THE PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS COURSE AMONG UNIVERSITY

STUDENTS: THE CASE OF TWO UNIVERSITIES IN TANZANIA

Sotco Claudius Komba

Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

Abstract
This article is based on a study which was conducted to examine the perceived importance of
communication skills course among Tanzanian university students. A total of 134 undergraduate
students, randomly selected from two Tanzanian universities, were involved in this study. The
study adopted a case study design in order have an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon
under investigation. Both a questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data from
the respondents. The collected data were analysed using thematic content analysis. It was
revealed that the communication skills course was perceived by the majority of the respondents
as an important course for the acquisition of communication skills needed in academic settings.
It is recommended that universities should improve the delivery of the course by ensuring that
both human and material resources are adequately available for the realization of the anticipated
course outcomes.
Keywords: Tanzania Tertiary Education, Communications, Communications Higher Education

Introduction
The development of any country depends on how efforts are made to invest more and wisely in
education. Education serves as a means by which people acquire knowledge and skills that can
be implied in relevant curricula, particularly on how to exploit and utilize resources available for
micro and macro-development (Galabawa, 2005). The knowledge and skills include those which
are concerned with problem-solving, information and communication technology, administration
and management, science and technology, research, and languages (Komba, 2012). Such
knowledge and skills can be acquired in schools, institutes, colleges, and universities through a
given medium of instruction which facilitates communication among the involved parties.

After independence in 1961, Tanzania adopted a form of education in which Kiswahili was made
the medium of instruction in the school career alongside English (Tibategeza, 2009; Neke, 2003).
In 1967, Kiswahili was declared a national language and a language of instruction in primary
schools while English was declared a co-official language and it was supposed to be taught as a
 2 The Perceived Importance of Communication Skills Course among University Students: The

compulsory subject in all primary schools (Mlama & Materu, 1978). In addition, English was
also declared a language of instruction at post primary school levels, including the university.
However, studies undertaken on language-in-education (Tibategeza, 2009; Swila, 2009;
Rugemalira, 2005; Rubagumya, 1991; Mlama & Materu, 1978) have advocated a switch to
Kiswahili as a language of instruction at all levels of education in Tanzania, insisting that the
current system of education has negatively affected the provision of education. For example, a
study by Mlama and Materu (1978) found that students could not express themselves in English
and most of them were unable to participate in lessons conducted in English.

In order to minimize communication problems related to English language in academic settings,

all Tanzanian universities offer communication skills courses to all undergraduate students
(Komba, 2012). In the context of Tanzanian universities, communication skills course was
introduced for the first time at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1978 (Mlacha & Rea, 1985).
The course was purposely introduced in order to improve students’ ability to learn efficiently and
effectively through the medium of English (Mlacha & Rea, 1985; UDSM, 1983). Since then, the
course has been one of the compulsory courses in all other universities in the country.

Some studies had been conducted on the teaching and learning of communication skills in
Tanzania (Komba, 2008; Mwalimu, 1998; & Mbowe, 1994; Mlacha & Rea, 1985). For example,
while Komba’s study had sought to investigate the impact of communication skills on students’
development of communicative abilities, Mwalimu’s study was on the influence of students’
attitudes and motivation in the learning of the communication skills course. There were hardly
any studies which had been conducted to investigate the perceived importance of communication
skills course among university students, which was the focus of this study.

This study was thus designed to examine the perceived importance of communication skills
course among Tanzanian university students. The main research question was, “What is the
perceived importance of communication skills course among Tanzanian university students?”

Theoretical reviews
The term 'Communication ' has been derived from the Latin word 'communis' that means
'common' (Foulger, 2004). Thus 'to communicate' means 'to make common' or 'to make known'.
Communication is essentially a process that involves sharing of information (Komba, 2008). It
can be perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of
thoughts, feelings or ideas towards a mutually accepted goal or direction. All forms of
communication require a sender, a message, a channel, and a receiver (Sen, 2005). While
Mbowe (1994) defines communication as a process involving writing correct language, precise
reporting, correspondence and mastering the mechanics of writing and speaking, Anderson
(1972) views communication as a dynamic process in which a person consciously or
unconsciously affects the cognition of another person through materials or agencies used in
symbolic ways. In the same vein, Ndoloi (1998) contends that communication is the
transactional process concerned with the creation, transmission, interpretation and use of
information. Generally, effective communication involves the choice of the best communication
channel for a specific purpose, the technical knowledge to use the channel appropriately, the
presentation of information in an appropriate manner for the target audience, and the ability to
understand messages and responses received from others.

