Speaking in English: Oral Communication Apprehension and Self-Perceived Communication Competence among Marketing Undergraduates in Malaysia
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this study perceptions of final year marketing undergraduates were investigated at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak towards the feeling of anxiety they experienced when speaking in English. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to determine (a) the level of oral communication apprehension; (b) the level of self–perceived communication competence; and (c) to identify the relationship between the students’ English oral communication apprehension and self-perceived communication competence. A quantitative research design was adopted and McCroskey’s well-known questionnaire was used to measure communication apprehension levels in four communication contexts (group discussion, meeting, interpersonal and public speaking). The Self-Perceived Communication Competence questionnaire by the McCroskeys’ was used to measure communication in various contexts (public, meeting, group, and dyad) and from different receivers (stranger, acquaintance and friend). The results showed that the final year marketing undergraduates had moderate levels of oral communication apprehension. Their level of self-perceived communication competence was also at the moderate level. Results also indicated a significant correlation between communication apprehension and self-perceived communication competence among the students.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: Asia-Pacific International University reserve exclusive rights to publish, reproduce and distribute the manuscript and all contents therein.
References
Abdullah, K. I., Abdul R., & Nurul, L. (2010). A study on second language speaking anxiety among UTM students [Unpublished manuscript]. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Institutional Repository. http://eprints.utm. my/id/eprint/10275/2/Nurul_Lina_Bt_Abdul_Rahman.pdf
Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L., & Proctor, R. (2001). Interplay: The process of interpersonal communicating (8th ed.). Harcourt College Publishers.
Aeni, N., Jabu, B., Rahman, M. A., & Strid, J. E. (2017). English oral communication apprehension in students of Indonesian maritime. International Journal of English Linguistics, 7(4), 158–167.
Arnold, N. (2007). Reducing foreign language communication apprehension with computer-mediated communication: A preliminary study. System, 35(4), 469–486.
Dar, M. F., & Khan, I. (2014). Oral communication apprehension among undergraduate engineering students in Pakistan. Journal of Education & Social Sciences, 2(2), 144–153.
Devi, S., & Feroz, F. (2008). Oral communication apprehension and communicative competence with electrical engineering undergraduates in UTeM. Journal of Human Capital Development (JHCD), 1(1), 1–10.
DeVito, J. A. (1986). Intrapersonal communication in interpersonal communication. Pearson.
Durak, E. (2020). Speech fright: A study into communication apprehension and self-perceived communication competence among upper-secondary Swedish ESL/EFL students [Master's thesis, Stockholm University]. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-179171
Hasni, B., Ismail, F., & Abdullah, T. (2017). Communication apprehension among polytechnic students. In A. Shaari, B. N. Morat, H. Musa, D. E. Nayab, S. A. Ngadmid, & S. Kulddas (Eds.), Embracing the 21st century research on teaching and learning (pp. 11–13). Pusat Pengajian Ilmu Pendidikan. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Siti-Muhajir/publication/342509897_COMPILATION_OF_FULL_ PAPERS_IPCORE_2017/links/5ef8486c4585 15505078b9bd/COMPILATION-OF-FULL-PAPERS-IPCORE-2017.pdf
Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.
Huwari, I., & Hashima, N. (2010, December 1–2). Oral communication apprehension in English among Jordanian postgraduate students in Universiti Utara Malaysia [Paper presentation]. The 3rd International Conference on International Studies (ICIS), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. http://repo.uum.edu.my/2498/
Ilias, A., Razak, M., & Yunus, N. (2013). Communication apprehension (CA): A case of accounting students. International Journal of Independent Research and Studies, 2(1), 16–27.
Isa, I., & Tamam, N. (2012). Communication apprehension among technical and commerce learners in Polytechnic Port Dickson. Journal Online Jaringan Pengajian Seni Bina (JOJAPS), 3, 7–13. http://www.geocities.ws/apacc/paper2_izawati.pdf
Kim, J. (2015). Communication apprehension. In M. J. Beatty & P. Pascual‐Ferrá (Eds.), The International Encyclopaedia of Interpersonal Communication. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118540190.wbeic099
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners' unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 71–86.
Lockley, T. (2013). Exploring self-perceived communication competence in foreign language learning. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3(2), 187–212.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3–26.
MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., & Donovan, L. A. (2002, October). Willingness to communicate in the L2 among French immersion students [Paper presentation]. Second Language Research Forum, Toronto, Canada.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283–305.
McCroskey, J. C. (1970). Measures of communication-bound anxiety. Speech Monographs, 37(4), 269–277.
McCroskey, J. C. (1982). An introduction to rhetorical communication (4th ed.). Prentice-Hall.
McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (1988). Self-report as an approach to measuring communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 5(2), 108–111.
McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (2013). Self-perceived communication competence scale (SPCC). Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Science.
Morreale, S., Osborn, M., & Pearson, J. (2000). Why communication is important: A rationale for the centrality of the study of communication. Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, 29, 1–25.
Mustapha, W. Z. W., Ismail, N., Singh, S. S. R., & Alias, S. E. (2010). ESL students’ communication apprehension and their choice of communication activities. Asian Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2(1), 22–29.
Rasakumaran, A., & Devi, S. I. (2017). Oral communication apprehension among freshmen: A case in the faculty of medicine. Journal of Human Capital Development (JHCD), 10(1), 19–32.
Rashidi, N., Yamini, M., & Shafiei, E. (2012). Oral communication apprehension and affective factors: Self-esteem and introversion/extroversion. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 3(7), 145–174. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Oral-Communication-Apprehension-and-Affective-and-Rashidi-Yamini/c759cce69a7b9f25e8bce15dc65b3b36420d35bb
Sabri, U., & Qin, T. Y. (2014). Communication apprehension among Nilai college students. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 5(5), 46–49.
Schlee, R. P., & Harich, K. R. (2010). Knowledge and skill requirements for marketing jobs in the 21st century. Journal of Marketing Education, 32(3), 341–352.
Sekaran, U. (2000). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (4thed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Stewart, F., & Tassie, K. E. (2011). Changing the atmos’fear’ in the public speaking classroom. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(7), 9–13.
Subekti, A. S. (2020). Self-perceived communication competence and communication apprehension: A study of Indonesian college students. Journal of English Education, Literature and Culture, 5(1), 14–31.
Subramaniam, G., & Harun, R. (2013). The ability of the polytechnics marketing student in using good English oral communication skills during industrial training. English for Specific Purposes World, 14(39), 1–15.
Taha, M. A. A., & Rezeq, K. A. A. (2018). Oral communication apprehension among English senior majors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine. International Journal Research in English Education, 3(1), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.29252/ijree.3.1.44
Tom, A. A., Johari, A., Rozaimi, A., & Huzaimah, S. (2013). Factors contributing to communication apprehension among pre-university students. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(8), 665–669. https://doi.org/ 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p665
Wood, J. T. (2015). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.