This study aimed to provide scientific answers to the following questions: what the nature and extent of communication apprehension are among Afrikaans speaking high-school pupils and the correlation between this fear and the academic achievement of the pupils. In order to provide answers for these questions, human communication as an activity had to be studied in more detail. A study was made of communication and how it is applied in the classroom situation. A very close relationship exists between communication and teaching and it is evident that teaching cannot take place without communication. Teaching is a particular kind of communication which can be distinctly recognised from other forms of communication by the fact that it has the aim of enabling the learner to perform certain learning tasks. Communication apprehension or the lack there of can greatly determine the success of the communication process as well as the teaching-learning process. Communication apprehension was studied in more detail with the aim to establish possible causes and effects of high levels of communication apprehension in pupils. Suggestions were offered for preventing and/or surmounting communication apprehension in the classroom. The following information has been acquired through the use of the PRCA (Personal Report on Communication Apprehension) which was completed by pupils of the four Afrikaans high-schools in Potchefstroom. • 15,9% of the pupils experienced high levels of communication apprehension. • Pupils who take Afrikaans on the standard grade, in each context, experienced the highest levels of communication apprehension. • Pupils whose achievements fall in the interval 0%-49% experienced the highest communication apprehension in each context. • Pupils whose achievements fall in the interval 80% - 100% experienced the lowest communication apprehension in each context. Research on communication apprehension should be broadened to include pupils of primary schools. The causes of high levels of communication apprehension should be examined further, with the aim to establish programmes which could help in reducing communication apprehension of pupils. / Skripsie (MEd (Vakdidaktiek))--PU vir CHO, 1997

The goal of this research was to determine whether communication apprehension impacted reading comprehension in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students and to examine the impact of family socio-economic status. Many studies have demonstrated the negative relationship between communication apprehension and academic achievement, however, studies of elementary and middle school students have been conspicuously missing from this research. Findings of this study indicated that the levels of communication apprehension rose slightly as grade level increased. Results showed that females in the study had higher levels of communication apprehension than males. The study also found that those students receiving free and reduced lunch had slightly higher levels of communication apprehension. Finally, nonminority status students had higher levels of communication apprehension than minority students. A review of previous studies found that children, exposed to high language input from their parents, know more words than those who are exposed to lower levels of input. Researchers have found that students who do not talk much in the classroom are evaluated less positively by their teachers, achieve less on teacher-made and standardized tests, and develop less positive affect toward school in general. Results of this study suggest that effort should be made to identify communication anxiety in children. The iii development of an age and grade appropriate instrument is warranted for early identification.

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The effectiveness of a treatment for communication apprehension (CA) was examined in this study. Trait and state anxiety were examined by using community college students enrolled in four sections of a required basic speech communication course. The sample size consisted of 81 students, ranging in ages 17-82. Each student was asked to complete a trait anxiety measure (Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24) during the second class meeting (pre-test) and again on the last day of class (post-test). For the state anxiety measure, students were asked to complete the Speaker Anxiety (SA) Scale immediately after delivering an informative speech at the end of the semester. Two classes served as the treatment group, receiving a 15-minute combination anxiety reduction technique and two classes served as the control group, receiving no treatment. A significant interaction was found in physiological activation, an important direct manifestation of state anxiety commonly experienced as irregular heart beat, dry mouth, sweaty palms, and feelings of exhaustion. The findings showed that the students in the control group who spoke in the second week had higher anxieties than did the other students. A dividend of this investigation was the result that supported frequent anecdotal reports from past speech students; namely, that at the conclusion of the basic speech course, students in this study reported a reduction in trait anxiety. Of the other comparisons made, race and maternal encouragement were shown as major influences for the trait of communication apprehension. Future research should use larger samples of community college students and focus on state anxiety with trait anxiety as a monitor for stability. Treatments might also be expanded to weekly sessions during a major portion of one semester. / Ph. D.

