E-Link Journal, Vol. 11 No 02,
December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

Second Semester Students’ Communication Apprehension In Learning
English As a Foreign Language At Pgri Silampari University
Ayu Pransiska1, Ayu Oktaviani2, Hamdan3
PGRI Silampari University1,2,3
1
Pransiskaayu17@gmail.com , damerayu13@gmail.com2 , hamdangh123@gmail.com3
* is the Corresponding Author

Submitted:
Aug 3rd, 2024
Accepted:
Sept 2nd. 2024
Revised:
Nov 24th, 2024
Published:
Dec 31st, 2024

Abstract
This research aimed to find out the types of the second-semester students’
communication apprehension and the factors of the second-semester students’
communication apprehension in learning English as a foreign language at PGRI
Silampari University. The researchers used a descriptive qualitative method, and
data collection was done through an observation checklist and interview. The
research involved 23 students in the second semester of the English Education
study program at PGRI Silampari University. The results showed that students'
communication apprehension experienced trait-like, context-based, audiencebased, and situational CA. The factors of students’ communication apprehension
in learning English as a foreign language were nervousness, lack of vocabulary, not
being confident, shy or embarrassed, fear of making mistakes, not being
comfortable with the situations, insecurity, and fear of lousy judgment or negative
evaluation from others. In addition, the conclusion of this research was that
primarily students experienced trait-like and situational CA, and the factors
students experiencing both types were due to nervousness, lack of vocabulary, fear
of making mistakes, and fear of negative evaluation or bad judgement.
Keywords: Analysis, Communication Apprehension, Foreign Language, Learning
English

INTRODUCTION
The challenges of learning a foreign language become more significant when students are
faced with communication apprehension. Communication apprehension, also known as CA, is a type
of shyness characterized by anxiety and a fear of communicating with others. Ansari (2015) states
that anxiety in communicating in English, a foreign language, can impact weaknesses and affect
adaptation to their educational goals. However, communication anxiety can hinder students in
improving their communication skills and achieving their language targets.
Communication apprehension is a broad term that refers to an individual’s “fear or anxiety
associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons”
(McCroskey, 1984). In essence, fear in this communication is a psychological response with
physicality. The body will respond according to what is thought based on the situation experienced
or the threat outside the self. Communication apprehension refers to understanding communication
disorders in various situations, such as small group interpersonal interactions, extensive group
discussions, or general conversations.
According to Bodie (2010), situation-specific social anxiety arising from the actual or
anticipated nature of an oral presentation is the definition of Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA). According
to the definition of Public Speaking Anxiety and Communication Anxiety, these are the same thing.
On the other hand, communication skills are more flexible (Rombalski, 2021). These feelings of fear