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It is difficult to discuss the process of communication without highlighting the communication

models. This is supported by Foulger (2004) who argues that models are not only a fundamental
building block of theory but also a fundamental tool of instruction. There are several models
which explain the process of communication in relation to different contexts. In this study, two
models namely the Information Theory Model, and the Ecological Model of the Communication
Process have been reviewed.

The Information Theory Model, by Shannon (1948), is one of the first designs of information
theory. Shannon sought to discover how communication messages could be converted into
electronic signals most efficiently, and how those signals could be transmitted with a minimum
error. The model includes an information source, the message, a transmitter, a signal, a channel,
noise, a receiver, and a destination. The Shannon’s model of communication is considered as a
common ground of such diverse disciplines as journalism, rhetoric, linguistics, and speech and
hearing sciences. According to Foulger (2004), part of its success is due to its structuralist
reduction of communication to a set of basic constituents that not only explain how
communication happens, but why communication sometimes fails. The model has considered
distractors which may distort the communication process, such as noise which may occur
somewhere between the transmitter and the receiver. For example, in the teaching and learning
situation, learners are better placed to grasp the intended content if the environment is conducive,
and they are able to understand the language involved. As pointed out earlier, the medium of
instruction at post primary institutions in Tanzania is English language which is a foreign
language. For successful interactions to take place during learning, both students and instructors
must be conversant with the language used. Literature indicates that most university students
lack communication skills in English language which is the medium of instructions at such level
of education (Mohamed, 2006; Malekela, 2003; Mwansoko, 1996; Widdowson, 1979).
Therefore, interactions between instructors and students become limited as students opt to keep
silent because of their inability to express themselves in English (Puja, 2003). This is likely to
result in ineffective learning.

Like all other models, Shannon’s model of communication has been criticized for some
weaknesses. One of the main weaknesses is that communication is presented as a linear, one way
process. In view of this, the model is criticized for suggesting a definite start and finish to the
communication process which in fact is often endless. For example, for communication to be
effective in an academic setting, the process has to be a two-way process. Learning involves
interaction which essentially involves communication. When the communication process is
unidirectional as suggested by Shannon, feedback, which is an important component in the
learning process, will be missing. Consequently, lack of feedback may result into ineffective
learning. However, a credit is given to this model as it represents a useful abstraction that
identifies the most important components of communication and their general relationship to one
another.

On the other hand, the ecological model of the communication process was developed by
Foulger (2004). The main assumption of this model is that communication occurs in the
intersection of four fundamental constructs: communication between people (creators and
consumers) is mediated by messages which are created using language within media; consumed

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from media and interpreted using language. It is a detailed elaboration of Lasswell's (1948)
model of communication. Lasswell was of the view that a convenient way to describe an act of
communication is to answer the following questions: Who? Says what? In which channel? To
whom? With what effect? (Laswell, 1948). In the ecological model, the "who" are the creators
of messages, the "says what" are the messages, the "in which channel" is elaborated into
languages (which are the content of channels) and media (which channels are a component of),
the "to whom" are the consumers of messages, and the effects are found in various relationships
between the primitives, including relationships, perspectives, attributions, interpretations, and the
continuing evolution of languages and media (Foulger, 2004). In this model, communication
process is viewed as the product of a set of complex interactions between its primary
constituents: messages, people (acting as creators of messages, consumers of messages, and in
other roles), languages, and media. This is unlike Shannon’s model which views communication
as a unidirectional process which begins by sending a message and finishes with receiving the
sent message.

The ecological model has many implications in the teaching and learning situations. For
example, both lecturers and students at university level are creators and consumers of messages.
Lecturers create and send messages as they teach and their students do the same when
responding to their lecturers. The messages can be created and sent orally such as during
lectures, seminars, and class or group discussions. The same can also be done in a written form
as for the case of take home assignments, term papers, tests, and examinations.

As the model suggests that messages are created and consumed using language, this cannot be
overlooked in the teaching and learning process. It implies that proficiency in language skills, for
this case the language of instruction, is a prerequisite for the effective creation, sending, and
consumption of messages, hence effective learning. For example, currently there are ongoing
debates in Tanzania on switching the medium of instruction from English to Kiswahili language
throughout the education levels. Those who advocate for the changes argue that effective
learning (involving creation, sending, and consumption of messages) cannot take place if those
who are involved in the process are not proficient in the language used. Therefore, effective
learning is highly dependent upon the abilities of those who are involved in the process to
communicate, either verbally or in a written form.

