Perceptions Of Communication Competence Research Articles

L2 communication apprehension and communicative competence of pre-service English teachers

Communication in a foreign language is essential, and it requires an individual's competence in speaking skills. It needs to be improved to enhance an effective means of communication. The current study investigates the relationship between L2 communication apprehension and communicative competence of pre-service EFL teachers studying at a state university in Türkiye. The quantitative research approach focuses on understanding pre-service teachers' perceptions regarding communication apprehension and communicative competence. The study included 200 pre-service EFL teachers, with 146 female and 54 male participants. The age range of the participants was between 18 and 34. The results indicate that pre-service EFL teachers have varying levels of communication apprehension and are notably more apprehensive in certain situations. Additionally, the study found that perceived communication competence significantly influences communication apprehension. Some pedagogical strategies are discussed and suggested according to the findings of the study.

How Chronic Pain Patients’ and Physicians’ Communication Influences Patients’ Uncertainty: A Pre- and Post-Consultation Study

Chronic pain is a health problem that is difficult to diagnose, treat, and manage, partly owing to uncertainty surrounding ambiguous causes, few treatment options, and frequent misunderstandings in clinical encounters. Pairing uncertainty management theory with medical communication competence, we predicted that both physicians and patients are influential to patients’ uncertainty appraisals and uncertainty management. We collected pre- and post-consultation data from 200 patients with chronic neck and spine/back pain and their physicians. Patients’ reports of their physician’s communication were a consistent predictor of their post-consultation uncertainty outcomes. Physicians’ reports of both their own and patients’ communication competence were associated with patients’ positive uncertainty appraisals. Physicians’ reports of patients’ communication competence were also associated with reductions in patients’ uncertainty. Findings illustrate how both interactants’ perceptions of communication competence—how they view their own (for physicians) and the other’s—are associated with patients’ post-consultation outcomes.

Perceived Communication Competence and Learning Styles in the New Normal

The student has appreciated and adapted to the new normal phase. In the two years, they spent at home doing their modules and online classes, they have adapted quickly, as these students are in the technological age. This study intended to assess the communication competence and learning styles of the Bachelor of Elementary Education at St. Michael's College, Higher Education Department. It specifically aimed to answer the effect of the new normal modality of communication competence and learning styles in terms of visual, auditory, visual/iconic, and kinesthetic. This study utilized a descriptive correlation study research design, a simple random sampling procedure, and a survey questionnaire for learning styles and communication competence. Results revealed that some students were under moderate and high. The researchers used the mean and standard deviation Kendall Tau Rank, and Shapiro-Wilk Test to determine the significant relationship between learning styles and communication competence variables. The researchers recommended a program considered “Upgrading Learning Styles and Fundamental Communication Capabilities” to enhance and improve the learners' skills in different aspects, boost their confidence, and enhance their abilities in using English as a communication tool and learning.

Impact of studying abroad on language skill development: Regression discontinuity evidence from Japanese university students

The importance of English communication skills has increased with globalization, and governments in various countries have encouraged students to go abroad. However, the causal impact of studying abroad has rarely been investigated, particularly in non-European countries. This study adopted a fuzzy regression discontinuity design (RDD) for the flagship scholarship program of the Japanese government for youth studying abroad. We found that scholarships significantly increased the probability of studying abroad by 77–80 points. We measured English proficiency using a multiple-choice test we originally developed and found that studying abroad increased English proficiency by 33–38% (or 1.15–1.35 standard deviation). We also found that studying abroad significantly improved their international posture and perceived communication competence in a foreign language, which are the two traits found to be important determinants of future development in language ability in applied linguistics literature.

