4-4  Figure 4-3.  Misunderstandings stem primarily from four barriers to effective communication.  The instructor should also understand that the viewpoint and background of people may vary because of cultural differences. The  instructor should be aware of possible differences, but not overreact or make assumptions because of these differences. For example,  just because a learner is a college graduate does not guarantee rapid advancement in aviation training. A learner’s education certainly  affects the instructor’s style of presentation, but that style should be based on the evaluation of the learner’s knowledge of the aviation  subject being taught.  Second, the attitudes learners exhibit may indicate resistance, willingness, or passive neutrality. To gain and hold learner attention,  attitudes should be molded into forms that promote reception of information. A varied communicative approach works best in  reaching most learners since they have different attitudes.  Third, instructors in aviation enjoy a unique advantage over other teachers, in that an aviation learner is usually an adult willing to  expend time and money to further knowledge. The typical aviation learner exhibits a much more developed sense of motivation and  self-concept than a typical school learner. Additionally, he or she usually comes into the learning environment with a significant  amount of prior knowledge, many life experiences, and a number of decision-making skills. The learner's knowledge, abilities, and  attitudes affect the instructor's communication strategy.  It is essential to understand the dynamics of communication, but the instructor also needs to be aware of several barriers to  communication that can inhibit learning. The nature of language and the way it is used often lead to misunderstandings. These  misunderstandings can be identified by four barriers to effective communication: lack of common experience, confusion between the  symbol and the symbolized object, overuse of abstractions, and external factors.  [Figure 4-3]  Lack of common experience between the communicator (instructor) and the receiver (learner) is probably the greatest single barrier to  effective communication. Communication can be effective only to the extent that the experiences (physical, mental, and emotional) of  the participants are similar.  Many people seem to believe that words transport meanings from speaker to listener in the same way that a truck carries bricks from  one location to another. Words, however, rarely carry precisely the same meaning from the mind of the instructor to the mind of the  learner. In fact, words, in themselves, do not transfer meanings at all. Whether spoken or written, words are merely stimuli used to  arouse a response in the learner.  The learner’s past experience with the words and things to which they refer determines how the learner responds to what the  instructor says. An instructor’s words cannot communicate the desired meaning to another person unless the learner has had some  experience with the objects or concepts to which these words refer. Since it is the learners’ experience that forms vocabulary, it is also  essential that instructors speak the same language as the learners. When the instructor’s terminology is necessary to convey the idea,  some time needs to be spent making certain the learners understand that terminology.  Barriers to Effective Communication  Lack of Common Experience 