Presentation Title
Teaching Principles of Effective Written Communication to International Students
Author Biography
Vlad Krotov received his PhD in Management Information Systems and Strategic Management from the Department of Decision and Information Sciences, University of Houston. His teaching, research and consulting work is devoted to helping organizations to use Information and Communication Technologies for creating value. He consulted to such organizations as Forrester Research, US Army, Goldstein, Faucett & Prebeg LLP, Al Ain Hospital, and Al Rahba Hostpial. His quantitative and qualitative research on IT strategy, innovation, emerging technologies and business analytics has appeared in a number of academic and practitioner-oriented journals and conferences, such as: CIO Magazine, Journal of Theoretical and Applied E-Commerce, Communications of the Association of Information Systems, Business Horizons, Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management, America’s Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), International Conference on Mobile Business (ICMB). Currently, Vlad Krotov is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems and Telecommunications Systems Management at Murray State University. Prior to joining MSU, he spent 6 years at Abu Dhabi University (Abu Dhabi, UAE).
Abstract
After many years of teaching international students, I realized there is a rather limited and reoccurring list of problems in the students’ writing. These problems seem to be present in students’ writing regardless of their country of origin or first language. While many of these problems do not constitute a “fatal flaw”, they seriously undermine effectiveness of their written communication. To put in simple words, they make it harder for a reader to understand one’s true message. And this often has little to do with one’s knowledge of English. Therefore, this poster focuses primarily on the fundamental principles of written communication that make communication more effective regardless of which language is used for communication. Written communication effectiveness is defined here as the ability to get your recipient understand your true intended message with the minimum amount of time and effort. If English is a second or third language for a student, this does not automatically put him her at a disadvantage with respect to written communication. International students can still learn how to communicate effectively in written form despite the limited vocabulary or lack of understanding of many of the nuances of English grammar. Teaching international students these principles of effective written communication requires educating them about those principles and enforcing those principles in every assignment. These principles can be communicated and enforced via handouts, presentations and written communication rubrics. These materials will be distributed as a part of this presentation free of charge.
Session Type
Poster
Learning Objectives
You will learn the following:
- What the most fundamental principles of effective written communication are
- How to teach the principles of effective written communication to international students via presentations and handouts
- How to enforce usage of the principles of effective written communication via written communication rubrics
Presentation handout
Teaching Principles of Effective Written Communication to International Students
After many years of teaching international students, I realized there is a rather limited and reoccurring list of problems in the students’ writing. These problems seem to be present in students’ writing regardless of their country of origin or first language. While many of these problems do not constitute a “fatal flaw”, they seriously undermine effectiveness of their written communication. To put in simple words, they make it harder for a reader to understand one’s true message. And this often has little to do with one’s knowledge of English. Therefore, this poster focuses primarily on the fundamental principles of written communication that make communication more effective regardless of which language is used for communication. Written communication effectiveness is defined here as the ability to get your recipient understand your true intended message with the minimum amount of time and effort. If English is a second or third language for a student, this does not automatically put him her at a disadvantage with respect to written communication. International students can still learn how to communicate effectively in written form despite the limited vocabulary or lack of understanding of many of the nuances of English grammar. Teaching international students these principles of effective written communication requires educating them about those principles and enforcing those principles in every assignment. These principles can be communicated and enforced via handouts, presentations and written communication rubrics. These materials will be distributed as a part of this presentation free of charge.