Perceptions of communicative competence: Stancetaking and explicit metapragmatic discourse in interactions of L1 and L2 users of Japanese

This article analyzes how perceptions of communicative competence are discursively constructed in interactions of L1 and L2 users of Japanese. Talking about appropriate language use is an inherently metapragmatic activity and therefore a product of metapragmatic stancetaking practices—here conceptualized as social actors’ positioning vis-à-vis potential and limitations of language use. The analysis shows that the interactants take stances toward (1) a general competence to speak Japanese, (2) a competence to translate into Japanese, and (3) competence in an honorific register. L2 users’ communicative competence is subject to interactional negotiation and evaluation. Naturalized links between competence, nationality, and identity are established through comparison, giving rise to intercultural discourse as a site for the (re-)production of native speaker ideologies.

Communication barriers for nursing students: Communication apprehension, emotional intelligence and perceived communication competence

Ineffective communication leads to poor patient outcomes. This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study examined relationships between self-perceived communication competence (SPCC), communication apprehension (CA) and emotional intelligence (EI) in ADN students (N=135). Second-year students had higher CA scores than first-year students. EI was a significant predictor of SPCC with a positive correlation between EI and SPCC and a negative correlation between CA and SPCC. Early interventions to identify and reduce CA for students may improve communication competence.

The influence of leadership styles and supervisor communication on employee burnout

The purpose of this study is to examine the communicative factors enacted by supervisors’ leadership, including supervisors’ perceived communication competence and workers’ communication satisfaction with their supervisors that predict employees’ feeling of burnout. Employees who were employed on a full-time basis for at least 1 year ( N = 166) completed a cross-sectional, online survey about interactions with their supervisors. Results from the path analysis indicated that both task- and relational-leadership were positively associated with communication competence. Only relational leadership was positively associated with communication satisfaction. In turn, communication satisfaction predicted decreased employee emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and increased personal accomplishment. Taken together, the findings from the current study suggest the importance of relationship-building between supervisors and employees to decrease employee burnout. Limitations and future research are addressed.

Investigating the Mediating Role of Foreign Language Anxiety in Students’ Task Goal Orientations, Perceived Communication Competence, English Ability, and Willingness to Communicate in EMI Classrooms

Investigating the Mediating Role of Foreign Language Anxiety in Students’ Task Goal Orientations, Perceived Communication Competence, English Ability, and Willingness to Communicate in EMI Classrooms

Can chatbots help to motivate smoking cessation? A study on the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on engagement and therapeutic alliance

BackgroundCigarette smoking poses a major threat to public health. While cessation support provided by healthcare professionals is effective, its use remains low. Chatbots have the potential to serve as a useful addition. The objective of this study is to explore the possibility of using a motivational interviewing style chatbot to enhance engagement, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy in the context of smoking cessation.MethodsA preregistered web-based experiment was conducted in which smokers (n = 153) were randomly assigned to either the motivational interviewing (MI)-style chatbot condition (n = 78) or the neutral chatbot condition (n = 75) and interacted with the chatbot in two sessions. In the assessment session, typical intake questions in smoking cessation interventions were administered by the chatbot, such as smoking history, nicotine dependence level, and intention to quit. In the feedback session, the chatbot provided personalized normative feedback and discussed with participants potential reasons to quit. Engagement with the chatbot, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy were the primary outcomes and were assessed after both sessions. Secondary outcomes were motivation to quit and perceived communication competence and were assessed after the two sessions.ResultsNo significant effects of the experimental manipulation (MI-style or neutral chatbot) were found on engagement, therapeutic alliance, or perceived empathy. A significant increase in therapeutic alliance over two sessions emerged in both conditions, with participants reporting significantly increased motivation to quit. The chatbot was perceived as highly competent, and communication competence was positively associated with engagement, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy.ConclusionThe results of this preregistered study suggest that talking with a chatbot about smoking cessation can help to motivate smokers to quit and that the effect of conversation has the potential to build up over time. We did not find support for an extra motivating effect of the MI-style chatbot, for which we discuss possible reasons. These findings highlight the promise of using chatbots to motivate smoking cessation. Implications for future research are discussed.