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

and anxiety when communicating with others can arise suddenly depending on the time, situation,
audience, and context of the conversation.
Based on the statement above, communication apprehension (CA) is a fear or anxiety
everyone can feel when communicating. This fear in communicating is part of psychology where the
physical will respond to something that is felt to threaten themselves and give a negative response
to the body; this will affect communication skills, especially for students who communicate the most
important part, especially in the classroom as a tool that can support interaction between lecturers
and students.
Types of Communication Apprehension
According to McCroskey et al. (1986), there are 4 types of communication apprehension (CA)
as follows: (1) Trait-like CA, according to Hardiyanto et al. (2022), trait-like CA is a communication
apprehension relatively stable and long time when person encounter various communication
activities. Individuals often experience this type of apprehension for a long time due to factors such
as This type of anxiety in communication, which is not innate but instead embedded in oneself as age
and time go by based on the experiences one goes through. This anxiety will be an obstacle for the
individual to communicate with others. (2) Context-based CA, the anxiety experienced by individuals
or students is based on the context or content of the conversation; students will often feel this anxiety
when presenting in front of the class in front of their classmates and lecturers who teach, especially
by using English which is a foreign language. Communication anxiety can change the context in some
situations, although people are usually consistent with time and context (Triyono, 2013). However,
the context of the conversation will not be fixed or will change over time when communicating. (3)
Audience-based CA, this apprehension often occurs with interlocutors. Audience-based CA is a special
type of CA that involves individuals or groups (Rombalski, 2021). However, the audience is a very
influential factor in the communication anxiety experienced by individuals; each audience will provide
its comfort when communicating, which is why the audience is included in the type of anxiety in
communication. Moreover, (4) Situational of CA: A person will feel anxious and fearful when
communicating with others based on the situation that is being or will be faced. It means that the
situation is also important to pay attention to when someone communicates. Thus, it will make
communication not awkward and will be effective communication.
Factors of Communication Apprehension
Communication apprehension is a very natural thing experienced by every individual and
becomes a serious problem if the anxiety turns into excessive fear. According to McCroskey (1984),
state “the best method of isolating causes of subsequent events generally is considered to be
carefully controlled experimentation.” Various factors often cause a person to be afraid or anxious
when communicating, especially for students without experience speaking English fluently. However,
communicating in class is a problem for students, especially in public speaking. Besides the
importance of speaking skills, students must also be able to speak English well. Several factors trigger
most students to be afraid of communicating, such as when students communicate with a lecturer
who, in the end, thinks that what they convey or communicate will be a negative assessment of the
lecturer. It inhibits students from remaining silent in the classroom without asking questions or
communicating with the lecturer. Other factors are that students often feel insecure about their
abilities, worry that what they say is wrong, feel nervous when speaking in front of classmates and
lecturers, and worry that their classmates will laugh at them and destroy their self-esteem.
This research aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What were the types of secondsemester students’ communication apprehension in learning English as a foreign language at PGRI
Silampari University? Moreover, (2) What factors contributed to the second-semester students’
communication apprehension in learning English as a foreign language at PGRI Silampari University?

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

METHOD
In this research, the researchers used descriptive qualitative methods. According to Sidiq et
al. (2019), Qualitative research is a strategy inquiry that emphasizes the search for meaning,
understanding, concepts, characteristics, symptoms, symbols, and descriptions about a
phenomenon, focus and multimethod, natural and holistic, prioritizing quality, using several ways,
and presented in a narrative. Based on this understanding, qualitative descriptive methods are a
series of activities that obtain data as they are, and the results emphasize meaning. This qualitative
research only produces conclusions in the form of data that describes phenomena in detail, not data
in the form of numbers.
In this research, the researchers took the data in the public speaking class of the second
semester of the English Education study program, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, PGRI
Silampari University, in the academic year 2023/2024. This research aimed to identify the types and
causes that influence the apprehension of communicating using English in all second-semester
students of the English Education study program, which consists of 23 students.
In this research, the researchers collected data using observation checklists and interviews.
The statements of the observation checklist made by the researchers are based on the theory of
McCroskey et al. (1986), which includes four types of communication apprehension, with 12
statements and 3 statements for each type. Then, the researcher used observation checklists and
interviews as instruments to obtain and collect data from the learning activities of 2nd-semester
students in public speaking courses. The observation checklist was used to determine the types of
communication apprehension of 2nd-semester students by conducting direct research on student
activities during the teaching and learning process. Moreover, the researcher used interviews to
determine why students fear communicating using English. The researcher interviewed several
questions to 2nd-semester students based on the checklist that the researcher had done during the
research.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The result section is provided before the discussion section. Each section stands alone as a
subtitle. The result and discussion should be written in not less than 60% of the entire body of the
manuscript.
1. Result
After conducting research using observation checklists and interviews, the researcher found
some communication apprehensions of students in doing activities using English. The results
of the observation checklist and interview can be seen as follows:
Types of Students’ Communication Apprehension
Some types of communication apprehension that occur in students based on the statements
in the observation checklist are as follows:
Trait-like Communication Apprehension
The individual often experiences traits of CA for a long time due to their factors. 3 statements
related to the trait-like of communication apprehension as follows:
Table 1. Trait-like of CA

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

Observation Checklist
Statements

The Total of
Students

The student shows symptoms of fear when communicating, such
as shaking or a pale face.

