Speaking topic: COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

-          Obsolete (a) : quá hạn, lỗi thời

-          Manifold (v): tăng lên gấp nhiều lần

-          Adherence (n): Sự gắn bó, gắn chặt

-          Concise (a): ngắn gọn, súc tích

-          Brevity (n): Sự ngắn gọn, súc tích

-          Adage (n): câu châm ngôn

-          Hitherto (adv): cho đến nay /hi đơ ‘tu:/

USEFUL EXPRESSION:

Expression	Example
Go hand in hand
The soul of wit
In the realm	Trong lĩnh vực
A matter of
The most significant/negative impact of A on B is....
The most detrimental effect
Remove the barrier between A and B v.s erect the barrier

Reading: How technologies benefit communication

How has technology changed communication? Throughout history, developments in technology and communications have gone hand-in-hand, and the latest technological developments such as the Internet have resulted in the advancement of the science of communication to a new level.

The process of human communication has evolved over the years, with many path-breaking inventions and discoveries heralding (báo hiệu, dấu hiệu, đưa tin) revolutions or a lift from one level to another.

1.      The invention of pictographs (chữ tượng hình) or the first written communication in the ancient world heralded written communication. These writings were on stone and remained immobile (bất động).

2.      The invention of paper, papyrus, and wax, culminating (cực điểm là) in the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, made possible transfer of documents from one place to another, allowing for uniformity (sự đồng dạng) of languages over long distances.

3.      The latest revolution is the widespread application of electronic technology such as electronic waves and signals to communication, manifesting (biểu lộ) in the electronic creation and transfer of documents over the World Wide Web.

Speed and Costs

The most significant impact of technology on communication is the spread of the Internet and the possibility of sending emails and chatting. In the pre-information technology days, a document often required re-typing on the typewriter before the final version. Sending the letter across a distance to someone else required a visit to the post office and a postage stamp. Faster methods such as telegrams had severe limitations in text, and remained costly.

Computers and the Internet have made easy the process of creating and editing documents and applying features such as spell check and grammar check automatically. Email allows sending the document to any part of the globe within seconds, making telegrams and even ordinary letters mostly obsolete (đã lỗi thời). The Internet has thus increased the speed of communications manifold (nhiều lần) , and reduced the costs drastically.

Quality

The huge amount of knowledge accessible by a click of the mouse has helped improve the quality of communication. Translating a text from an unfamiliar language to a familiar language, seeking out the meaning of an unknown word, and getting follow up information on an unfamiliar concept are all possible thanks to the internet.

Technology allows easy storage and retrieval (sự truy tìm lại) of communication when needed, especially verbal communication, the storage of which was very difficult before. It now becomes easier to rewind and clear misconceptions rather than make assumptions, or contacting the person again to clear doubt.

Change in Style

The invention of new gadgets such as mobile phones makes communication easier by allowing people to communicate from anywhere. An underestimated impact of mobile gadgets is their impact on the nature of communications. The nature of such impact includes the following:

·         The possibility of high quality communication from anywhere in the world to anywhere else at low costs has led to a marked decline in face-to-face communications and to an increased reliance on verbal and written communication over electronic mediums.

·         The small keyboards in mobile phone and other hand-held devices that make typing difficult has resulted in a radical shortening of words and increasing use of symbol and shortcuts, with little or no adherence (sự liên quan gắn bó) to traditional grammatical rules. Such change now finds increasing acceptance in the business community.

·         Communication has become concise (súc tích) and short, and the adage (câu châm ngôn) “brevity (sự ngắn gọn, súc tích) is the soul of wit” finds widespread implementation, though unintentionally.

Accessibility

The answer to the question of how technology has changed communication is incomplete without a mention of technology's role in the democratization (sự dân chủ hóa) of communication systems. Technology has brought down the costs of communication significantly and improved people’s access to communication.

The proliferation (sự gia tăng nhanh) of online forums, live coverage of news, and other such media related initiatives have resulted in world wide access and participation in news and information for almost everyone.

In the realm (lĩnh vực) of business, access to communication or privileged information was hitherto (cho đến nay) a major source of competitive advantage. Technology helps remove such barriers and ensure a level playing field in this aspect for the most part.

Nature of Communication

The ease of communication and the spread of interactive communication methods such as instant messengers and video conferencing have increased the volume of communications but reduced their average length. People now communicate whatever comes up instantly, and tend to break up different topics into different communications.

