The Role of Communication Apprehension and SelfStigma of Academic Help-Seeking in Native and Nonnative English Speakers: Evidence from UK University Students

Marta Sobotka,Ilhan Raman

doi:10.5296/ije.v12i3.17355

Abstract

Although communication apprehension (CA) has long been reported to hinder communication skills and academic attainment, its cumulative impact on self-stigma of academic help-seeking in a global education market has nevertheless been overlooked. The present study examined the relationship between CA and self-stigma of academic help-seeking among British university students who acquired English at different stages in their lives and its impact on achievement. Data were collected from 150 students who completed the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and the self-stigma of academic help-seeking scale together with a demographic questionnaire. Overall, the findings showed a significant relationship between CA and self-stigma of academic help-seeking while age of English acquisition, residency status and level of study were also found to have a significant effect on the level of CA. The implications of the results are discussed within the higher education provision, pedagogy and psychological frameworks.

Highlights

Effective communication skills are highly desired tools across a wide range of professions and for improving career prospects that lead to their integration into the mainstream curriculum by higher education institutions (HEIs) (Blume, Baldwin, & Ryan, 2013; Croucher, 2017; Sabri & Qin, 2014)
The present study examined the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and self-stigma of academic help-seeking among British university students who acquired English at different stages in their lives and its impact on achievement
Lower self-stigma of academic help-seeking was reported by third year students (Mean= 2.06, Standard Deviation (SD)= 0.71) with PhD students (Mean= 1.70, SD= 0.63) to report the lowest self-stigma compering to all other groups

Summary

Introduction

Effective communication skills are highly desired tools across a wide range of professions and for improving career prospects that lead to their integration into the mainstream curriculum by higher education institutions (HEIs) (Blume, Baldwin, & Ryan, 2013; Croucher, 2017; Sabri & Qin, 2014). Evidence suggests that employers put communication skills on top of their agenda in recruiting their employees (Byrne, Flood, & Shanahan, 2012) subsequently putting HEIs under increased pressure to endow students with communication skills that would allow them to compete in a global market of employment. Incorporating communication skills training in a given curriculum is not sufficient to improve skills among all students (Allen & Bourhis, 1996). Several factors could be at play, one of the main reasons for failing to achieve high levels of communication skills is attributed to Communication Apprehension (CA) introduced by McCroskey (1970) and defined as ‘an individual’s level of fear and anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person’ (McCroskey, 1977, p. 78)

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