21 Students

The student uses speech fillers in front of the class, such as “uhhuhh” or “mmm-mmm.”

19 Students

The student shows insecurity when speaking in English, such as
avoiding eye contact with the audience.

18 Students

Answer: The table above shows that 21 students (91,3%) show symptoms of fear, such as shaking/
trembling or a pale face when they want to communicate or do a presentation in the classroom.
Besides that, 19 students (82,6%) often use speech fillers when they feel fear or fear while speaking
in front of the class. Then, 18 students (78,3%) showed their insecurity, such as avoiding eye contact
with the audience when the students spoke in English.
Context-based Communication Apprehension
This type of communication apprehension is based on the context or content of the conversation.
Often, students feel this communication apprehension because someone does not master the
material or understand the context of the communication that is taking place.
Table 2. Context-based of CA
Observation Checklist
Statements

The Total of
Students

The student avoids speaking in class during the teaching and
learning takes place.

2 Students

The student has difficulties in mastering the learning material.

-

The student is confused when the lecturer asks her/him to speak
complete English.

3 Students

Answer: The table above shows that there were 2 students (8,7%) who avoided speaking in the
classroom during the teaching and learning process takes place because of fear, and there were 3
students (13%) who still felt confused when the lecturer asked them in full English during the teaching
and learning process takes place.
Audience-based Communication Apprehension
The audience is a very influential factor in individuals' communication apprehension; each audience
will provide its own comfort when communicating.

Table 3. Audience of CA
The Total of
Students

Observation Checklist
Statements

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan
The student is more interested in individual study than paired/
group study.

-

When presenting, the student avoids eye contact with the
lecturer and classmates.

18 Students

When the student makes a mistake/ error in speaking English,
classmates will laugh.

9 Students

Answer: Based on the table above, 18 students (78,3%) show the symptoms of fear by avoiding eye
contact with the lecturer or their friends when doing a presentation. Moreover, 9 students (39,1%)
show the symptoms of fear when their classmates laugh or when they make mistakes or errors when
speaking in English, which attracts attention from each other.
Situational Communication Apprehension
A person may feel anxious or fearful when communicating with others based on the situation that is
being or will be faced. This can be important when someone is faced with an uncomfortable situation,
and it can make communication ineffective.
Table 4. Situational of CA
Observation Checklist
Statements

The Total of
Students

The student is less likely to participate in class discussions, answer
questions, ask questions, and make presentations (passive
learner).

2 Students

The student feels nervous, anxious, and afraid when making a
presentation because she/he will get attention from others.

14 Students

The student shakes when she/he is asked to speak in front of the
class.

21 Students

Answer: The table above shows that there were 2 students (8,7%) less likely to participate in class
discussion, answer questions, ask questions, and make presentations, or what is commonly referred
to as passive learners. In addition, 14 students (60,9%) feel nervous, anxious, and afraid when the
students get attention from their friends or others while doing some presentation. Moreover, there
were 21 students (91,3%) shaking or trembling when the lecturer asked them to speak in front of the
class.
The Factors of Students’ Communication Apprehension
The researcher used interviews to determine the factors that cause second-semester students'
communication apprehension in learning English as a foreign language by asking students one by one
about the observation checklist that had been done. These factors were discussed as follows:
Trait-like of CA
In this type, the researcher found several factors that cause students to be afraid to communicate
using English. Some statements related to the trait-like of CA are as follows:
Statement 1: The student shows the symptoms of fear when communicating, such as shaking and a
pale face.
Based on the interviews that have been conducted, the factors that cause students to shake often or
pale faces are because many of the students are lacking in vocabulary, students feel nervous and
afraid of making mistakes, not confident, afraid of other people's judgment or negative evaluations,
embarrassed when getting attention from many people and often students feel shaking when making

