Kijung Park

Developing good communication skills are important in everyday life. When you are teaching students of what you are proficient in, powerful communication skills can enhance your ability further. I worked as private tutor, teaching elementary and middle school students in math and English for many years since High school. Starting last year, I teach a first grade student with autism, helping her to learn English. While teaching her, I always think that I need to improve my communication skills in many ways. Due to her disability, she can only focus for few minutes. Therefore, I need to try my best to keep her attention during class by having loud and clear voice and by complimenting her frequently. When reading books to her, I change my voice when different characters come out in the story to interest her. Since she can only say few words, I need to develop good communication skills to correctly guess how she is feeling and need to have patience while teaching her.

To improve my communication skills, I observe her nonverbal expressions very carefully in order to understand her better. In addition, when teaching her, it is crucial to build trust therefore I try to think in her perspective and give respect to her as well. Furthermore, I want to have some sense of humor during class so I can capture her attention longer. Some of the obstacles happen when she refuses to work when I open a workbook to start a lesson. Sometimes, she crawls under the desk and does not want to come out.  In that situation, I need to figure out a good way to convince her to continue studying even though she might not want to. Although she does not answer my questions most of the time, I should control my emotion and always stay positive and happy during class.

By taking communication class, I want to feel more confident in front of large audience and learn how to deliver a speech clearly by organizing my ideas. I also want to be a better speaker as well as a better listener.