Furthermore, the model brings in the issue of relationship building which is also important for
effective teaching and learning to take place. It is commonly accepted that learning is most
effective if the environment in which communication is taking place is conducive. The
conducive environment is one which is characterized by positive interpersonal relationships
among all participants whether teachers or learners, by interactions which are comfortable and
orderly, and is such that learners feel appreciated and personally acknowledged where possible
(Kafanabo, 2006).

The communication process is the interrelationship between several interdependent components.

It involves a whole series of related actions and reactions which together can result in the sharing
of meaning. Sen (2005) points out that communication is the ‘process’ because it is an activity
which is connected with a series of steps that are deliberately undertaken to reach a goal. The
process demands that both the sender and the receiver pay attention to elements of successful

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communication which include the sender, message, channel, receiver, and feedback (Sen, 2005).
Since each of these elements is significant in making effective communication, a brief
explanation of each of them in relation to teaching and learning situation is pertinent.

The process of communication begins with the sender who is struck by an idea which he/she
wishes to share or convey or exchange with another person. The idea is first converted into a
message by using verbal or non verbal medium of communication (Sen, 2005). The message is
then conveyed to the target destination for the intended impact.

In the teaching/learning situation, the sender of message may either be a student or a lecturer or
both in the form of turn-taking. The message may include subject matters of different courses
offered at the university. In order to ensure that the message is well understood, the sender has to
use words and non-verbal signals that the receiver is familiar with. This can only be possible if
those who are involved in the communication process are proficient in the language used. For
example, during teaching and evaluation processes at the university, language is involved in
every stage. Lecturers conduct lectures, compose examinations, and organize seminars using
English language. Likewise, students ought to answer questions, and participate in seminars and
lectures using the same language. Therefore, English language proficiency is connected to their
academic achievement because it acts as the engine in the whole process of teaching and learning
as well as testing (Wilson & Komba, 2012).

On the other hand, channel is the vehicle through which the message is carried to the receiver
(Mafu et al., 1997). In educational settings, instructors have different communication channels
which may be used to transmit information to students. For example, the spoken information can
use such methods as face-to-face, film, television, or telephone. Therefore, the senses of sight,
touch, smell and taste assist in accomplishing the communication process. In relation to this
study, the channels of communication used to deliver messages during teaching and learning
situation at the university may include lectures, seminars, written assignments, books, and
examinations. These are situations in which learning takes place.

The receivers are the people or group that are the target of the message. According to Bojuwon
(1998), their interpretations, (decoding), feelings, understandings and total reactions to the
message are a function of many factors: their understanding of the symbols used, their perception
of the sender and his/her intent, and their limitation of the physical structure of the situation,
backgrounds and aspirations that may be significantly different from those of the sender. The
implication is that understanding is the key to decoding and that communication effectiveness is
greatly determined by the extent to which the receiver's decoding matches the sender's encoding.
Therefore, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand
the same information as a result of the communication process. This is essentially facilitated by a
language in which the intended communication takes place. In the teaching and learning
situations, the receiver of the message may either be a lecturer, or student(s) or both depending
on who is sending the message at a given point of time. For example, in interactive lectures,
lecturers may be sending messages to and receiving the same from students.

Moreover, feedback is the receiver’s response to the sender’s message and that the response can
be both verbal and nonverbal (Sen, 2005). Feedback is an important factor in the communication

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process because it helps the sender to determine whether the message has been successfully
communicated and understood or not (Shannon and Weaver, 1949). In the teaching and learning
situation, the lecturer as a sender of information may for instance deliberately seek feedback by
asking students such questions for example “does this example seem relevant in this context?”
or “ am I making myself clear?” Likewise, feedback can be through written works- that is
through assignments and examination responses.

In view of these elements of communication process, it is clear that successful communication is

a two-way process. That is to say, both the sender and the receiver are responsible to make an
effective cycle of communication. Since communication involves sharing information, it is
therefore a crucial entirety in the teaching and learning situations.

Inn Tanzanian context, communication skills course can be perceived as a set of planned lessons
which offer skills that enable students to communicate effectively within an academic setting. It
is specifically designed to expose students to strategies which aim at improving their efficiency
in listening to lectures, reading academic texts, taking notes from speech and writing, and
planning and writing essays. The course aims at reducing language problems which may lead to
academic under-achievement arising from poor expression and organization in students’ essays
and examinations (Komba, 2012).

