I was on board a bus on my way home when I saw a group of
students around the age of 13 to 15 years old sitting nearby chatting expressively.
There were four of them altogether, three boys and a girl. The boys took turns talking
about a certain show or game that they had watched. I observed them from afar
as I got nothing else to do at that moment.
As one of the boys were talking, the other boys appeared to
be focused while listening to the speaker. They were inching forward while the girl
was leaning back in her seat. Two of the boys responded to the speaker by
sharing their thoughts on how the story could have turned out instead of the
one as shared by the speaker. Their hand gestures and tone of their voices were
also an indication of their interest in the topic as they responded
expressively. On the other hand, the girl was looking out the window and was
not paying attention to them at all.
In my opinion, the two boys that had listened were
enthusiastic because the topic at hand was something relevant to them and they
enjoyed it. The way they reacted by opening their eyes widely, listening keenly
and replying to the speaker implies that they were actively engaged. Their
nonverbal behaviour also showed that they enjoyed the companion of one another
by using hand gestures to describe the scene that they were talking about. As
for the girl, she was looking away because she might not be interested in
the topic(revised).
In summary, the two boys showed a good example of active
listening skills and the use of nonverbal behaviour to express themselves. Having said that, the boys were being too oblivious towards the girl. This could be due to their young age where they might be unaware that she was not as actively involved in the conversation(revised). Being young, they might not have thought of the initiative to try and engage her along in the conversation(revised). The
girl on the other hand, lacked in showing her listening skills and nonverbal behaviour in this situation as she might not have
the same interest in the topic.
Hi Wazi
ReplyDeleteI like the description of the different degrees of interaction among the students. I think there is enough information for us to 'see' the scenario.
I suggest re-phrasing your opinion about what the girl might have been thinking. Specifically: "As for the girl, I believe she was looking away because she was not interested in the topic." Since you did not talk with her, how could you have known that she was not interested in the topic? You might re-phrase by using modals or tentative expressions. Or, you might re-consider your opinion.
On assigning gender as a possible influencing factor, you stated: "It might be due to gender difference and that the topic is not of interest to her." There is insufficient information derived from your observation to draw this conclusion. Avoid the logical flaw of jumping to conclusion just because gender is the most obvious difference between the two groups.
I wonder if age might be considered, i.e. the way that the boys seemed oblivious to how she was not in the conversation. Consider: Is this a scenario that we might see with adults (on a different conversation topic, perhaps)? Just a thought to help you explore another possibility.
Eventually, do explain how you arrive at your evaluation of the possible influencing factor(s) in this interaction.
In other words, base your reasoning on what you understand of how culture, gender and/or age play a part in how we perceive the world and behave towards others.
Hope you can revise the evaluation segment by Thursday. Thank you.
Hi Wazir, after reading your post, I like the way you describe the conversation. But, I also felt that you could have given more elaboration on the evaluation of the possible factors that you see from the interaction. I hope this will help you.
ReplyDeleteHi wazir,
ReplyDeleteI thought that your descriptions of the non-verbal cues are good. I also liked that you put in your thoughts of why the boys and girls reacted that way. I enjoyed reading your blog post and I look forward to watching you improve.
Hello Wazirullah,
ReplyDeleteRegarding on your observation, I had a similar experience like you back when I was younger. I think you have nicely described the aspects of the verbal and non-verbal cues. I have to agree that sometimes due to gender differences, some topics that are being discussed may not be favourable to a certain party.Thank you for the good post!