Communication Apprehension among the Communication Students of Bangladesh

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the communication apprehension (CA) among the communication students of Bangladesh. The data were collected from 283 students from 10 public universities through the survey method. McCroskey's (1982) Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, also known as the PRCA-24 test was adopted for this study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics of SPSS 23 software. The study explores that the mean communication apprehension score of communication students of Bangladesh is 68.12 which ascertains the medium level of CA of the students. It also says that 12.6% of students have high CA, 64.7% have medium CA and the rest 13.8% have a low level of communication apprehension. Students are more apprehensive in public communication rather than in group, meeting, and interpersonal communication. Male students have less CA than female students. This research also reveals that those students experience more CA who suffer from depression, prefer loneliness, and spend more time on social media. Communication apprehensive students prefer to sit in the back row or alongside in the classroom setting. Also, CA score is decreased when the age of the student is increased. The study also assesses that students involved with co-curricular activities have less CA than the other students. The study recommends that universities should offer more practical courses in communication to overcome communication apprehension. Keywords: communication, apprehension, communication students, Bangladesh, university students