Lecture
Developing pedagogical communication skills is an important aspect of a teacher's professional work. Here are several exercises and strategies that will help you improve your pedagogical communication skills:
Continuous self-education: One of the key aspects of developing pedagogical communication skills is learning and self-development. Read books, articles, and scholarly research in pedagogy and the psychology of learning.
Participation in trainings and seminars: Attending trainings and seminars on communication and teaching will help you gain new knowledge and techniques, as well as exchange experience with colleagues.
Listening practice: Teachers often talk, but it is also important to be able to listen. Active-listening exercises, including paired discussion, can help you improve this skill.
Developing empathy: Empathy plays an important role in pedagogical communication. Try to see the situation from the student's point of view, to understand his or her feelings and needs.
Lesson preparation: Good preparation for lessons allows the teacher to be more confident and competent while teaching. Plan materials and activities in advance.
Feedback: Constantly give feedback to your students. This helps them understand where they can improve and motivates them toward better results.
Adapting to individual needs: Teachers often have to work with different students who have different needs. Learn to adapt your teaching style to each student's needs.
Teamwork: A teacher also frequently interacts with colleagues and parents. Develop teamwork skills, take part in discussions and joint projects.
Video analysis: Record your lessons and then analyze the recordings. This will let you identify areas where you can improve your skills.
Self-reflection: Regularly reflect on your teaching practice, identifying your strengths and areas for growth. Self-reflection helps you keep improving.
1. Choose a film or TV play from the television listings
that you have not seen and whose content is completely unknown to you. Ask
one of your relatives or friends to watch it from beginning to
the end. Choose any moment in the middle of the film and watch it for 5
minutes. Then leave the room and try, as thoroughly as possible,
to describe in writing one or two characters who appeared in the
excerpt you watched, their relationships, and, if possible, predict their future
fate within the plot. When the film ends, compare your impressions with
the opinion of the "controller." Try to point out not "questionnaire" data, but, as far as possible, as many different psychological qualities as possible (intelligence, emotionality, volitional qualities, attention, etc.). Choose a film whose action takes place in a culture familiar to you – Russian, Ukrainian, and so on. Once you learn to characterize a character more accurately and fully, reduce the viewing time to 3 minutes, and then to 1 minute.
2. You commute to work by public transport. Make it a habit each time to pick an unfamiliar passenger and "guess" his or her profession, job status, social standing, family situation, biography, and so on. Try to account for exactly what in his or her appearance, behavior, or speech leads you to
one hypothesis or another.
3. During a parent-teacher meeting, step into a classroom where you do not teach. Try to do the same thing, observing the parents (the advantage here being that
the fact that you can check your impressions against the class register or in a
conversation with the homeroom teacher).
4. Attend a lesson in a class you teach (preferably in the eighth or ninth grade) and observe the students. Try to answer the following
questions:
a) which student enjoys the greatest popularity and respect among classmates?;
b) why (personal qualities);
c) the same for the least popular;
d) why;
e) identify the biggest "individualist" in the class;
f) try to identify groups of students bound by closer
relationships. What might connect them? If you cannot manage this in one lesson, attend other lessons in the same class. Check your impressions with the homeroom
teacher.
5. For five to ten minutes, observe the conversation of unfamiliar
people of similar age to you on the street, in a café, and so on. Try to
answer the following questions:
a) the nature of the relationship connecting them (formal, i.e., work-related;
a casual acquaintance; friendly relations; an intimate relationship, close
friendship, love; family relations);
b) is the communication role-based or personal? What role is each interlocutor "playing"? (the boss, the older and more experienced one, a "real
man," a loving husband, a businessman, and so on). Who is the leader and
occupies the "higher" social position?;
c) does the conversation have a "second layer," a subtext? What is it?;
d) do the interlocutors behave naturally? Is there an impression that they do not,
and why does it arise? What makes the behavior unnatural: the personal traits of one of the interlocutors? The topic, content, and other features of the
communication itself? Emotional tension?
e) try to predict how the conversation will end. A conflict? Who will say goodbye
and leave first? The "technique" of parting: a nod, a handshake, a kiss, and so on?
If the conversation takes place in a café or similar venue, who will pay? Who
will get up first? Who will let the other go ahead when leaving?