The Relationship among Turkish EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate in English, Self-efficacy Perceptions and Linguistic Self-confidence

The objective of this study was to investigate the level of English preparation class students’ WTC in English, their self-efficacy perceptions, and their linguistic self-confidence. This study also aimed to explore the possible correlation among these variables. Eighty-four Turkish EFL learners studying at compulsory English preparatory classes at Yozgat Bozok University in Turkey participated in the study. A mixed-method research design was adopted. The quantitative data were collected through 4 five-point Likert-type scales: the WTC scale, the Communication Anxiety Scale, and the Perceived Communication Competence Scale, and the Self-Efficacy Scale. The qualitative data involved semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 of the students. Both qualitative and quantitative data revealed that students were somewhat willing to communicate, they perceived themselves somewhat confident in English, they did not experience much communication anxiety, and they had a medium level of perceived self-efficacy in English. Correlation analyses showed that there was a negative relationship between communication anxiety and other three affective variables, namely, perceived communication competence, willingness to communicate and self-efficacy. The findings further revealed a positive relationship between students’ willingness to communicate and other variables such as their perceived communication competence, self-efficacy, and linguistic self-confidence. A positive relationship was also observed between students’ self-efficacy and their perceived communication competence and linguistic self-confidence. The implications of the study were discussed and some recommendations for further studies were made.

Effects of general trust as a personality trait on willingness to communicate in a second language

This study shows the positive effect of general trust on willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2), mediated by perceived communication competence in L2. Studies have focused on the Big Five personality traits as fundamental factors predicting WTC in L2, but the present study shows the significant effects of general trust as a personality trait. For Study 1, which targeted university students in Tokyo, hierarchical regression analysis showed that general trust positively affected WTC in English, while the mediation analysis showed that general trust positively influenced WTC in English via perceived communication competence in English. Study 2, targeting Tokyo's general population, replicated the findings of Study 1. Study 3, targeting the general population in seven prefectures in Japan, replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2. The findings imply necessary interventions in L2 education.

The influence of psychological network on the willingness to communicate in a second language.

This study investigated the effect of the psychological network on the willingness to communicate in English among Japanese people. Previous studies have shown that psychological factors affect the willingness to communicate in English for Japanese people. However, the network structure of psychological factors and their effects have not been revealed yet. The present study conducted a network analysis with 644 Japanese people. Consequently, the edge between perceived communication competence and the willingness to communicate in the first or second language was very strong. Node centrality strength showed that these factors were central in the network structure. The results of the network analysis show the effect of psychological networks on the willingness to communicate in a second language, which will be beneficial for language education.

Doktorlar İçin İletişim Bir Reçete midir? İletişim Yeterliliği ve Güven Arasındaki İlişki: Meme Hastaları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Although significant studies have been conducted in the field of health communication in terms of communication competence, its role on trust in the radiology department needs further exploration. The communication skills of radiologists are considered an important indicator of trust. Therefore, the study aims to research the effect of communication competence on trust. With this aim the current study seeks to contribute to health communication literature by researching the patients’ perceived communication competence of doctors as a determining factor that develop trust in the radiology department. The research was carried out between December 2019 and March 2020 using a questionnaire form with 321 breast patients in the radiology department in a public health institution in Antalya, Turkey. The results of the study refer that communication competence as a whole concept has a strong positive and statistically significant effect on trust. When the dimensions of communication competence are investigated, it is found that socioemotional communication is the only dimension that has a strong effect on the formation of trust among communication competence.

To praise or not to praise? Examining the effects of ability vs. effort praise on speaking anxiety and willingness to communicate in EFL classrooms

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of praise for intelligence and praise for effort on Iranian EFL learners’ language mindsets, perceived communication competence, speaking anxiety, and willingness to communicate (WTC). The students in three English classes (N = 63, all junior high school students) in a private language institute filled in self-report scales on language mindsets, perceived communication competence, speaking anxiety, and WTC, and then were assigned to praise for effort, praise for intelligence, and control conditions for 14 classroom communication sessions. They answered the same scales in the last session of the experiment. The results of quantitative analysis indicated that praise for effort enhanced learners’ growth mindsets, communicative competence, and WTC, and decreased their speaking anxiety. In contrast, praise for intelligence and no praise decreased students’ growth mindsets. Praise for intelligence further decreased students’ WTC and increased their speaking anxiety. Follow-up qualitative data gathered by interviews with 12 students further suggested that praise for effort facilitated learners’ WTC by increasing their growth mindsets and lowering their speaking anxiety. Finally, we discussed practical implications for how language teachers enhance students’ success in classroom communication.

