Under the right environment, even the most basic of research skills can put one in line to benefit financially, especially when one looks at it from the point of view of the information era in which we’re living. That’s why we seek to equip each of our learners with adequate research skills as part of our dynamic curriculum, most of whom tend to start enjoying otherwise boring learning areas such as comprehension which naturally forms part of their language subjects.

It is a bit of a process to gauge the skill level each learner possesses, but it’s always worth it in the end when as an educator you track the progress of a learner and you realise just how much progress they make. With progress comes confidence, which in turn spills over into all other learning areas.

But what goes into the development of essential research skills however?

Language Mastery

There is a reason why even as part of our progressive and dynamic outcomes-based curriculum we place a very heavy emphasis on language mastery, which is why we exhaust all avenues to make sure learners master the language they’ve chosen as their first language. The reason is that you simply need to be competent in the basic knowledge of the language you’re communicating in, in order to be able to make basic sense of what you’re reading, what you’re looking for in the content you’re reading and what to make of the ideas or information communicated.

Now this is a continuous learning process which never really ends actually, but there is a basic level of language mastery which is expected of anyone who seeks to develop a competent set of research skills.

Comprehension

This is perhaps an extension of language mastery in that you need to have a basic understanding of communication standards in order to try and make sense of what is being communicated. But yes, comprehension is indeed a key component of the development of one’s research skills.

Advanced Language Mastery

Advanced language mastery along with the next element forming part of the essential research skill set (knowledge expansion and contextualisation) is perhaps best represented through the practices of more than competent legal firms operating professionally in their field. If you get a letter bearing the Johnston Law Firm letterhead and/or stamp for example, whether you’re the one being summoned/reprimanded or indeed if you’re the one being represented by the law firm, you know things have become as serious as they can get.

Knowledgebase Expansion and Contextualisation

To build on from the previous pointer forming part of the elements which make up essential research skills, naturally you’d want to be on the right side of the legal document presented to you by the likes of the law firm mentioned, in which case it demonstrates advanced language mastery in the case of the legal firm itself, so too the ability to deploy their knowledge within a specific context. These traits are indeed what make up the complete set of elements which come together to make for an accomplished set of research skills.