The evolution of communication skills course can be traced back to the mid-1970s in England
(Carroll, 1980). It was during then when it was found that students from Africa, Arabia, Asia
and other non-English speaking countries had poor academic performance in the vocational
training centres. The poor performance was attributed to their limited knowledge of English
language since they came from non-English speaking countries, hence a poor background in the
language. As such, communication skills course was introduced in order help students improve
their academic performance by improving their level of mastery of the medium of instruction, in
this case, English language. In Tanzania, communication skills course was introduced for the
first time at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1978 (Mlacha & Rea, 1985). It was meant to
improve students’ ability to learn efficiently and effectively through the medium of English
(Mlacha & Rea, 1985; UDSM, 1983). Since then, some studies have been conducted on the
teaching and learning of communication skills in Tanzania (Komba, 2008; Mwalimu, 1998; &
Mbowe, 1994; Mlacha & Rea, 1985). However, these studies did not go an extra mile to examine
the perceived importance of communication skills course among university students, which was
the focus of this study.

Methodology
As pointed out in the introduction section, the purpose of this study was to examine the
perceived importance of communication skills course among Tanzanian university students. The
study adopted a case study design because the aim of the study was to have an in-depth
understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. A total of 134 undergraduate students
(i.e.78 males and 56 females), randomly selected from two universities, were involved in this
study. The two universities included Sokoine University of Agriculture and Teofilo Kisanji
University. Since multiple data collection methods are recommended in a case study (Yin, 2003),
both a questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data on the perceived
importance of communication skills course. The collected data were analysed using thematic

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content analysis in which they were first coded and then classified according to themes generated
from the responses. For the purpose of protecting the informants’ rights to privacy, private data
identifying the participants and their affiliated institutions have not been reported in this article.

Findings and Discussion

The main research question for this particular study was “What is the perceived importance of
communication skills course among Tanzanian university students?” In the analysis of the data
collected from 134 students, five categories of respondents’ perceived importance of
communication skills course were identified as presented in Table 1:

Table 1: Categories of Respondents’ Perceived Importance of Communication Skills Course

S/N Category
1 Acquisition of note taking skills
2 Acquisition of academic writing skills
3 Acquisition of oral presentation skills
4 Acquisition of reading skills
5 Acquisition of listening skills

Acquisition of note taking skills

In this aspect, the findings indicated that more than half of the respondents (74/134) considered the
communication skills course as being important because it helped them to gain different techniques on
how to take notes during lectures and other academic presentations taking place at the university. In this
regard, one respondent had this to report:
Communication skills are a very important course for university students. For example, university
students require knowledge of note taking techniques in order to be able to jot down important
points during lectures and seminars (Q5. R17M).
This extract shows that the responded was positive on the utility of the communication skills
course in developing note taking skills. There were many other similar observations from other
respondents.

These findings seem logical because in the communication skills course, students are exposed to
different note-taking techniques which are essentially useful in taking notes efficiently during
lectures. The techniques include, for example, using acronyms, shortening words by omitting
some letters, and shortening sentences by omitting non-content words such as prepositions,
articles, and conjunctions in order to keep pace with the speakers (Komba, 2012; Mafu, et al.,
1997). Since taking notes is the most effective way of storing the vast amount of information
students receive during lectures or seminars (Komba, 2012; Komba, 2008), the importance of
note-taking skills cannot be underestimated.

Acquisition of academic writing skills

The other perceived importance of communication skills course among university students was
related to the acquisition of academic writing skills, relevant for university studies. Regarding
this aspect, 94/134 of the respondents stated that the communication skills course was
instrumental in acquiring academic writing skills needed in their different areas of specialization.
Specifically, the respondents reported that the course enabled them to gain skills needed in
writing term papers, special projects, research proposals, laboratory reports, and research reports.

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University studies require students to do a lot of writing activities which need students to have
relevant academic writing skills. The specific skills of writing which students have to learn
include writing introductory paragraphs, topic sentences, developing arguments and propositions,
and organizing texts and establishing cohesion (Komba et al., 2012). In view of the findings of
this study, it seemed that the respondents considered communication skills course as being
important in the acquisition of such skills.

The importance of writing skills to university students has also been underscored by Ransom,
Larcombe and Baik (2005). In their survey study which involved students whose first language
was not English, the researchers sought to find out which of the four key language skills
(speaking, writing, reading, and listening) were the most important for students. The findings
indicated that writing skills were the most important as 55.6% of all respondents indicated so.
The findings that writing was perceived as the most important language skill for academic
performance among students is not surprising because much of tertiary assessment is based on
written assignments.