Empathic Communication Skills Across Applied Undergraduate Psychology Courses: A Replication Study

Background: Although undergraduate psychology curriculum should cultivate performance-based skills to prepare students for helping professions, little work to date has addressed this standard. Objective: This research replicates the methods used in a previous study by examining pre-post changes in empathic communication skills and perceived communication competence across two applied psychology courses: Basic Helping Skills and Internship. This study extended this work by also exploring learning gains from different formats (i.e., face-to-face vs. online), internship types (mental health-related vs. not mental health-related), and the longevity of learning gains. Method: Psychology students ( N = 171) completed a measure of communication competence and provided written empathic responses on a vignette-based performance measure at the start and end of the semester. Results: Students perceived their communication skills as improving over time; however, only students in the Basic Helping Skills course showed improved empathic communication skills, especially when the instruction was in a face-to-face format. Students with previous skill training maintained their learning gains over time. Conclusion: Student empathic communication improves most with face-to-face instruction in Basic Helping Skills rather than an internship experience. Teaching Implications: For the development of empathic communication skills, prerequisite requirements for Internship and instructive scaffolding for the application of skills may be recommended.

Autonomy support predicts language mindsets: Implications for developing communicative competence and willingness to communicate in EFL classrooms

Growth language mindsets, the beliefs that language-learning ability can be cultivated through effort, are argued as a motivational resource that guides learners to focus on improvement and learning processes. However, little is known about how classroom learning contexts predict predict language-mindsets, and whether language-mindsets are linked to learners' competence development and language use in a language classroom. In this study, we recruited 392 university-level English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students in Iran and examined (a) how learners' perceptions of their teacher's autonomy support predict their language-mindsets, and (b) whether language-mindsets in turn predict learners' perceptions of communicative competence and willingness to communicate (WTC). Path analyses demonstrated that growth language-mindsets mediated the link of autonomy support on communicative competence and WTC. Students who perceived their teachers to be more autonomy-supportive were more likely to endorse growth (vs. fixed) language-mindsets, and thereby feeling more competent and being more willing to use English in the classroom. This study highlights the importance of growth mindsets in EFL classrooms and provides practical implications for fostering growth mindsets with autonomy-supporting strategies.

The Effect of Nonverbal Communication Training on Iranian EFL Learners' Perception of Communicative Competence and Communication Apprehension

Researchers have asserted that the sense of uncertainty of the other person’s nonverbal cues during a conversation, could become an inhibitor for good communication and accordingly create anxiety. Since not much has been done to empirically prove such assumptions, this study explores the effect of Nonverbal Communication training on Iranian EFL learners’ perception of communication apprehension and communicative competence. In order to conduct this quasi-experimental study, intermediate level Iranian EFL learners from two intact classes studying in a language institute were selected through convenience sampling. These study participants were assigned to the Control Group (n=27) and the Experimental Group (n=32), respectively. Both groups were trained in speaking skills within a span of ten sessions in accordance with the regular method used in the study venue. The only difference was that the Experimental Group was trained in non-verbal communication incorporated into their regular speaking classes as an intervention program. The SPCC and PRCA-24 self-report questionnaires were used to collect learners’ perception of communicative competence and communication apprehension prior and subsequent to the intervention program. These pretest and posttest measures were then analyzed to test the null hypotheses of this study using two sets of the Analysis of Covariance. The results showed an empirically significant increase in the self-perceived communication competence and a simultaneous decrease in the personal report of communication apprehension scores of the Iranian EFL learners in the experimental group who participated in the intervention program. On the other hand, the control group students, who were not provided with the non-verbal communication training, perceived no significant changes in neither their communication competence nor their communication apprehension. This empirical evidence suggests that familiarity with non-verbal cues of the target language could positively affect learners’ perception of their speaking ability and lower speaking anxiety. Thus, this study not only provides evidence as to the effectiveness of incorporating non-verbal communication training in speaking classes in decreasing apprehension and increasing communicative competence but it also provides a sample within which this training can be integrated into a regular language learning class. The findings contribute to EFL research on the importance of nonverbal communication in the teaching and learning of the speaking skill and provide input for further analysis in this context.

