowledge and understanding of the relationships among the components of the speaking process across a variety of contexts;
- the ability to identify and use effective strategies for formal and informal speaking situations in public, group, work, and personal settings;
- the ability to use language that clarifies, persuades, and/or inspires while respecting the listeners' backgrounds, including their culture, gender, and individual differences; and
- the ability to identify and use methods to manage or overcome communication anxiety and apprehension.
Listening
The effective listener can demonstrate . . .
- knowledge and understanding of relationships among the components of the listening process across a variety of contexts;
- the ability to identify and manage barriers to listening;
- the ability to identify and use different listening skills appropriate for diverse types and purposes of listening; and
- the ability to receive, interpret, and respond to messages.
Media Literacy
The effective media participant can demonstrate . . .
- the effects of the various types of electronic audio and visual media, including television, radio, the telephone, the Internet, computers, electronic conferencing, and film, on media consumers; and
- the ability to identify and use skills necessary for competent participation in communication across various types of electronic audio and visual media.
Implementing the Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards
In order to implement these speaking, listening, and media literacy standards, it is proposed that:
| The teaching of the specific concepts and skills of speaking, listening, and media literacy should be done by those trained in these areas. |
| These concepts and skills should be taught across the entire curriculum. |
| Assessment of speaking, listening, and media literacy should be based on standards. |
| In-service training should be developed to assist teachers to create and adapt assignments and activities in all academic content areas to help facilitate students' communication competence. |
Notes
1 National Education Goals Panel, Executive Summary: The National Education Goals Report-Building a Nation of Learners (Washington, D.C.: National Education Goals Panel, 1992).
2 The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, What Work Requires of School-A SCANS Report for America 2000 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, June 1991).
3 Association for Communication Administration, "A Definition of the Field of Communication Studies" (Annandale, Va.: Association for Communication Administration, 1995).
4 National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, Standards for the English Language Arts (Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, 1996).
5 Based on "An ILA Definition of Listening," ILA Listening Post 53 (April 1995): 4.
6 Marilyn F. Buckley, "Focus On Research: We Listen a Book a Day; We Speak a Book a Week: Learning From Walter Loban," Language Arts 69 (1992): 622-6.
7 Michael Cronin, "The Need for Required Oral Communication Education in the Undergraduate General Education Curriculum" (Radford, Va.: Department of Communication, Radford University, 1993, photocopy).
8 Anita L. Vangelisti and John A. Daly, "Correlates of Speaking Skills in the United States: A National Assessment," Communication Education 38 (1989): 123-43.
9 Virginia P. Richmond and James C. McCroskey, Communication: Apprehension, Avoidance, and Effectiveness (Scottsdale, Ariz.: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 1995).
10 Unisys Corporation, "How Can We Expect Him [Her] to Learn When We Haven't Taught Him [Her] How to Listen," advertisement reproduced in Roy Berko, Andrew Wolvin, and Darlyn Wolvin, Communicating: A Social and Career Focus, 6th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995), 81.
11 Byron Reeves and Gina Garramone, "Children's Person Perception: The Generalization From Television People to Real People," Human Communication Research 8 (1982): 317-326.
12 Kathleen M. Galvin and Cassandra Book, Person to Person: An Introduction to Speech Communication, 5th ed. (Lincolnwood, Ill.: National Textbook Company, 1994), 455.
13 Pamela J. Cooper, Communication for Classroom Teachers, 5th ed. (Scottsdale, Ariz.: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 1995), 1.
14 Dan B. Curtis, Jerry L. Winsor, and Ronald D. Stephens, "National Preferences in Business and Communication Education," Communication Education 38 (1989): 6.