Abstract
Oral presentation is an essential part of the undergraduate experience as it is a common form of assessment. In oral presentations, students are typically required to stand and present to an audience (Sullivan, 2009) to enhance and showcase their learning. Public speaking anxiety is one of the most prevalent forms of anxiety disorders (Bartholomay & Houlihan, 2016). Previous research conducted in different parts of the world has found that many students experience fear and anxiety in public speaking (E.g. Dwyer & Davidson 2012, Ferreira Marinho et al., 2017; Le Febvre et al., 2018; Nash et al, 2016; Tsang 2020). Speech anxiety is also recognised as a significant barrier to students' success and participation in public speaking courses (E.g. Russel & Shaw 2009; Russell & Topham 2012; Tsang, 2020). The aims of this study are to investigate the anxiety experienced by students in individual oral presentations, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the different interventions used in different classes to alleviate the fear of public speaking.
This study adapts the questionnaire developed by Hook et al. (2008) to measure students' levels of speech anxiety and was completed by 92 students. All students participating in this study were in the classes of a compulsory course taught by the four teachers in this study. They planned and carried out different interventions which consisted of specific in-class activities over the course of two weeks. The results of this questionnaire indicate the types and level of anxiety students experienced during two oral presentations. The statistical analysis provides evidence of the overall negative effect of a high and extremely high level of anxiety on their performance, thus demonstrating a need for carefully developed interventions. This study provides further evidence that public speaking fear among EAL students should be acknowledged, and more support should be provided to prepare for oral presentations assessments.
This study adapts the questionnaire developed by Hook et al. (2008) to measure students' levels of speech anxiety and was completed by 92 students. All students participating in this study were in the classes of a compulsory course taught by the four teachers in this study. They planned and carried out different interventions which consisted of specific in-class activities over the course of two weeks. The results of this questionnaire indicate the types and level of anxiety students experienced during two oral presentations. The statistical analysis provides evidence of the overall negative effect of a high and extremely high level of anxiety on their performance, thus demonstrating a need for carefully developed interventions. This study provides further evidence that public speaking fear among EAL students should be acknowledged, and more support should be provided to prepare for oral presentations assessments.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages | 115 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Jun 2024 |
| Event | Engagement in the Digital Age: International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning = 互動．共融：數碼時代語⽂教學國際研討會 - Language Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University , Hong Kong Duration: 17 Jun 2024 → 18 Jun 2024 https://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/main/lconference/ (Conference Website) https://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/main/wp-content/uploads/Conference-At-a-Glance-Day-2-2024-06-18.pdf (Conference Program) https://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/main/lconference/programme/ (Conference Program) https://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/main/wp-content/uploads/Book-of-Abstracts-2024-06-17.pdf (Conference Abstracts) |
Conference
| Conference | Engagement in the Digital Age: International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning = 互動．共融：數碼時代語⽂教學國際研討會 |
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| Country/Territory | Hong Kong |
| Period | 17/06/24 → 18/06/24 |
| Internet address |
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User-Defined Keywords
- Oral presentation
- public speaking anxiety
- interventions, speech anxiety measurement
- EAL (English as an Additional Language) students