Communicative language teaching and English as a foreign language undergraduates’ communicative competence in Tourism English

Due to the increasing demand of English-speaking professionals in the tourism and hospitality industry, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) on cultivating undergraduates' communicative competence in Tourism English in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. This study adopted mixed methods research design. 70 Taiwanese undergraduates were recruited to participate in the pretests (paper-based and oral-based), pre-questionnaires, posttests (paper-based and oral-based), post-questionnaires, and focus group interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed via descriptive analysis and paired-samples t-test. Qualitative data was examined by thematic analysis. Findings indicated that students' progress towards better communicative competence in paper-based tests and oral-based tests were both significant. Their perceptions of communicative competence also echoed the results. The findings of the study implied that Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) facilitates students’ English learning, raises their confidence, and enhances their communicative competence in Tourism English. This study ultimately provides practical suggestions for pedagogy.

Hábitos lectores y titulación de los padres en la percepción de la competencia comunicativa de futuros maestros

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es determinar en qué medida las variables “afición a la lectura en la familia” y “titulación de los padres” pueden incidir en la percepción de la competencia comunicativa de los estudiantes universitarios participantes en el estudio. Se parte de una muestra de 361 estudiantes del Grado de Maestro de Educación Primaria de las universidades de Jaén y Oviedo y se realiza un estudio descriptivo-transversal consistente en un análisis de contingencia. Se distinguen tres unidades de competencia, obtenidas por el análisis factorial realizado: comunicación oral efectiva en el aula, adecuación del registro y producción eficaz de textos escritos. Los resultados evidencian una clara incidencia de la variable “afición a la lectura en la familia” en las dimensiones de competencia analizadas, no dándose ninguna relación entre éstas y la variable “titulación de los padres”. The main purpose of this work is to know to what extent the variables ‘love of reading in the family’ and ‘parents’ educational level’ may have an impact on the perception of communicative competence in university students participating in this study. This research starts from a sample of 361 Primary Teacher Degree students coming from two Spanish universities. A descriptive-transversal study has been made, consisting in a contingency analysis. Three competence units have been defined from the factorial analysis: effective oral communication in the classroom, register adequacy and effective production of written texts. The results clearly show the influence of the variable ‘love of reading in the family’ in the analysed dimensions. On the contrary, no relation is detected between these dimensions and the variable ‘parents’ educational level’.

Exploring Relationships of Cognitive Complexity, Person-Centeredness, and Communication Outcomes in Computer-Mediated Patient-Provider Communication

ABSTRACT The current study explores the relationship between person-centeredness, cognitive complexity, and relevant outcomes in computer-mediated patient-provider communication. The study examined the relationships between constructivism constructs based on a hypothetical e-mail exchange between a healthcare provider and participants. Participants filled out a questionnaire after reading the hypothetical scenario and one of three manipulated messages. The results showed that outcomes including satisfaction, perceived communication competence, and likelihood to follow suggestions varied significantly based on the level of person-centeredness of a message received. Moreover, cognitive complexity had both direct and moderating effects on perceived communication competence and reply message person-centeredness. The findings validate but also extend the current understanding of constructivism and had implications for healthcare providers who communicate in mediated formats with their patients. Limitations and directions for future research were discussed.