6. Together with a colleague, attend a lesson given by a teacher unfamiliar to both of you
preferably at another school. Independently of each other, characterize this teacher's behavior in the lesson using the following scheme:
a) benevolent, encouraging in manner / unfriendly;
b) encourages initiative, allows students to express their own opinions,
free behavior on the part of the students / authoritarian, mistreats the students, does not tolerate
objections, personal opinions, or a free manner of conducting oneself, reprimands them
and keeps the students under rigid control the whole time;
c) interested, active, "gives it his all" / indifferent, "keeps to himself";
d) open, not afraid to openly express his feelings, to show his shortcomings / thinks only of prestige, wears a "mask," tries at all
costs to hold on to his social role;
e) dynamic and flexible in communication, readily grasps and resolves emerging problems, "defuses" potential conflicts / inflexible, fails to see problems
and cannot notice a conflict that is brewing;
f) polite and friendly with the students, respects their dignity, individualizes communication with different students / communicates only "from above," the same way with everyone, without differentiating his communication;
g) can put himself in the student's place, look at the problem
(the conflict) through the student's eyes, gives the speaking student the feeling of being understood correctly / sees everything only "from his own bell tower," is inattentive to
the speaker, giving him the feeling that he is not understood;
h) active, constantly engaged in communication, keeps the class "toned up" /
passive, lets communication "take its own course." Rate these aspects of the teacher's behavior on a five-point scale. Compare the ratings given by your colleague. Where they differ, try together to recall which particular
words, actions, and so on led you and him to one opinion or another.
7. Answer the questions from exercise 4 with respect to the classes where
you teach. Ask other teachers to answer the same questions. Compare the results, and where they differ, try to justify your own point of view.
1. You are having a conversation with someone. Your interlocutor holds the thread of the conversation in
his or her hands (is currently the "contact leader"), while you are a passive participant in the conversation – agreeing, feeding remarks, and so on. Try to seize the initiative of the contact, to take the lead yourself. (This will not
succeed for you right away; it is very likely that your interlocutor will try to keep
the lead for himself or herself.)
2. Conversely: make your interlocutor become the leader of the contact. (This
is much harder. To make both tasks even more difficult, for the first one choose
a very active partner, and for the second – a more passive one.)
3. During a break, you enter the classroom where you teach. The class is excited,
attention is scattered. Prepare some piece of information that you absolutely must communicate (it should not in itself be emotionally or
motivationally powerful), and try to focus everyone's attention on yourself.
If it does not work at once, observe how your more experienced colleagues behave in a similar situation.
4. The same, but the class is unfamiliar to you.
5. Regardless of whether you usually do this, force yourself to enter
into the maximum possible number of contacts: on public transport, in a queue, on
the street (ask for directions even if you already know the way). Try to track
how you address different people, what the difference in your behavior is and why. Choose people who do not immediately arouse your personal sympathy, and
those who, in your impression, are not inclined toward such a chance conversation. Your
task:
a) keep the conversation going for as long as possible;
b) learn to "draw out" even the most uncommunicative interlocutor.
6. You arrive at a house where there are many people unfamiliar to you. Your task:
a) hold everyone's attention on yourself for the first five minutes (but not through
important information, loud clothing, or extravagant manners);
b) if among the guests there is a recognized "public favorite," try to
become aware of the techniques he uses to secure his leadership;
c) once you have done that, the task becomes even harder: take away his
initiative and hold it for at least five minutes (only bear in mind that
you will not succeed if you simply copy his own techniques).
7. You enter a room where a group of people you know is sitting. Without interfering in their conversation,
a) observe their postures. Who sits as the "main" one, in a posture of social superiority? How is this expressed? Is there among the interlocutors someone sitting in a "posture of subordination," and how is this expressed? Are there people in the room
sitting in a tense posture, and what causes it?
b) observe the distance between them and the "small groups" that have formed. Who makes up these "small groups"? (Reread
the beginning of the first chapter of War and Peace.) Who is outside the groups? By what external means is contact maintained within each group?
c) observe their "eye contact." Try to account for yourself:
why did A. raise his eyes to B. at that particular moment? Why did he look away?
d) observe their gestures and facial expressions. Try to mentally put into words every gesture and facial expression. Pay attention to how
a person entering the room, known to those present and who knows them himself, greets different people. Does he do this the same way with everyone? Is the distance at which he stands during the initial contact the same?
What is the difference and why? But your main task is not this: try to predict the outward contact behavior of a new guest whom you know (along with his relationships with those present).
8. During a conversation, force yourself not to look your interlocutor in the eye (this
is extremely difficult). Try to become aware of the moments in the conversation when you especially want to glance at him. Variant: look your interlocutor in the eye the whole time and notice when you especially want to look away.
9. Almost certainly, among your acquaintances there is someone unpleasant to you
and with whom you have a strained relationship. Having prepared a natural topic of conversation in advance, force yourself to be the first to speak to him when you meet.
