The effects of communicative activities in reducing engineering students' communication apprehension in Polytechnic

Employers often consider graduates to be unprepared for employment and lacking in vocational skills. A common demand from them is that the curriculum should include ‘communication skills’, as specific skills in their own right and also because of the central role that such skills can play in developing other desirable attributes. Current thinking in communication has indicated a split between communication apprehension and communication development. There are indications that techniques designed to develop communication skills will not resolve communication apprehension and that, if an individual has a high level of communication apprehension, these techniques will not result in improved communication performance. This paper compares and contrasts the levels and profiles of communication apprehension exhibited by accounting and engineering students. The implications of the findings are then discussed and the need for further research in the area of vocational choice is identified.

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Engineering Students' Communication Apprehension and Competence in Technical Oral Presentations

Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies - Handbook of Research on Effective Communication, Leadership, and Conflict Resolution ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-9970-0.ch020 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 371-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Noor Raha Mohd Radzuan ◽

Sarjit Kaur

Keyword(s):

Oral Presentation ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

English Language ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Communication Competence ◽

Public Speaking Anxiety ◽

Speaking Anxiety ◽

Oral Presentations

The demand for 21st century engineering graduates to be communicatively competent, particularly in English language, is increasing. Effective communication skills are one of the main competencies listed by the Malaysian Engineering Accreditation Council Policy with the expectation that all Malaysian engineering graduates will master it upon graduation. This involves skills in presenting information to technical and non technical audience through oral presentations. This chapter aims to examine engineering students' communication competence and their level of apprehension in delivering a technical oral presentation. Questionnaires, adapted from McCroskey's (1988) Self-Perceived Communication Competence and Richmond & McCroskey's (1988) Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, were distributed to 193 final year Universiti Malaysia Pahang engineering students who were preparing for their Undergraduate Research presentation. The results of the study have direct and indirect implications to the teaching and learning of oral presentation skills among engineering undergraduates.

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An analysis of Self-perceived Communication Apprehension by Learning Styles of Engineering Students

Journal of Engineering Education Research ◽

10.18108/jeer.2010.13.6.3 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3-13

Author(s):

김지심 ◽

Choi keumjin ◽

Jong-Yeon Lee

Keyword(s):

Learning Styles ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Communication Apprehension

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Improvement Of Confidence And Motivation Using Online Metacognition Tool

American Journal of Engineering Education (AJEE) ◽

10.19030/ajee.v3i1.6889 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 53-66

Author(s):

Quamrul H. Mazumder ◽

Mary Jo Finney

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Academic Success ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Interactive Technology ◽

Interactive Software ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽

Input Variables

The use of technology such as laptop computers in the classroom has long been recognized as destructive behavior since it diverts a student’s attention from course topics. However, it is conceivable that every student will be using some form of technology in the near future. Determining the effects of interactive software on students’ learning outcomes can have a profound effect on engineering education. The ultimate aim of this research is to transform students into active learners who are able to better comprehend, are less distracted, and can achieve higher academic performance. In this study, first year engineering students used online metacognition software while interactively participating in the classroom. Both qualitative and quantitative methods using the pre- and post-test experimental designs as well as a debriefing questionnaire were utilized. The academic achievement of students’ through the integration of interactive technology was the output variable, while the input variables were divided into four categories: students’ understanding of the concepts, confidence level, apprehension level, and motivation. In addition, this study also examined the amount of class participation to measure students’ communication apprehension and its correlation to academic performance. In order to improve students' learning outcomes using metacognitive strategies, it was discovered that the use of interactive technology followed by group discussions and class assignments greatly enhanced students' comprehension of scientific facts and their ability to explain them. In addition, the current study showed that engineering students' communication apprehension was also reduced resulting in improvement in confidence and motivation towards academic success.

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Communication Apprehension In Undergraduate Engineering Students: The Influence Of Performing Arts Participation

10.18260/1-2--2508 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

William Lee ◽

Douglas Lunsford

Keyword(s):

Performing Arts ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Arts Participation ◽

Undergraduate Engineering

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A Survey of Communication Apprehension in English Among Engineering Students

Education and Linguistics Research ◽

10.5296/elr.v5i1.14833 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 123

Author(s):

Aisha Faryal ◽

Habibullah Pathan ◽

Amina Bibi Bhatti ◽

Aisha Bhatti

Keyword(s):

Random Sampling ◽

Quantitative Method ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Public Speaking ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Oral Communication ◽

Sampling Procedure ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Oral Fluency ◽

Spss Software

In Pakistan, English is used as a second language in all academic and professional domains. Achieving oral fluency becomes obligatory for students so that they can proficiently participate in the formal discussions, debates and presentations. Communication Apprehension is the fear of speaking. It hinders the speakers from communicating confidently and fluently. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feelings of students during communication and to identify the level of oral communication apprehension faced by engineering students. In this study, quantitative method was used to measure communication apprehension among the respondents. Data was collected through surveys by using random sampling procedure and analysed through the SPSS software. An adapted version of McCroskey PRCA-24 instrument was used to conduct data, 18 items were selected according to requirement of this study. The questionnaire comprises of twenty-four items for respondent’s feelings while their communication with peers majorly in four tasks of communication: group discussions, meetings, interpersonal conversations and public speaking.The “meeting” section was omitted. The questionnaire was developed to measure the respondents’ communication apprehension in the above stated communicative tasks. The findings of the study show that the students have high communication apprehension during participation in public speaking and formal discussions whereas low apprehension was reported during participation in group discussions.

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Communication Apprehension In U.K. Engineering Students: A Comparative Study

10.18260/1-2--13655 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Trevor Hassall ◽

Jose Arquero ◽

John Joyce ◽

Ian Robinson ◽

Michael Bramhall

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Communication Apprehension

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Building Emotional Intelligence for Student Success: A Pilot Study

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_persp-19-00101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1445-1461

Author(s):

Amee P. Shah ◽

Mary Lou Galantino

Keyword(s):

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Communication Competence ◽

Emotional Awareness ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Empowerment Model ◽

Dyad Interaction ◽

Relational Management

Purpose Nationwide, upward trends exist in student issues with anxiety, stress, depression, and lowered classroom performance. As emotional awareness and emotional regulation skills are typically not addressed in professional discipline-specific courses, students experience challenges in their academic performance. This pilot research explored the effect of brief targeted classroom practices within an empowerment-based framework on domains of emotional intelligence. Method Twenty-two students in an undergraduate speech-language pathology class received a 13-week, biweekly, 15-min session of empowerment-based worksheet exercises to develop increased self-esteem, emotional awareness and regulation, and communication. Assessments of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, communication competence, and communication apprehension were conducted using validated scales, namely, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ), the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment ( Mohapel, 2015 ), the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale ( McCroskey & McCroskey, 2013 ), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension ( McCroskey, 1982 ), respectively. Midsemester and semester-end student reflections were collected. Results Paired t tests were significant in self-esteem and emotional quotient, including subdomains of emotional awareness, emotional management, social emotional awareness, and relational management. Significance was noted in communication competence in the subdomains of dyad interaction, stranger interaction, and acquaintance. Students' reflection showed significant improvement in empowerment and self-rated improvements in confidence, communication, connections with peers, and trust with instructor. Conclusion Preliminary evidence demonstrates positive outcomes with integration of intentional classroom exercises to build emotional intelligence (including emotional awareness and regulation), self-esteem, and communication. This empowerment model may assist faculty in developing effective pedagogical strategies to build students' self-resiliency.

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