To shelter or unshelter? An analysis of international students’ experience in introductory communication courses

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which sheltered versus unsheltered contexts of introductory communication courses impact communication skill development and overall learning outcomes for international students. Specifically, this study examined the following outcome variables: public speaking anxiety, engagement, communication mindset, communication efficacy, and student performance to investigate whether it is beneficial to sheltered international students in introductory courses. Results showed that there was no significant difference between groups for the public speaking anxiety, student engagement, or overall course performance, except for the final group presentation performance. However, there was a significant interaction effect for communication mindset and communication efficacy; students in sheltered sections saw increases in these outcomes over the course of the semester, while unsheltered students experienced the opposite.

A Mixed Method Study on the Effectiveness of Using Virtual Reality to Improve Adolescent Public Speaking

This study analyzes the extent to which virtual reality technology is effective in improving self-confidence in children and adolescents ages 12-18 when public speaking. Using a mixed method of both quantitative and qualitative data, subject responses were collected through a pre- and post-test survey prior to and after completing a set of three virtual reality simulations. The data demonstrated that with an increasing number of audience members present in a virtual simulation, subject confidence levels decreased, suggesting that virtual reality can be used as an effective tool in reducing public speaking anxiety. While the current study supports this claim, additional research should be conducted based on the limitations of this study, specifically to enlarge the sample size beyond 20 subjects.

To Speak or Not to Speak in Public: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial Regarding the Effects of a Public Speaking Program

Public speaking has become an increasingly sought-after skill, which is why more and more people choose to get professionally trained. But is it possible for a public speaking program to have other effects, in addition to improved performance? The aim of this study is to discover the effects of a public speaking program on reducing social anxiety, public speaking anxiety and shame, and also on increasing self-efficacy. The sample (high-school and university students) consisted of 164 participants aged between 15 and 47 years, M = 19.93, SD = 4.70. There were 82 participants in the experimental group and 82 participants in the control group, and the instruments used were: Liebowitz's Scale for Social Anxiety (Liebowitz, 1987), Personal Report on Public Speaking Anxiety (McCroskey, 1970), General scale of self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), Cognitive Schema Questionnaire (Young, 2005). A test-retest design was approached, the participants completing the questionnaires one week apart from the others. The results indicate that a public speaking program is useful for reducing social anxiety and public speaking anxiety, with significant differences between the experimental and control groups. However, in terms of self-efficacy and shame, the results were not conclusive. Thus, even if there has been a decrease in shame and an increase in self-efficacy, it is not clear whether these changes can be attributed to the proposed program. This study can serve as the beginning of a program that can contribute to reducing the level of social anxiety and public speaking anxiety..

Take a Public Speaking Course and Conquer the Fear

The purpose of this research project was to investigate if students today still report a fear of public speaking more often than death and if after completing a public speaking their fears change. Participants in a multi-section public speaking course (N = 374) completed a pre- and post-course survey asking them to select their fears and also complete public speaking anxiety questions. The results showed that pre-course public speaking was chosen more often than death and all other fears except for family tragedy, but after completing the course, the fear of public speaking was no longer selected more than death and was not even among the top five fears students listed. The review of literature also addresses why students should enroll in a basic public speaking course and conquer their fear or anxiety about public speaking while still in college.

Using virtual reality and peer feedback to reduce L2 speaking anxiety: an exploratory study

The present study explored whether the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology can help lower public speaking anxiety in the L2. To this end, we conducted an exploratory effect-of-instruction study using a one-group pre-test/post-test design with nine learners of English as an L2. The results from the post-test show that using VR in combination with peer feedback offers an interesting gateway to reducing public speaking anxiety.

The Influence of Embodiment as a Cartoon Character on Public Speaking Anxiety

Virtual Reality can be used to embody people in different types of body—so that when they look towards themselves or in a mirror they will see a life-sized virtual body instead of their own, and that moves with their own movements. This will typically give rise to the illusion of body ownership over the virtual body. Previous research has focused on embodiment in humanoid bodies, albeit with various distortions such as an extra limb or asymmetry, or with a body of a different race or gender. Here we show that body ownership also occurs over a virtual body that looks like a cartoon rabbit, at the same level as embodiment as a human. Furthermore, we explore the impact of embodiment on performance as a public speaker in front of a small audience. Forty five participants were recruited who had public speaking anxiety. They were randomly partitioned into three groups of 15, embodied as a Human, as the Cartoon rabbit, or from third person perspective (3PP) with respect to the rabbit. In each condition they gave two talks to a small audience of the same type as their virtual body. Several days later, as a test condition, they returned to give a talk to an audience of human characters embodied as a human. Overall, anxiety reduced the most in the Human condition, the least in the Cartoon condition, and there was no change in the 3PP condition, taking into account existing levels of trait anxiety. We show that embodiment in a cartoon character leads to high levels of body ownership from the first person perspective and synchronous real and virtual body movements. We also show that the embodiment influences outcomes on the public speaking task.