10. In every class, the teacher has students he finds likeable and ones he finds
unlikeable. Set yourself the task of, during the lesson, the homeroom period, or any other interaction with the class, making contact exclusively (or predominantly) with the "unlikeable" ones. Once you learn to interact with them
as freely and naturally as with the others, make the task harder: ask
your colleague to come to your lesson and try, from your behavior, to figure out which students you find especially likeable or simply likeable. (The task is that he
must not be able to determine this.)
11. Now you take on the role of the colleague, having warned him in advance
that he too should try to hide his likes and dislikes in the same way.
12. Recall exercise 7 and try, from this point of view, to analyze your own behavior. Are you aware of the nature of your relationships with your interlocutors? Try to do this. And now – to what extent does your
"contact technique" correspond to these relationships? Check this with people close to
you. The ultimate task: to be able, through behavior (contact technique), to express your attitude toward a person as fully and
adequately as possible.
13. You are in an excellent mood. Try to behave in the conversation so that your interlocutor, interrupting it, asks: "Why are you so
down today? What happened?" A harder task: achieve the same effect with different people.
14. Now the reverse. You are in a bad mood. Make sure your interlocutors do not
notice this under any circumstances.
15. Choose some fairly complex emotional situation
(suppressed anger, concealed joy, unrecognized anxiety) and try
to hold a conversation with someone you know well while in this emotional key.
Ask him afterward how natural it looked, and whether he understood
exactly what you wanted to express.
16. Ask an amateur-filmmaker friend of yours not to spare the film and to
shoot you in as many different situations as possible. While filming,
try not to pose deliberately. Watch yourself on screen often. Even
better – discuss your impressions with people close to you.
1. Choose a professional, or simply an experienced, speaker who performs before various audiences and who, in your opinion, is very good
at communication skills (for example, a lecturer from the "Knowledge" society). Attend several of his presentations. Try, as far as possible, to make sure that
the topic of the presentation is the same while the audiences, on the contrary, differ as much as possible. Is there a difference in how the presentation is structured? In the language? In the manner of holding himself? In the degree of audience involvement in the communication? Time
the "digressions" from the topic (addresses to the audience, jokes, and so on). Are they equally frequent
in different audiences? Is their character the same? Why? At what points
in the presentation do they occur?
2. Get hold of a collection of speeches by any outstanding orator or
orators (for example, the courtroom speeches of Russian or Soviet lawyers). Carefully read these speeches with a pencil in hand, paying special attention to
the passages that are not so much informational as directly
affecting the audience in character. Underline the "emphatic" words, the especially expressive ones. Try to replace them with synonyms. Why was this particular variant chosen?
3. You are about to give a talk at a methodological seminar. Give yourself a clear account: do you need to have a full text?
A detailed outline? A brief outline? A plan? Can you manage entirely without
notes at all? If you feel you cannot do without a text, proceed as
follows. Before writing it, sketch out on paper the course of your thoughts (but
not the sequence in which they will be presented) in the form of a diagram: "We know… therefore…" and so on. Only once this logical "skeleton" has been drawn, expand
this chain of thought into a sequence of statements. Reread the text several times. Have all the logical connections been preserved in the text? If not, perhaps
they are not needed, because the listeners will easily reconstruct them themselves? Highlight in the text the statements that reflect the main line of your thought, and
underline them in red pencil. Reread only what is underlined. Is there
a logical connection? Now underline in blue pencil what directly substantiates your main idea (no more than two or three "blue"
statements per one "red" one). Reread everything underlined (in blue and
red) together. Is there a logical connection? Write out the "red" and "blue"
statements on a separate sheet of paper, marking the "red" ones (in any color). Add to the plan the three or four introductory statements with which you
will begin the presentation ("The question examined in this talk has barely been explored.
That is why…" and so on), and the three or four with which you will end it. On the same sheet, write out the numerical data mentioned in the talk and the geographical
names – in general, everything that is hard to remember. Now leave the text
at home and calmly go to the talk with only this sheet! If from the very start you can manage with an outline, first draw up the same kind of logical diagram and likewise highlight the flow of thought. Only the result of this work will not be an outline but a plan (plus the introductory and closing words and the data that are hard
to remember). If a plan is enough for you from the very start, you do not
need this exercise. In conclusion, two more pieces of advice:
a) if you are going to cover several independent questions,
be sure to write into the outline (plan) "transition formulas" such as: "It seems no less
important for us to dwell on…";
b) all the same, do not leave the text (outline) at home: let it lie somewhere nearby on the lectern. You will not need it, but it will be calmer that way!
