Are Female Freshmen of Arts Apprehensive? A Study Based on Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Oral communicative competence among undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities is expected to be very high. There are many factors that influence the development of oral communicative competence (OCA). One of the factors that hinder the development is communication apprehension. However, no studies have yet been conducted in Sri Lanka on the oral communication apprehension of undergraduates. Therefore, this first ever study in Sri Lanka attempted to find out if oral communication apprehension existed among the freshmen of Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna. The study was conducted with randomly selected 124 female freshmen of the Faculty of Arts. A mixed method approach was applied. A questionnaire - Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) - and semi structured interviews were employed to collect data and the study revealed OCA existed moderately.