Oral Communication Apprehension Among ESP Students in Algeria

Abstract

Communication Apprehension has attracted a lot of research especially about students’ behaviour in the classroom and ever-increasing body of research has accumulated indicating that there is a pervasive relationship between this communication variable and various aspects of the academic experience. The main purpose of this article is to examine the level of Communication Apprehension (CA) among Third-Year Political Science students studying English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at Chlef University, and then investigate the main factors that lead to their CA in the ESP classroom. For the purpose of the study, the researcher used a mixed research method. The instruments that were used for data collection in the study are a questionnaire administered to 50 students and an interview conducted with 4 ESP teachers. The findings of the study revealed that most students had high level of CA with the relative contribution of two main reasons: instructional and psychological factors to the situation. Finally, some suggestions and recommendations on how to reduce communication apprehension among ESP students and improve their speaking skills were stated. Communication apprehension is a phenomenon that needs to be further investigated in the context of Political Sciences where students might be involved in situations where various cognitive and cultural elements work together.