4. Reread exercises A-6. Analyze the teacher's speech from another
point of view:
a) how many times during the lesson did he praise and generally encourage students, the class, or
anyone else?
b) how many times did he express displeasure or reproach?
c) were these evenly distributed, or did some students get "cakes and
buns" while others got "bumps and bruises"?
d) how many times did the teacher repeat (exactly or by rephrasing) a student's statements?
e) how many questions were asked of the class or of individual students?
f) how many orders and direct instructions were given (these can be counted by the number of verbs in the imperative mood: "Go…," "Do…")?
g) how many times did students answer on their own initiative rather than at
the teacher's request? For simplicity, draw a small table and place marks in the corresponding
columns. Carry out the same analysis in lessons taught by other teachers in
the same class, and in lessons taught by the same teacher in other classes (preferably in parallel or with no more than a year's difference).
5. Now ask one of your colleagues to carry out the same analysis in
your lesson in a particular class, in your lessons in other classes, and in
the lessons of other teachers in your class (for ethical reasons you should not do this yourself). Compare the results and match them against your own
data from exercise 4.
6. Ask the students in your class to briefly (in one or two paragraphs)
describe in writing the manner of behavior and communication in class of various teachers, without naming them by first name and patronymic (including you). The slips of paper
with such "characterizations" (one per teacher, with a request to shuffle them) should not be signed, and in general this assignment should be for the students
a test of their powers of observation and knowledge of people. For them it will be an interesting
game, and for you – instructive "food for thought." Will you recognize
yourself on all of "your" slips? Will you recognize all the teachers you know
from their characterizations? Reflect carefully on your characterizations and compare
them with the results of exercises 4 and 5.
1. When in a train compartment or an airplane cabin, you prefer to:
a) usually stay silent, without making contact with your neighbors;
b) make contact when necessary, but without enthusiasm;
c) take the initiative to make contact without any difficulty;
d) share your innermost thoughts with strangers.
2. Your relationships with friends and relatives are maintained through:
a) rare visits (3–4 times a year);
b) more frequent visits (5–10 times a year);
c) regular mutual visits (more often than once a month);
d) weekly or more frequent meetings.
3. How many greeting cards do you receive per year?
a) 1–5; b) 6–10; c) 11–15; d) 16–20 or more.
4. If you have already finished school (or university), how many of your former classmates' fates do you know in detail?
a) 1–3; b) 4–10; c) 11–15; d) 16–20 or more.
5. On average, a phone conversation takes you:
a) 1–3; b) 4–5; c) 6–10; d) 15 minutes or more.
6. While reading (or after reading) a new book, you usually:
a) think over what you have read on your own;
b) answer questions about what you have read, but reluctantly;
c) willingly answer questions about what you have read;
d) share your impressions on your own initiative.
7. During a film screening, a play, or a concert, you usually:
a) dislike it when someone expresses their impressions in your presence;
b) are tolerant of this, and sometimes find it interesting;
c) sometimes exchange remarks with acquaintances;
d) cannot sit silently the whole time and try to express your opinion
more often.
8. When meeting acquaintances on the street, you:
a) if you have no other business with them, nod and walk past;
b) return the greeting and exchange brief remarks;
c) do not notice who greeted whom first, and are glad to hear the news;
d) are the first to stop, greet them, and talk about yourself.
9. When returning home after work (or classes), you prefer to:
a) stay silent;
b) answer questions briefly;
c) ask your family about the news, but reluctantly, as a formality;
d) ask with genuine interest and talk about yourself. You feel offended
if you are not asked anything or are answered in monosyllables.
10. While in an unfamiliar city (an unfamiliar district) and looking for the
institution you need, whose address you do not know (it is known that it should be
"somewhere nearby" the place where you have just gotten off the bus), you usually
prefer to:
a) walk around the nearby streets, searching on your own for what
you need;
b) pick out a local resident among the passersby ("by eye"), ask
him a question, and, if the answer is unsatisfactory, continue searching on your own;
c) stop passersby with a request for help, but feel, in doing
so, a sense of awkwardness;
d) resort to the help of an optimal number of passersby, without feeling
embarrassed.
11. While walking around the city, a park, or outside town, you prefer:
a) solitude;
b) the company of one person;
c) the company of several friends or close ones;
d) a crowd of people (group outings, organized excursions, etc.).
12. Noticing a new item on an acquaintance's (a close one's, a relative's) clothing, you:
a) appraise it silently;
b) give your opinion if asked;
c) give your opinion on your own initiative;
d) ask about the price, where the item was bought, ask to see it "up close," and comment on your impressions.
13. When reading fiction, you usually:
a) prefer a short poem, a short story;
b) a cycle of poems, a collection of short stories;
c) do not notice how much has been written, as long as it is interesting;
d) read substantial novels and epic poems that have earned critical acclaim, are significant in theme, and so on.