Finally, technologies integral (ko thể thiếu) to the Internet help spread the net of communication by tracking down old friends, shedding light on new business opportunities, creating new opportunities for business and personal purchasing, and similar ventures.

Expressions

go hand in hand with

Example: Socioeconomic transformation has been going hand in hand with democratization.

Reading: Modern means of communication

Over the years, technology has significantly changed the way people communicate. Originally, the telephone replaced the telegraph. Now cellphones, email and the Internet top the list of preferred communication methods. As more businesses and educational institutions use technology to communicate, society seems to have accepted, if not embraced, the increased role technology now plays in everyday life.

Email

The email message is replacing handwritten correspondence in business and personal interactions. Businesses use email to communicate with customers and staff. Schools often use email to communicate with parents, teachers and students. In addition, people can send an email message and quickly get a response whereas sending other written correspondence may require a longer turnaround time. One bonus of the email message includes saving on postage costs. Many providers, such as Google Mail and Yahoo!, provide free email accounts.

Social Networking Sites

Internet-based social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook allow people to communicate with friends, family, colleagues and even complete strangers in an online forum. These sites allow people to share information and photos with others, regardless of the physical miles that otherwise may have prevented them from doing so. This allows grandparents to see updates and pictures of grandchildren instantly, rather than waiting for the pictures to arrive in the mail. In addition, the use of social networking sites allows people to reconnect with others they may have lost contact with over the years. Many businesses today use social networking sites to enhance their online presence and increase revenue.

Online Chat

The use of online chat forums allows people to converse (trò chuyện) with others across the street or across the country in real time without picking up a telephone. Many email providers also provide chat capabilities as do social networking sites. Other sites allow users to join chat rooms where they can communicate with complete strangers about a specific topic. Sometimes people then share their phone number or email information with the people they meet while chatting online.

Blogs

The popularity of blogging has increased over the years. Businesses use blogs for promotional purposes, but individuals also have turned to blogging. People now use blogs to share family journeys, to provide instructional information and just about everything in between. Some people make a living blogging by selling the content provided and through advertisement-based revenue.

Video Calls

Providers such as Skype and Yahoo Messenger offer the ability to use an Internet connection to place video calls. These calls allow people to see one another on a computer or laptop screen while talking. Placing video calls make it possible for families to see each other despite the physical miles that may separate them. For example, a parent traveling on a business trip can still see and say goodnight to his children. Businesses can save money by using video calls rather than traveling to specific destinations.

Cellphones

The popularity of the cellular phone has increased in recent years because this portable telephone allows people to stay connected just about anywhere they may go. In addition to placing and receiving voice calls, most cellphones provide the ability to send text messages to other cell phone users. Some cellphones allow users to gain access to their email accounts. In addition, many people use their cellphone to access social networking websites and send instant messages. A few cell phones even allow users to place video calls. Using these cellular features typically come at an additional fee, unless used under an unlimited access plan.

Communication - Then & Now

VOICE ONE:

Communicating information always has been extremely important.  Throughout history, some information has had value beyond measure.  The lack of information often costs huge amounts of money and, sometimes, many lives.

One example of this took place near New Orleans, Louisiana.  Britain and the United States were fighting the War of Eighteen Twelve.  The Battle of New Orleans is a famous battle.  As in all large battles, hundreds of troops were killed or wounded.

After the battle, the Americans and the British learned there had been no need to fight.  Negotiators for the United States and Britain had signed a peace treaty in the city of Ghent, Belgium, two weeks earlier.  Yet news of the treaty had not reached the United States before the opposing troops met in New Orleans.  The battle had been a terrible waste.  People died because information about the peace treaty traveled so slowly.

VOICE TWO:

From the beginning of human history, information traveled only as fast as a ship could sail. Or a horse could run. Or a person could walk.

People experimented with other ways to send messages.  Some people tried using birds to carry messages.  Then they discovered it was not always a safe way to send or receive information.

A faster method finally arrived with the invention of the telegraph.  The first useful telegraphs were developed in Britain and the United States in the eighteen thirties.

The telegraph was the first instrument used to send information using wires and electricity.  The telegraph sent messages between two places that were connected by telegraph wires.  The person at one end would send the information.  The second person would receive it.

