Abstract

<p>The modern time is shaping a world of opportunities that has glorified the role<br />and functions of multinational organizations across the globe. An individual has<br />become a global citizen, who explores employment opportunities in different<br />countries of the world. This has signified the importance of interpersonal skills that allow individuals to connect with people from different cultures. As a result, the role of business communication instructors has become vital because they impart the skills of communication among their students. For this, instructors’ sensitivity towards the teaching methods used in classrooms are of prime significance. These methods determine the interest level and motivation of students towards learning and acquisition of communication skills. Therefore, this study aims to compare experiential learning method and traditional learning method to explore which method inculcates and improves the communication skills of business administration students of a private sector university. The study was conducted in a quantitative paradigm using an experimental research design. The sample size comprised 60 BBA students from two different sections of business communication courses. The data were collected using a pretest and posttest. For the pretest, communication skills were imparted to both the groups using the traditional teaching method that heavily employed lecturing. For the posttest, the controlled group was taught using the same traditional teaching method while the treatment group was taught using the experiential learning method. Mean scores 20.46 &amp; 19.90 with a significant value of 0.375 for the pretest established identical nature of both groups. Mean scores 27.80 &amp; 30.36 with a significant value of .002 of posttest showed that the two groups under study had different identities in scores, which proved that experiential learning method improves students’ communication skills better than traditional communication skills.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> business communication, experiential learning, experimental research, traditional learning</p>

Many students who are doing their majors in English often suffer from English speaking anxiety. The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons that hinder the process of speaking English in the students who had English as their major course of studies in a public sector university in Karachi. The study was conducted using qualitative research approach and the data was collected using focus group discussion. The participants of this study were selected using convenient sampling technique for focus group discussion. The findings revealed that the pronunciation, syntactic structures, insufficient lexical knowledge, fear of negative evaluation, role of a teacher, financial and social factors are the main causes of English-speaking anxiety among English majors. Recommended measures by the students disclosed that if the institution provides them with the suggested speaking opportunities, it could help them improve their anxiety towards speaking in English.

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the scope of cooperative learning (CL) as an alternate of traditional teaching methods in Pakistani classrooms and to examine the direct and indirect relationship between CL and social & academic gains through teacher feedback. The study also intended to survey students' opinions regarding the usefulness of the CL approach and to identify challenges that hindered its implementation at the tertiary level. Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional and mixed-method (Concurrent Dominant Status (Quan+qual) research design). Qualitative data was collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) technique, while quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire. Data were analyzed with the help of mediation analysis using bootstrapping approach. Results: Findings of Quantitative data analysis proved the significance of Cooperative Learning in terms of academic and social gains. Teachers` feedback had a significant mediating effect on the quality of students` group work. Qualitative data analysis revealed that students had a positive attitude towards the CL approach; however, students had few concerns regarding the group size, time, cohesion, etc. The study proposed using the CL method and teachers` feedback regularly during group assignments to improve students` academic and social gains. Application of this Study: The findings of the study promote the implementation and use of cooperative learning at the tertiary level in different subjects to increase students` academic gain and social adjustment. As Pakistan is situated in East Asia so in Pakistani teachers should adopt this teaching methodology which supports collectivism rather than individualism. The novelty of this study: The current study was unique by methodology as well as variables. The researcher adopted a mixed-method concurrent with Dominant Status (Quan+qual) research design. Researchers used teacher feedback as a mediating variable to assess CL's effect on learners' academic gains. Data was collected in three interims during the semester, and group assignments were given to students to intervene feedback with the CL.