14. If you happen to find yourself in an unfamiliar company, you:
a) feel extremely uncomfortable and want to leave;
b) inwardly agree to stay and make contact, but without much desire;
c) are glad of new acquaintances and take the initiative to make contact;
d) are extremely glad of new people, try to learn about them in detail
and to present yourself in the best light.
15. If you write poems, stories, diaries, and so on, you usually:
a) do not share what you have written with anyone;
b) sometimes share part of what you have written with someone you especially trust;
c) willingly read what you have written if you are asked to;
d) read what you have written on your own initiative, because you are interested in others' opinions. A negative opinion or clearly restrained praise upsets you to a
certain degree.
16. When, as a guest, you are offered some new dish that you like,
you usually:
a) eat it with pleasure but do not voice your opinion;
b) may praise it on your own initiative, but prefer to answer a question about it;
c) praise the dish yourself without waiting to be asked;
d) not only praise it but also ask about the recipe, say that you will try to have the same dish yourself from now on, will cook it, ask your family to cook it, and so on.
17. Underline the best type of title (not the work itself, not this particular title, but its type):
a) A Quarrel;
b) A Quarrel Between Neighbors;
c) A Foolish Quarrel Between Neighbors;
d) The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.
18. If you notice that one of your good acquaintances is excessively
talkative, you:
a) may hint at this to him, since this shortcoming seriously
irritates you;
b) do not react much to other people's talkativeness;
c) like to listen, as long as it is interesting;
d) are talkative yourself, and a similar quality in your interlocutor allows you
to express yourself.
19. To the question "What time is it?" in a situation where you do not have a watch on you,
you will most likely answer as follows:
a) "I don't know";
b) "I don't know, I don't have a watch, sorry";
c) "I would gladly answer, but unfortunately I don't have a watch on
me";
d) "I would be delighted to answer your question, but my watch is being repaired right now, and I myself am experiencing great inconvenience because of it, but what can be done?"
20. During a public lecture (a talk, a presentation), if the topic interests you but the speaker expresses views that are debatable or, in your
opinion, incorrect, you usually:
a) feel some desire to object, but do not act on it;
b) feel a desire to speak up, but react without annoyance to circumstances that prevented you from acting on your desire;
c) can freely act on your desire by means of a note;
d) work to obtain the opportunity to publicly object to the speaker.
21. Having read a controversial article in a newspaper (magazine) on a topic that concerns you, you usually:
a) think that you could take part in the discussion, but do not get down to writing an article, a letter, etc., gradually forgetting your intention;
b) think over your possible response, an article, sketch out a plan, gather material, draft it, but are not too upset if something prevents you from seeing it through to the end;
c) write the article (a letter to the editor), send it off, but do not take a refusal to publish too much to heart;
d) in case of a refusal to publish your material, you write to the editorial office again and send a new draft. The difficulty of publicly expressing your opinion
seriously upsets you.
22. Underline the quality you would like your interlocutors to have:
a) extreme reserve;
b) sociability directed mainly at you;
c) noticeable sociability;
d) unlimited sociability.
23. Rate yourself by underlining, in the list below, the dominant level of communication (sociability) typical of you:
a) low:
b) close to average;
c) fairly high;
d) high, approaching the highest.
Key to the test task
"Check your level of sociability"
This task, consisting of 22 series of questions, is designed for sincere, serious reactions from readers, especially since no one but the readers themselves and their close ones can interfere with the assessments or learn their results.
Each series has four positions, i.e. four essential characteristics of the subject's communicative manifestations. These characteristics
are arranged in decreasing order of communicative activity level, with each item (position) assigned two points for scoring purposes. This
means that characteristic "a" is worth 2 points, "b" – 4, "c" – 6, "d" – 8.
If the subject underlined item "a" the whole time, their sociability score is obtained by multiplying 22 by 2, i.e. it equals 44. This
corresponds to a low level.
When underlining items "b", "c" and "d", the result is, respectively,
22 x 4 (88), 22 x 6 (132), 22 x 8 (176) points, meaning a "level close to
average", "high" and "the highest, often excessive". As a rule,
the actual number of points falls within the corresponding intervals between the extreme figures, rarely reaching 176. Those who scored this number or close to
it should keep a closer watch on themselves in communication, restrain themselves, carefully observe the reactions of others, and adjust their manner of communication
toward reducing its activity.
Subjects who scored between 125 and 150 points correspond to good communicative activity, close to classic extraversion.