Each letter of the alphabet and each number had to be sent separately by a device called a telegraph key.  The second person would write each letter on a piece of paper as it was received.  Here is what it sounds like.  For our example we will only send you three letters: VOA.  We will send it two times.  Listen closely.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

In the eighteen fifties, an expert with a telegraph key could send about thirty-five to forty words in a minute.  It took several hours to send a lot of information.  Still, the telegraph permitted people who lived in cities to communicate much faster.  Telegraph lines linked large city centers.  The telegraph soon had a major influence on daily life.

The telegraph provided information about everything.  Governments, businesses and individuals used the telegraph to send information.  At the same time, newspapers used the telegraph to get information needed to tell readers what was happening in the world.  Newspapers often were printed four or five times a day as new information about important stories was received over the telegraph.  The telegraph was the quickest method of sending news from one place to another.

VOICE TWO:

On August fifth, eighteen fifty-eight, the first message was transmitted by a wire cable under the Atlantic Ocean.  The wire linked the United States and Europe by telegraph.  This meant that a terrible mistake like the battle of New Orleans would not happen again.

Reports of daily news events in Europe began to appear in American newspapers.  And news of the United States appeared in European newspapers.  Information now took only a matter of hours to reach most large cities in the world.  This was true for the big cities linked by the telegraph.  However, it was different if you lived in a small farming town, kilometers away from a large city.  The news you got might be a day or two late.  It took that long for you to receive your newspaper.

(SOUND: KDKA first broadcast)

VOICE ONE:

On November second, nineteen twenty, radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast the first radio program.  That broadcast gave the results of a presidential election.

Within a few short years, news and information could be heard anywhere a radio broadcast could reach.  Radios did not cost much.  So most people owned at least one radio.  Radio reporters began to speak to the public from cities where important events were taking place. 

Political leaders also discovered that radio was a valuable political tool.  It permitted them to talk directly to the public.  If you had a radio, you did not have to wait until your newspaper arrived.  You could often hear important events as they happened.

VOICE TWO:

Some people learned quickly that information meant power.  In the nineteen thirties, many countries began controlling information.  The government of Nazi Germany is a good example.

Before and during World War Two, the government of Nazi Germany controlled all information the German people received.  The government controlled all radio broadcasts and newspapers.  The people of Germany only heard or read what the government wanted them to hear or read.  It was illegal for them to listen to a foreign broadcast.

VOICE ONE:

After World War Two, a new invention appeared -- television.  In industrial nations, television quickly became common in most homes.  Large companies were formed to produce television programs.  These companies were called networks.  Networks include many television stations linked together that could broadcast the same program at the same time.

Most programs were designed to entertain people.  There were movies, music programs and game programs.  However, television also broadcast news and important information about world events.  It broadcast some education programs, too.  The number of radio and television stations around the world increased.  It became harder for a dictator to control information.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the nineteen fifties, two important events took place that greatly affected the communication of information.  The first was a television broadcast that showed the East Coast and the West Coast of the United States at the same time.  A cable that carried the pictures linked the two coasts.  So people watching the program saw the Pacific Ocean on the left side of the screen.  They saw the Atlantic Ocean on the right side of the screen.

It was not a film.  People could see two reporters talk to each other even though a continent separated them.  Modern technology made this possible.

VOICE ONE:

The other event happened on September twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty-six.  That was when the first telephone cable under the Atlantic Ocean made it possible to make direct telephone calls from the United States to Europe. Less than six years later, in July, nineteen sixty-two, the first communications satellite was placed in orbit around the Earth.  The speed of information greatly increased again.

VOICE TWO:

By the year nineteen hundred, big city newspapers could provide people with information that was only hours old.  Now, both radio and television, with the aid of satellite communications, could provide information immediately.  People who lived in a small village could listen to or watch world events as they happened.

A good example is when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.  Millions of people around the world watched as he carefully stepped onto the moon on July twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine. 

People in large cities, small towns and villages saw the event as it was happening.  There was no delay in communicating this important information.

VOICE ONE:

A few years after Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, the United States Department of Defense began an experiment.  That experiment led to a system that could send huge amounts of information around the world in seconds.  Experts called it the beginning of the Information Age.  The story of that experiment will be our report next week on EXPLORATIONS.

Discussion: Negative effects of technology on communication

- Distraction

- Dehumanization and depersonalization

- Social isolation

- Privacy issues