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

presentations because students do not prepare the material properly. In addition, from the many
factors mentioned, most students showed symptoms of fear, such as shaking or a pale face, due to a
lack of vocabulary and fear of making mistakes when speaking English or presenting in front of the
class.
Statement 2: The student uses speech fillers in front of the class, such as “uhh-uhh” or “mmm-mmm.”
The results of the interview show that students use speech fillers because they try to remember the
words that they want to say next; some students lack vocabulary, so they do not know what they
want to speak. In contrast, in front of the class, sometimes the students forget what they want to say
using English, and some students use speech fillers when they do not master the material when doing
presentations.
Statement 3: The student shows insecurity when speaking in English, such as often avoiding eye
contact with the audience.
The results of the interview show that the students often avoid eye contact while speaking in English
because they are nervous about getting attention from others, and some students lack confidence.
The students feel shy, uncomfortable, and afraid of making mistakes if they make eye contact with
the audience.
Context-based of CA
Students who experienced communication apprehension problems in this type of context-based CA
were as follows:
Statement 1: The student avoids speaking in class during teaching and learning.
Based on the interview results, students 02 and 09 avoid speaking in class during the teaching and
learning process. Students are embarrassed and afraid of making mistakes when speaking English.
Statement 3: The student is confused when the lecturer asks her/him to speak full English.
Based on the interview results, students 02, 03, and 21 were confused when the lecturer asked or
taught them to use full English when explaining material or asking questions. This is because students
lack vocabulary, and often, students feel confused because the lecturer speaks full English very
quickly, so understanding what the lecturer says is difficult.
Audience-based of CA
In the audience-based communication apprehension, 2 statements have been experienced by
students during the research, as follows:
Statement 2: When giving a presentation, the student prefers to avoid eye contact with both the
lecturer and classmates.
The interview results show why the students prefer to avoid eye contact with the lecturer and
classmates. Students feel nervous and insecure, not confident, and uncomfortable or disturbed if they
get attention from many people. They also fear making mistakes and lack vocabulary, which will make
them experience communication apprehension if they make eye contact with lecturers or classmates.
Therefore, students prefer to avoid eye contact so that their fear and confidence do not decrease.
Statement 3: When the student makes a mistake/error in speaking English, classmates will laugh.
When students present in front of the class, often the fear arises by itself, which can cause what has
been prepared to be forgotten a lot. The interview results show that most students are afraid of
making their classmates laugh because of wrong pronunciation or lack of vocabulary and feel
uncomfortable with the views or judgments of others on what students have done when
communicating or presenting in front of the class.
Situational of CA
Another factor that can cause students to experience communication apprehension is the situational
nature of CA. 3 statements in this research related to the situational of CA, which were as follows:
Statement 1: The student is less likely to participate in class discussions, answer questions, ask
questions, and make presentations (passive learner).

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P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

Based on the results of interviews, students 02 and 09 decide to be passive learners because they feel
embarrassed to say something or are afraid of making mistakes when communicating. They also lack
self-confidence, which is why they are often afraid to communicate with friends or other people.
Statement 2: The student feels nervous, anxious, and afraid when making presentations because
he/she will get attention from others.
Based on the results of the interview show that students who feel nervous, anxious, and afraid when
making presentations were due to being beginners in learning English, which is a foreign language
that had no experience in communicating using English before; students are afraid of other people's
judgments of their presentations, feeling not confident and insecure, afraid that making mistakes in
delivery, lack of vocabulary and some students feel nervous, anxious and afraid because students do
not prepare the materials well when making presentations.
Statement 3: The student shakes when she/he is asked to speak in front of the class.
Based on the results of interviews, students who shake when asked to speak in front of the class are
doing so because they feel afraid of making mistakes, are nervous and afraid, do not master English,
lack confidence, or make bad evaluations or judgments. Some students avoid communicating in the
teaching and learning process and prefer to write.
Discussion
Based on the results of the research, the researcher concluded that communication
apprehension experienced by second-semester students of the English Education study program in 4
types of communication apprehension, namely trait-like CA, context-based CA, audience-based CA,
and situational CA, factors that influence students to experience communication apprehension. The
results of the 4 types of communication apprehension and the factors that cause it to occur in secondsemester students, then the researcher gets the following results:
Types of Students' Communication Apprehension in Learning English
In communication apprehension, 4 types of communication apprehension can impact the
development of students in learning English, which is a foreign language. Lucas (1984) states that
communication apprehension is a problem in any class, but it can be highly detrimental in foreign
language or ESL. As a beginner with no experience communicating in English, communication
apprehension will be a big problem, one of which is for students who participate in some activities
using English.
In this research, the researcher conducted research on second-semester students of the
English Education study program at PGRI Silampari University, using an observation checklist with
several statements as an instrument related to communication apprehension in learning English as a
foreign language.
In the type of communication apprehension, the researcher obtained the following results:
Students who were in the trait-like of CA consisting of 3 statements started from 21 students (91,3%)
who showed symptoms of fear when communicating such as shaking or pale face, 19 students
(82,6%) who often used speech fillers such as "mmm-mmm" or "uhh-uhh," and 18 students (78,3%)
who preferred to avoid eye contact with the audience because they felt insecure when speaking
English.
Furthermore, in the context-based CA, 2 students (8.7%) avoided speaking in class during the
teaching and learning process, and 3 students (13%) still liked to feel confused when the lecturer
spoke full English during the lesson. Then, in the audience-based type of CA, 18 students (78,3%)
avoided eye contact with lecturers or friends when making presentations, and 9 students (39,1%)
feared that their classmates would laugh because they made English mistakes.
Meanwhile, in the situational type of CA, 2 students (8.7%) did not participate in class or