If you scored 44–60 points, you need to learn to communicate actively, otherwise
your introversion will hinder (and already hinders) you and those around you in
making contact. Make yourself enter into communication gradually, do not react painfully to failures, and remember that they are far more noticeable to you
than to others. Imitate (not thoughtlessly, of course) those who, in your opinion,
are more active in communication.
For a score between 70 and 100 you should also consciously increase your activity in communication, without overdoing it.
Task 23 aims to help you correctly assess the difference between
your objective level of sociability and your own
self-assessment. For example, if you actually scored 70 points but underlined item "c" in task 23, you should trust the objective indicator more
than your own impression of yourself. You need to draw the appropriate conclusions about improving your ability to communicate.
A
1. Rate the following humorous dialogue on a five-point scale:
– Do you believe in ghosts?
– No! – he answered, and vanished.
2. Rate on a reverse five-point scale (1 – the highest rating, 5 –
the lowest) the humorous effect of the following circus act.
One clown wants to drive a nail into a board, swings a huge sledgehammer widely (the nail is tiny), and is already bringing the hammer down, but the second clown pulls the board with the nail away, and the first clown then strikes himself on the foot with all his strength. Shouting loudly, he pulls up his leg and, hopping, leaves the arena. The other clown laughs
loudly. Of course, the blow to the foot with the hammer is not real and causes the clown no actual pain.
3. Would you be offended if your friends put up, in the wall newspaper at your
place of work or study, a caricature (friendly cartoon) that closely resembles you,
with a joking caption?
a) yes, I would be offended;
b) no, I would not be offended;
c) not only would I not be offended, but I would laugh myself;
d) not only would I laugh myself, but I would also praise the authors of the cartoon.
4. Do you like to play pranks on your family or friends?
a) yes;
b) no.
5. Do you like it when others cleverly play a prank on you – the kind
you yourself would like to play on others?
a) I like it;
b) I don't like it.
6. Do you like telling witty jokes, funny stories from
your own life or the lives of others?
a) yes;
b) no.
7. Do you remember well jokes and funny stories told by others
or read by you:
a) I always remember them for a long time;
b) I don't always remember them, even if I liked them;
c) I forget them almost immediately.
8. Do you try to watch the Central Television program "The Crooked
Mirror", read the humor sections in magazines, regularly read "Chayan"?
a) yes, I try to watch and read;
b) I don't try.
9. Rate on a "reverse" five-point scale (1 – the highest rating, 2 –
lower, the lowest being 5) the humorous effect of the following opening of a letter to a friend:
"Hello, Sasha, you're a Fedot, but not the one whose stomach aches and whose mouth won't shut, who does everything backwards, like a hippopotamus or a sperm whale!"
10. On the same "reverse" five-point scale (the highest rating being 1!)
rate the humorous effect of the following situation. Mail is brought to a military unit's location. A young soldier eagerly opens the long-awaited
letter addressed, of course, to him. Inside the envelope is a note: "Instead of waiting for letters from girls, you'd better learn to make your bed properly. Once you've learned to make your bed properly, then the girls will start sending letters!"
11. On a reverse five-point scale (don't mix it up!) rate the humorous effect of the following situation. A four-year-old girl is pushing a cart
with a doll around a flower bed in the yard and, imitating her mother, telling
the doll a story. A boy of about nine quietly pulls the doll out of the cart and
replaces it with a toy green crocodile. On discovering this, the girl starts to cry, while the boy laughs.
12. Which film genre do you prefer, given that
all the genres listed below have interesting films made in them? You may underline several genres or all of them:
a) film tragedy;
b) cartoon;
c) war epic;
d) everyday, family drama;
e) comedy film;
f) detective;
g) documentary film;
h) children's film, including fairy-tale films;
i) science fiction;
j) industrial and social problem films.
13. Rate the humorous effect of the following library scene on a direct (don't mix it up with reverse) five-point scale:
– What could I read?
– Do you like the classics?
– The classics? I love them.
– I recommend Gogol, "Dead Souls".
– Dead?.. Isn't there something livelier?
– Livelier? I recommend Tolstoy, "The Living Corpse".
B
1. Do you regularly read the "You Couldn't Make It Up" column in "Chayan"?
a) regularly; b) rarely; c) I don't know of such a column.
2. Do you like the series of humorous drawings by H. Bidstrup?
a) yes; b) not particularly; c) I don't know them.
3. Underline the authors whose works you know: M. Zoshchenko, S. Leacock, F. Iskander, A. Chekhov (early), I. Ilf and E. Petrov, Mark Twain, A. Averchenko, J. K. Jerome, J. Hasek, B. Nusic.
4. Which works are the following characters' lines taken from:
a) "Marriage is a serious step!";
b) "You have chalk all over your back!";
c) "I dare to report, Mr. Lieutenant…".
