Oral communication apprehension in the classroom an interpretive phenomenological study of engineering students at soa university

Abstract

The present study is a qualitative phenomenonological research conducted to newlineinvestigate communication apprehension among a judgmental sample of ten high newlinecommunication apprehensive students enrolled in the engineering courses. A broad term newlinecoined by James McCroskey; communication apprehension refers to fear or anxiety of newlinean individual associated with anticipated or real communication with another individual newlineor individuals. (McCroskey, 1977a; 1978) newlineIt has been found through constant observation and research that many students newlinein the field of engineering studies face significant emotional and physical distress while newlinetrying to express themselves in speech within the classroom and college. The newlinecommunication courses introduced at various stages in their course have been newlineunsuccessful in bringing about any positive change in the communicative behaviour of newlinestudents with communication apprehension. The students with high communication newlineanxiety experiences severe academic, emotional and social and professional newlineconsequences. newlineInterpretive phenomenological analysis was selected as methodology to newlineunderstand the lived experience communication apprehensive engineering students newlineenrolled at SOA University. The study sample included ten engineering students in the newlinefirst year with high communication apprehension. This study provides a vivid newlinedescription of communication apprehension as experienced by the student participants. newlineThe Personal Report of communication Apprehension (PRCA 24) was used to identify newlineparticipants with high communication apprehension. Study participants were identified newlineas high communication apprehensive using the PRCA-24 instrument and willing to newlinediscuss their personal experiences of Communication Apprehension in the classroom. newlineOpen ended interviews with each participant were conducted for collecting data. newlineData was also gathered from observations and a field record maintained by the newlineresearcher. The study recorded the OCA lived experiences of students under the newlinefollowing construct: (1) effects of OCA in classroom