Teaching and Learning Communication Skills Through Radio Lecture Series: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The effective use of the language skills is not acquired naturally but learnt, and enhanced as a set of practices in formal instructional settings. This is what the Communication and Study Skills Radio Lecture Series on Radio Windy Bay 98.3 FM MHz seeks to do. The defining question is: how relevant is this free-on air broadcast to the teaching and learning experience of its target audience after over a decade of transmission? This appreciative inquiry or tracker study sought to analyse the listening habits of the target audience of the programme; examine perceptions of the listeners at the level of programme content, anchor styles, interactivity, placement, and duration; and explore suggestions for improvement to enhance performance. A Descriptive survey, data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires from three hundred and sixty-four (N=364) participants and fifty (N=50) key informants from the University of Education, Winneba in the 2015/2016 academic year. Situated in the AMARC radio impact assessment tools, the Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) ratings, and the Audience tracker, one significant finding from was that the radio lecture was complementary and is capable of harmonizing the contents from the different lecturers of the course with varied teaching styles. Additionally, unlike the traditional face-to-face lectures, it was devoid of visual distractions which enabled the target audience to pay attention to details during the presentations. The study recommends the introduction and use of other emerging complementary learning tools such as the podcast to improve the asymmetrical nature of this teaching and learning experience.