5. Name three Soviet masters of humor (variety stage).
6. Name any humorous work by A. K. Tolstoy.
7. Name two authors of poetic and prose parodies.
Keys to the test tasks "How is your sense of humor?"
A
1. a score of 4–5 is recommended;
2. a score of 4–5 is recommended;
3. a) – 1; b) – 3; c) – 4; d) – 5;
4. a) – 4; b) – 2;
5. a) – 5; b) – 2;
6. a) – 4; b) – 2;
7. a) – 5; b) – 3; c) – 2;
8. a) – 4; b) – 2;
9. a score of 5 is recommended;
10. a score of 5 is recommended;
11. a score of 5 is recommended;
12. when underlining "i" – 2;
13. a score of 4–5 is recommended.
With a total score below 40, one's sense of humor should be considered insufficiently developed. One should work on oneself, developing it.
A good result is 55–57, an average one 47–54.
B
1. a) – 5; b) – 3; c) – 1;
2. a) – 5; b) – 3; c) – 1.
3. M. Zoshchenko, S. Leacock, F. Iskander, A. Chekhov (early) – 2, I. Ilf and
E. Petrov, Mark Twain – 3, A. Averchenko, J. K. Jerome – 4, J. Hasek, B. Nusic – 5.
4. A. Chekhov, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, J. Hasek – 5, two correct answers –
4, one correct answer – 3, 0 – 2.
5. A. Raikin, M. Zhvanetsky, V. Vinokur and others (as in item 4).
6. "Notes of Kozma Prutkov", "Popov's Dream", "History of the Russian State". Named – 5. Not named – 1.
7. Yu. Levitansky, M. Arkhangelsky, A. Ivanov (or others). All three
named – 5; one – 3; 0 – 2.
The best result is 35.
Average – 25–30.
Poor – below 25.
This test measures not the presence (or absence) of a sense of humor, but the level of familiarity with humorous works, an inclination toward humorous
reading, i.e. a striving to satisfy one's sense of humor. It is good if the total
score (across both series) comes close to 90. If you or
your acquaintances scored such a sum, everything is fine with you, no additional (special and intensive) work is required. Keep it up, and enjoy yourselves
in good health!
In an hour of leisure: communicative games
"Business before pleasure" – says a Russian proverb. This hour, which you usually spend with friends, can become for you a kind of
"communication training". We suggest you create, in company, the atmosphere
of relationships known as "the spirit of conversation and play", and try to become
an organizer of entertaining communication. Even if the tests showed that your level of sociability and sense of humor are far from ideal, overcome
your usual shyness for the sake of your friends. Everyone remembers how oppressive it is for people trying to have a good time when there is a "man in a case", a bore and a whiner among them. Take a look at yourself from the outside: you are certainly not like that. You are cheerful and relaxed, glad to see all your guests, and ready to give them a good time. So,
let's get to work! Or rather, to the game, which does a good deed – gives a kind mood, the joy of mutual understanding, a feeling of friendly support.
"Compliments"
Set the mood: listen together to (or better, sing!) Bulat Okudzhava's song "Let's say nice things to each other", or another good song
suited to the occasion. Remind your friends that a compliment is
a flattering remark about someone, praise. Discuss together whether those present are spoiled by compliments, whether they often hear praise addressed to
themselves. Think about whether you have a reason to praise someone, and find kind words for
one of the guests. It is said that one French writer once angrily remarked among
friends: "If with a single word you can make a person happy, what kind of
beast do you have to be not to say that word!" A bit crude, but true. So,
let's try to make someone happy!
Let's take a ball in hand and throw it – catch! – to the one for whom you have compliments in store, with flattering remarks about their appearance: "What wonderful
hair you have!", "Your eyes are as blue as the sky!", "You are always elegant!", "You
have such a lovely smile!", "One can tell you play sports!", "You are always
neat and composed!", "How do you manage to always look so wonderful?", "I
always admire you!", "This must have been said about you: 'How stately she is,
she walks like a peahen, and her speech, when she speaks, murmurs like a little stream'", "You have
exquisite taste!", "It's always a pleasure to look at you!" (continue on your own,
find flattering expressions and deliver them with a warm tone, a tender look. Just beware of vulgarity and be careful not to accidentally touch a sore
spot. For example, a girl suffers, considering her nose too big, and you
say to her feelingly: "What a lovely little nose you have!" And in general it is not customary
to praise noses, eyebrows, ears, teeth… As for what is customary – observe for yourself. About matters at hand: "I really like the way you sew (knit, plane, wash, wood-burn)",
"I admire you when you read (talk, take care of your grandmother, play with your little sister)", "Hardly anyone among us can
play chess (climb rocks, repair radio equipment,
cook, write essays) as well as you do", "Where did you learn to dance (carry yourself, behave, draw, fretwork, build things) so beautifully?", "I would gladly learn from you how to play the guitar (manage your time, stay calm in difficult situations, hang wallpaper, cook borscht, create
coziness in a home)".
