English Courses

We all know people who seem capable of connecting with almost anyone. Do these people possess a superpower? What is the art of connecting? LANG 2069 will help you identify and develop the social-emotional competencies that you bring to conversations and equip you with communication strategies for building meaningful connections offline and on.

• reflecting on social identity and social-emotional competence and how these impact communication.
• evaluating conversations in academic, social and professional contexts to identify successes, challenges, and areas for improvement.
• developing key skills including: asking deep questions to connect, active listening and storytelling.

1. Participating in and analysing the ‘Fast Friends Procedure’ – a procedure intended to increase connection.
2. Collaboratively analysing examples of one type of ‘important conversation’ to help present a protocol for a successful conversation.
3. Compiling a portfolio of reflections on your development as a communicator.
4. Sharing a response to reading on a chosen topic with a small group.

• Any student who wants to connect with others but also themselves and develop strategies to navigate conversations with empathy and identify and overcome communication barriers.

• Prerequisite(s): 1403, 1406, 1407, 1408, or 1409

Student testimonials

• "one of the most practical and useful classes I’ve ever taken. I’ve genuinely found myself applying the concepts we learned in real life, and I now feel much more engaged in conversations with others."
• "I achieved my goals and it is a very interesting and unique course."
• "I will be able to better my relationship with not only friends and family, but also apply this course in my work and future career."
• "It was overall a really new and fun assignment for me because it was unlike essays or other written assignments from other courses."
• "I think writing reflections is a wonderful way for deep thinking as it encourages me to think about my daily life in the terms of supercommunication."

Learning outcomes

• This course requires students to take an active and reflective approach to their learning, and connect with others on the course.
• Students work collaboratively and co-create knowledge.
• The course helps strengthen emotional connections and communicate effectively in conversations in diverse contexts.