The paper "Incorporating Creativity and Communication Skills among the Students of Media Department" by Rizwana Wahid, Shanjida Halim, and Tanzina Halim focuses on evaluating and proposing improvements to the curriculum for media students at King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia. The study aims to address gaps in the current curriculum by incorporating more focus on life and employability skills, particularly communication skills and creativity, to better prepare students for careers in the 21st century.
The researchers conducted a survey of 15 female teachers who currently teach or have previously taught English to media students at the university. A questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was administered to gather teachers' views on the importance of incorporating creativity and communication skills in English into the curriculum.
Key findings indicate that most participants strongly supported incorporating these skills, with 7 out of 10 survey items scoring a mean of 4 or higher on the 5-point scale. Teachers agreed that the curriculum should be revised to make students more globally competent, that creativity and communication skills should be taught in English, and that a separate course on presentation skills should be introduced at advanced levels.
The study concludes that while media students currently study some English and communication skills in Arabic, there is a need to enhance the curriculum by adding dedicated courses on creative writing and presentation skills in English. This would better prepare students for international careers and help them meet global professional standards. The authors recommend incorporating more authentic teaching materials, focusing on interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, and giving teachers flexibility in curriculum design to enhance employability skills.
Overall, the paper argues for transforming media education to equip students with the life and employability skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing global work environment. The findings suggest curriculum designers should revise courses to place greater emphasis on developing these critical 21st century competencies.