We think you will try to diversify your palette of flattering remarks.
Just be sincere! False praise, of the kind "Why does the Cuckoo, without fear of sin, praise the Rooster? Because he praises the Cuckoo!" will only upset
your relationships. Of course, "a flatterer will always find a corner in the heart", but everyone present will not think the better of your behavior for it. It's better to take a closer look at your friends and be convinced: "Everyone has something to teach you!"
"Opinions"
You know your company well, don't you? Can you give
your opinion about each of them? Sometimes it happens that the opinion is not at all flattering: friends
"gossip about each other's flaws". You are not inclined to that? Wonderful! It will be that much easier for you
to organize the opinion game.
Let one of the players, who wants to know what those present think of them, leave the room for 2–3 minutes or step far enough away so as not to
hear the voices. Three of those remaining must give their opinion of them.
Suppose one says: "Valya is a great optimist", another: "She is very
responsive", a third: "Valya has a wonderful voice".
The host invites Valya in and tells her: "Valya, they said about you that you are,
firstly, a great optimist, secondly, very responsive, and thirdly, it turns out you have a wonderful voice, which many of us, your friends, unfortunately,
did not know. Guess who said this about you." Valya looks carefully into the eyes of
those present (not for nothing do they say eyes are the mirror of the soul), tries to guess
from their gestures and expressions, recalls who values her and for what, and points: "Seryozha said that I am a
great optimist. He visited me in the hospital." If the guess is
correct, Seryozha goes out the door and opinions are given about him. But if
the guessing goes with difficulty, the players give hints of "warmer – colder" or simply
volunteer to repeat Valya's experience themselves.
Condition: we say only good things, we play only with those who are interested,
we don't drag out the guessing process, and we don't get angry at anyone. In case someone said about you that you are sociable, when you yourself consider (and the tests showed!) yourself uncommunicative, trust the sincerity of the speaker and take a closer look at yourself: what gave them reason to say that about you?
"Contests"
Competitiveness, the desire to show oneself off to friends in the best
light, is probably typical of all your friends. Give them the opportunity to express themselves in the following contests.
"Who has more?"
Let's hand out paper and pencils to everyone. We suggest writing down within a minute all the words derived from "HOUSE": house-proud, domestic spirit, domostroy (household despotism), household-related, housewife, homebody… and so on, just not "domna" (blast furnace),
"dombra" (a musical instrument) and similar words, which are not derived from "house" and are not related to this root
word in meaning.
Let's say 15 words in a row that are unrelated to each other in either form or content. For example: "ROAD, ROSIN, LIGHT BULB, VACATION, VERMICELLI, CHAIRS, INTERMISSION, DISCUSSION, CABBAGE, CREATIVITY, INVITATION, HOUSEHOLD, VARIANT, SQUARE, DIGNITY". Those present listen to them and then write down the ones they remembered.
M. Gorky believed that the word "good" had 30 synonyms. How many
each of the players comes up with, you will find out from their notes or by competing aloud (the winner
being the one who names the last "same-word").
"Who is better?"
Remember the cartoon: "Whoever knocks me down better gets the candy"?
It's your birthday, and a big piece of candy is already ready. Give your friends the chance to praise you. Whose compliment did you like the most? Perhaps
the one from someone you were already ready to strike off your list of friends? Don't forget
to express your gratitude and try to preserve the friendship: "an old
friend is better than two new ones".
Offer your friends a contest for the best story about your trip. Prepare a medal of Baron Munchausen and announce a contest of storytellers. Give them the opportunity to write a short essay "How I Took My Exams" made up entirely of
set phrases. Split into "TV viewers" and "dancers" if there is an interesting TV film on and some want to watch it while others want to dance. Offer the "dancers" a chance to watch 3–5 minutes from the middle of the film, and afterward, when it ends, tell the "TV viewer" experts what they think about the characters of the film and their future fate. The most perceptive will win, but everyone will
have fun.
Small surprises, gifts, and pranks, prepared in advance, will help you make your leisure joyful and pleasant, look at the world with kind eyes, and win the sympathy of those around you.
LET YOUR MIND BE KIND, AND YOUR HEART BE WISE!
Remember that developing pedagogical communication skills is an ongoing process. The more you invest in your professional development, the more effective your teaching and interaction with students will be.
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