<p>The purpose of this essay was to find the reasons why some students do not dare to participate verbally in the classroom. I also wanted to know how teachers are working to make it easier or students with communication apprehension. After that I put the teacher’s answers in contrast to the theory. I used qualitative interviews as the method. I interviewed seven school teachers in two different schools in Stockholm.</p><p>The conclusion is that students do not dare participate verbally in the classroom because of: shyness, low confidence in their own way of communicate, are worried to answer wrong in front of the teacher and the class, low self-confidence, negative class climate and to large classes. Students are also worried about being graded. These causes were also confirmed in the theory. Differences were: all teachers did not think they teach students with communication apprehension, but the theory argues that it is 20 percent in a class. Some teachers used to ask question direct to students, but the theory says that it can increase communication apprehension. The teachers also meant that it is their function to help students with communication apprehension, but the theory says that some students needs more help than they can get in a regular classroom.</p>

The purpose of this essay was to find the reasons why some students do not dare to participate verbally in the classroom. I also wanted to know how teachers are working to make it easier or students with communication apprehension. After that I put the teacher’s answers in contrast to the theory. I used qualitative interviews as the method. I interviewed seven school teachers in two different schools in Stockholm. The conclusion is that students do not dare participate verbally in the classroom because of: shyness, low confidence in their own way of communicate, are worried to answer wrong in front of the teacher and the class, low self-confidence, negative class climate and to large classes. Students are also worried about being graded. These causes were also confirmed in the theory. Differences were: all teachers did not think they teach students with communication apprehension, but the theory argues that it is 20 percent in a class. Some teachers used to ask question direct to students, but the theory says that it can increase communication apprehension. The teachers also meant that it is their function to help students with communication apprehension, but the theory says that some students needs more help than they can get in a regular classroom.

Conditions relating to evaluation apprehension, alcohol and affect were investigated in relation to creative performance. Study I compared group work with individual work, and control conditions were compared with de Bono creativity-enhancing techniques. Study II studied the effect of alcohol and emotional-enhancing film material on primary-secondary process relations and creative performance. Study III explored experiences of working on a creative task after receiving negative feedback. Study IV investigated the relationship between fear of evaluation and creative performance. Study I showed higher scores on different measures of creative performance for group work, while individual work showed higher total fluency scores. Further, de Bono technique conditions showed lower fluency and lower flexibility. Study II showed signs of decreased creative performance after the intake of alcohol, and signs of increased primary process thinking but no effect of on creative performance after emotional enhancement. Study III showed that stress, fear of producing ‘incorrect’ responses and low self-efficacy were inhibiting factors on creative performance. Study IV showed that fear of evaluation was related to a lower self-efficacy, higher degree of worry, and higher degree of self-censorship. Further, Study IV showed that fear of negative evaluation had a positive relation to number of ideas produced, but no relation to quality of ideas. Additionally, support for creativity showed positive relations to both number of ideas produced and quality of ideas. / Creativity is desired in many situations. Areas where creativity is needed include innovation, product development and artistic performance. Further, creative activities are connected with joy and pleasure for the individual. However, many of us are struggling when it comes to creative performance, and it is considered hard to be creative. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate inhibition of creative performance. The results of the four papers comprised in the thesis suggest that group work have an effect on the creative process, explicit instructions may narrow down possible solutions for a problem, alcohol may inhibit creative performance and evaluation apprehension is related to self-censorship of ideas. Further, support for creativity showed positive relations with both quantity and quality of ideas. The main conclusion of the thesis is that individuals may withhold ideas in fear of others’ reactions. Therefore, creative performance is not only a question of ability, but also a question of willingness to communicate.

The purpose of this paper is to examine in depth and to synthesize the literature on foreign language anxiety, with specific focus on speaking anxiety. This paper reviews the development of the foreign language anxiety construct and extensive research on its relationship with other domains of second language acquisition, including specific language skills and language learning processes. Review of the literature has confirmed that foreign language anxiety plays a significant role in learners’ performance and achievement. However, there are still many areas that need further research and clarification. Variables such as individual differences still cloud the relationship between anxiety and achievement, thus suggesting that further research should be conducted in order to clarify the effects of foreign language anxiety and should strive to alleviate learners’ anxiety in the language classroom. / text

This study explored the relationship between the personality construct of hardiness and public speaking anxiety. Although hardiness has been widely explored in a variety of anxiety-arousing life events, its relationship with communication anxiety had not been previously studied. Therefore, hardiness, public speaking trait anxiety, and public speaking state anxiety were measured in a course requiring an oral presentation assignment. One hundred fifty students enrolled in a basic speech communication course participated in the study. A statistically significant correlation was revealed between hardiness and trait communication anxiety. Students higher in hardiness reported lower trait communication apprehension in three contexts: 1) meeting, 2) interpersonal, and 3) group. Overall, students did not differ on measures of hardiness and a fourth communication context: public speaking anxiety. Likewise, on measures of hardiness and state public speaking anxiety, students did not differ.