Acquisition of oral presentation skills

The acquisition of oral presentation skills was another perceived importance of communication
skills course among students in the two studied universities. With regard to this category,
104/134 respondents stated that the communication skills course helped them to learn oral
presentation skills needed in their studies at the university. For example, one respondent had this
to voice:
Oral presentation is one of the most challenging tasks for us. While this is the case, most
the courses here at the university require us to make oral presentations and one of the
criterion for assessing the presentations is related to how better we employ presentation
skills. This is where the communication skills course becomes important for all of us as
the course enables us to learn presentation skills (INT1. R9F).
The respondent’s remark shows that the course was perceived as being important as it enabled
them to acquire presentation skills needed for their studies. Specifically, the respondents stated
that the course enabled them to learn how to choose proper materials for presentation; how to
choose a method of presentation suitable for one’s audience; how to handle questions during
presentation; and how to use visual media and other resources during presentation.

The findings seem to be logical given the researcher’s experience as university lecturer. In the
context of Tanzanian universities, oral presentation skills are particularly important to students
when they are supposed to make presentations on various topics related to their different courses
of study. For instance, at Sokoine university of Agriculture where the researcher is based, all
undergraduate students who are in their third year of study are obliged to conduct research and
write research reports in partial fulfilment of the award of the registered degree programmes. In
some departments, the findings of the conducted research have to be presented orally to the
faculty members before submitting the same for assessment and subsequent grading. In this
regard, presentation skills play a significant role in determining students’ success in the
university studies.

Acquisition of reading skills

Reading is one of the four language skills. Others are writing, listening, and speaking. Regarding
the acquisition of reading skills as one of the categories of perceived importance of

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communication skills course, 88/134 respondents reported that the communication skills course
had enabled them to learn how to read for different purposes. The respondents stated that they
had, for example, learnt about different techniques of reading such as skimming, scanning,
extensive reading, and intensive reading which are used for different academic reading purposes.
Stressing on the importance of reading skills learned in the communication skills course, one
respondent had this to report:
Some people think that learning on how to read is as good as wasting ones time. That is
not true. I feel that if a university student does not have reading skills, it is very
disadvantageous. For example, one can waste a lot of time reading a text which is
irrelevant to him/her while the student would have skimmed the document beforehand to
decide whether or not it is worth reading. I learnt reading skills in the communication
skills course and I find them useful in my studies (INT1. R7F).
From the extract, it is evident that the respondent appreciated the role of communication skills
course in the acquisition of reading skills. There were many other similar observations.

Since university studies require students to read extensively, reading skills are important because
they enable students to comprehend ideas, follow arguments, and detect arguments without
difficulties. In addition, the skills are useful in serving time the students use in, for instance,
deciding which material to read, the extent to which the material should be read, and probably
which parts of the material are worth reading according to the pre-determined purpose. Research
findings in applied linguistics and reading research in applied linguistics have consistently shown
a strong correlation between reading proficiency and academic success at all ages from the
primary school right to university level (Pretorious, 2007). This implies that university students
need to be well versed with reading skills in order to have better academic achievement.

Acquisition of listening skills

Another category of the perceived importance of communication skills course among the studied
university students was related to the acquisition of listening skills. The findings, in this aspect,
showed that more than half (72/134) of the respondents considered the communication skills
course as being important in enabling them to learn skills needed for effective listening. The
respondents stated, specifically, that the course had enabled them to learn how to maintain eye
contact with the speaker; how to interact with the speaker; how to concentrate on what is being
said as opposed to how it is said; and how to stay active throughout the listening session by
asking oneself mental questions, which are useful skills in effective listening.

In the context of university studies, effective listening is a pre-requisite to good note-taking

(Wilson & Komba, 2012; Komba, 2008). Listening skills are specifically important to university
students because they are often confronted with situations which require them to make notes
either from reading texts or listening to oral presentations such as lectures, meetings, symposia,
and seminar discussions.

The importance of listening skills to university students has also been reported by Powers
(1987), who did a survey study whose purpose was to obtain faculty perceptions of the
importance of listening skills to academic success. In this study, the findings indicated that
listening skills (particularly those related primarily to various aspects of lecture content) were
very important as far as academic success was concerned.

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As pointed out earlier, most of the students who are admitted in Tanzanian universities are non-
native speakers of English language. In realisation of the significance of listening skills to
university students, listening skills are part and parcel of the communication skills course
contents taught in Tanzanian universities.

Conclusion
The findings of this study have revealed that the communication skills course is perceived by the
majority of university students in Tanzania as an important course for the acquisition of
communication skills needed in academic settings. In view of these findings, it is recommended
that the communication skills course should be sustained because of its potential benefits to
students. In this regard, the universities should improve the delivery of the course by ensuring
that both human and materials resources are adequately available for the realization of the
anticipated course outcomes.

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