English Communication Apprehension and Communicative Competence among Secondary Preservice Teachers: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

Communicative competence (CC) enables students and educators to express their thoughts effectively, leading to effective communication in the field of education. However, communication apprehension (CA) has emerged, hindering effective communication. This descriptive, quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional research design seeks to identify the following objectives: (1) what are the communication apprehension (CA) and communicative competence (CC) of secondary preservice teachers (PSTs), (2) what are the significant differences in the CA and CC among secondary PSTs and gender, and (3) what is the significant relationship between the level of CA and CC among secondary PSTs. The study utilized online survey questionnaires divided into three parts and was distributed to 170 secondary PSTs. On the basis of the analysis, secondary PSTs generally exhibit varying levels of CA across different social contexts. They also exhibit strong CC, suggesting great communication skills. According to the analysis, gender does not significantly influence either CA or CC. There was also a weak positive correlation between CA and CC. Therefore, it is still important to find interventions to further enhance communicative competence and reduce communication apprehension, helping future educators to be efficient.