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.
Highlights
In the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context, students’ success in getting a job is mainly based on their demonstration of communication skills
All the students ranked strongly on item (18) “We can benefit from the teacher who is specialised in the field (Political Sciences) more than an EFL teacher.)” those students think that their teachers teach them general English and not ESP
This Grammar Translation Method is widely spread at the department of Political Sciences and in most Algerian Universities especially when dealing with ESP classes
Summary
In the ESP context, students’ success in getting a job is mainly based on their demonstration of communication skills. For Politics, effective oral communication skills are the most vital part of their practice. It is obvious that having good oral communication skills is valuable for both classroom management and obtaining employment when graduated. Communication Apprehension (CA), which is our exact area of inquiry, stands as a real barrier to effective communication. There are two types of CA: Writing and Oral CA. Oral CA is considered to be the most important aspect and it happens due to an intense personal fear or anxiety about communicating
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