Reducing Fear of Oral Presentation Through Communication Strategies

Abstract

Non-native English learners often face challenges to articulate their ideas while speaking in the target language. Because of this, it was far more difficult for them to get their thoughts over to the audience. To overcome this issue, the learners employ various communication strategies to promote their audience's understanding. Hence, this research aims to determine the factors that contribute to fear of oral presentations and the communication strategies (CS) used by undergraduate students. The study employs a quantitative survey in which 201 participants in a public university in Pahang were conveniently selected to answer a threesectioned survey; Section A elicits demographic background of the participants, Section B investigates their communication strategies used and Section C probes on the causes of fear of oral presentation. The findings show that students dread oral presentations both due to internal and external forces. They commonly employ Social-affective strategies and Message reduction, orientation and non-verbal strategies to cope with their fears. Additionally, the usage of CS has a slight impact in reducing their fear of oral presentation. Future research on alternative strategies to reduce students' fear of oral presentation are therefore recommended in order to tackle the issue.