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December, 2024
P-ISSN:2085-1383; E-ISSN: 2621-4156
English Education Department, Universitas Islam Lamongan

chose to be passive learners, 14 students (60.9%) felt nervous, anxious, and afraid when presenting
because they received attention from others, and 21 students (91.3%) were shaking when the
lecturer asked them to speak in front of the class, such as presentations or speaking in public.
In addition, after obtaining the results above, the researcher concluded that most students
who experienced communication apprehension were in the trait-like type of CA and situational of CA
by showing fears such as shaking, often using speech fillers, avoiding eye contact with lecturers or
friends when making presentations or communicating and nervous or anxious when making
presentations because get attention from others.
The Factors of Students' Communication Apprehension in Learning English
As a beginner in learning English, every student will feel communication apprehension. As stated by
Siska et al. (2022), the fear of communication experienced by students often occurs in class. When
students want to communicate in English, fear arises from their view of the audience and themselves.
Based on the results obtained by the researcher through interviews, the results were as follows:
factors that make students afraid to communicate, most of the students feel nervous, have a lack of
vocabulary, are not confident, are afraid of making mistakes, and have impaired judgment or
evaluation from others. Other factors were that some students were uncomfortable speaking in front
of many people, some had terrible experiences speaking English, and some were embarrassed to
speak in English because students were insecure with friends who had a broader understanding of
English. These factors were why many second-semester English Education study program students
experienced communication apprehension.
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis and discussion results of communication apprehension research on
second-semester students learning English as a foreign language, the data can be concluded as
follows: Communication apprehension can be felt by every individual. Communication apprehension
is fear or anxiety when communicating with others that can hinder someone from learning English.
Students learning English, a foreign language, often feel communication apprehension; this problem
can be an obstacle for students in understanding or mastering material in the university, making
English a language that is always used in teaching and learning.
There are 4 types of communication apprehension: trait-like of CA, context-based of CA,
audience-based of CA, and situational of CA. In this research, the second-semester students of English
Education who became the participants can be seen that most of the second-semester students
experienced traits of CA and situational CA seen from the observation checklist that has been done
and based on the activities of students during the teaching and learning process, such as doing
presentations or practicing in front of the class. The factors that cause many second-semester
students to experience communication apprehension based on interviews are students often feeling
nervous and afraid, not confident, lacking vocabulary, fear of making mistakes, negative judgment or
evaluation, embarrassment, and insecurity about speaking in front of many people. In addition, some
lecturers can help their students practice their ability to communicate using English more and more.
The researchers would like to thank the participants who want to contribute to this research, all of
whom help the researchers.
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