Undergraduate - UnitAZA1433 - Interpersonal communication

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	South Africa School of Social Sciences
Offered	South Africa First semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Ms Marianne Louw

Synopsis

The unit covers all central aspects of interpersonal communication and lays a foundation for the major Communication and Media Studies. However, its content and learning outcomes are relevant to all courses and careers.

Topics covered include verbal and nonverbal communication, the influence of different personal and socio-environmental factors on Communication, gender and cultural differences in communication, and specific communication skills such as effective listening and conflict management.

Students will be exposed to both a macro-approach where communication is placed in wider social contexts and central theories are explored, and a micro-approach where practical skills are taught. In their lectures and tutorials, students will have opportunities to measure, reflect on and improve their own communication skills. This will develop their ability to manage their personal and professional relationships with greater sensitivity and skill.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:

Recognise and define key concepts in the study of interpersonal communication.
Demonstrate an understanding of how communication affects and is affected by micro-social and macro-social environments.
Describe and apply the main ideas of relevant interpersonal theories and research.
Demonstrate an ability to analyse communication patterns in interpersonal relationship case studies.
Discuss the influence of diversity on interpersonal communication.
Assess and reflect on his/her own communication competence.
Demonstrate a high standard of oral and written communication skills in role-play exercises and interaction with lecturers, tutors and fellow students.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Exam: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Marianne Louw

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Development studies
Communications
Public relations practice

Prohibitions

ATS2433, ATS3433, COM2025